Wednesdays entry and HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Posted by Dr Diecast at 11/22/2007 8:57 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
Well here it is turkey day morning and what a great day it is...... I am so very thankful that the man upstairs (I live in a ranch so you figure out who im talking about) has given me the ability to play with toy cars all day in a state I love. So for that and my family, friends both new (you know who you are) and old and even my pets....I say thank you.
Ok , now that kinda mushy manly crap is outta the way lets get to it.
Wednesday was a interesting day..... I had to order some things from Micro Mark. They pretty much carry all things needed in most of the hobby industry. Really geared more towards trains they still carry so many things used in this hobby/business that its a great place to order from, WHEN THERE IN STOCK !!!! Ugh...... half of what I wanted to order they were out of stock on. Oh well......its not the end of the world, I lived with out it this long right ? Has to be hard to keep everything from there 120 page catalog in stock I would think. Oh well..... I can still work on cars and thats all that counts.
Well I sanded my 54 Corvette body and got it primed. They do actually nickel plate the metal and lay gold over the top. Its funny when you sand into it and get the nickel finish then keep sanding and get the zink but in the end its all getting painted. Which should happen today.
I also had to get a couple more Nascar cars stripped and ready for paint. I think it was mentioned before but I have customer (husband and wife) who bought a Nextel Cup car and are trying to get sponsorship for it. They keep having me make blanks for them. Blank as in a completely white car with just the spoiler painted, headlights, twilights and grill. They then create there own sticker decals to present to the client they are working on. Its a pretty cheap way for them to actually show the potential sponsor what the car would look like. I am doing my 3rd pair for them now.... and I hope they get someone so they can go forward and get there car finished. They of course would like me to do a much larger run for them once they get everything in place and the car finalized but I probably wont be able to do that within a reasonable cost. Guess we will see.
So its off to finish my decal/emblem making process and I can get a few cars clearcoated. Lets see...... 70 Chevelle, 05 Mustang, 62 Corvette, if I get the stripes done 71 Cuda, 02 Camaro and the one Mini Cooper.
Then..... the plan is to paint...... 05 Shelby, 02 Maita, 06 Corvette, 94 Camaro and the 04 Mustang AGAIN, lol.
So let me hit on something people don't really know about. I have the same setup a real body shop would have. Complete DuPont Chroma One paint system. Now this paint system consists of 65 tints (pint/quart/gallons of color) and 13 powdered pearls. My systems is a little smaller but its about 90% all in pints now. All 65..... ok im lieing....... I have never used ALL the tints, heck DuPont created this years ago and there are many I never use, like 6 of the metallics. They are so course they cant be used. There are a few weird ones that I have also never used but in reality I do use 51 on a regular basis. Although when done I only mix about 2 ounces of paint there are many colors that just get used more. 805 Solid Black, 801 Solid White, 864 Magenta, 841 Orange Yellow and I could go one but won't bore you like watching womens fashions on the Home Shopping Channel, LOL. Did you know in this paint system there are actually 3 Black tints. 805 Solid Black, 806 tranparent Black and 99 Jet Black, interesting huh ? And you thought black was black.
So I have to replace these from time to time....... well yesterday was one of those times. Hobby modders enjoy your spray cans cause this is what I deal with. I needed 4 toner/tints, 841 a yellow, 850 a red, 810 a fine silver and 855 maroon. I also needed some fish eye eliminator.... 5 gallons of thinner and some activator, the total $505 and change. Yep thats $505 DOLLARS. See I only buy pints of tints but still...... reds are the most expensive ranging in this case from $92-97.00. The silver was $74 and the yellow was $91.00. Take an average and multiply that over 50+ tints and it adds up. Mind you this $505 includes the Fish Eye Eliminator which I buy about 4 times a year. The activator which runs $75.00 I buy about 4-6 times a year and thinner at least 4 times a year. So it all just adds up...and doesn't include the powdered pearls at about $60.00 a pop for 8 ounces nor the quart of clearcoat and activator which combined runs over $100.00 and I buy that about 6 times a year. The last thing wich I only buy once a year is are the binders (clear additives) that they only sell in gallons at about a 100 a pop. Makes sense now why I charge $200 + for paintwork doesn't it ?
Ok , so lastly I want to say thanks to those who enjoy my ramblings and have emailed me about it. I really didn't know if you guys would have an interest in something other then picture after picture of each little part I touch... I prefer to reflect more on the daily world in general and according to the emails its enjoyed. Thanks for letting me become part of your life. I do promise more pictures in the future but now its time for work. Wonder if I can get these two to do anything, LOL, looks like the dog could hold a car but the cat just want to be the boss, LOL.
Im out........
Ok , now that kinda mushy manly crap is outta the way lets get to it.
Wednesday was a interesting day..... I had to order some things from Micro Mark. They pretty much carry all things needed in most of the hobby industry. Really geared more towards trains they still carry so many things used in this hobby/business that its a great place to order from, WHEN THERE IN STOCK !!!! Ugh...... half of what I wanted to order they were out of stock on. Oh well......its not the end of the world, I lived with out it this long right ? Has to be hard to keep everything from there 120 page catalog in stock I would think. Oh well..... I can still work on cars and thats all that counts.
Well I sanded my 54 Corvette body and got it primed. They do actually nickel plate the metal and lay gold over the top. Its funny when you sand into it and get the nickel finish then keep sanding and get the zink but in the end its all getting painted. Which should happen today.
I also had to get a couple more Nascar cars stripped and ready for paint. I think it was mentioned before but I have customer (husband and wife) who bought a Nextel Cup car and are trying to get sponsorship for it. They keep having me make blanks for them. Blank as in a completely white car with just the spoiler painted, headlights, twilights and grill. They then create there own sticker decals to present to the client they are working on. Its a pretty cheap way for them to actually show the potential sponsor what the car would look like. I am doing my 3rd pair for them now.... and I hope they get someone so they can go forward and get there car finished. They of course would like me to do a much larger run for them once they get everything in place and the car finalized but I probably wont be able to do that within a reasonable cost. Guess we will see.
So its off to finish my decal/emblem making process and I can get a few cars clearcoated. Lets see...... 70 Chevelle, 05 Mustang, 62 Corvette, if I get the stripes done 71 Cuda, 02 Camaro and the one Mini Cooper.
Then..... the plan is to paint...... 05 Shelby, 02 Maita, 06 Corvette, 94 Camaro and the 04 Mustang AGAIN, lol.
So let me hit on something people don't really know about. I have the same setup a real body shop would have. Complete DuPont Chroma One paint system. Now this paint system consists of 65 tints (pint/quart/gallons of color) and 13 powdered pearls. My systems is a little smaller but its about 90% all in pints now. All 65..... ok im lieing....... I have never used ALL the tints, heck DuPont created this years ago and there are many I never use, like 6 of the metallics. They are so course they cant be used. There are a few weird ones that I have also never used but in reality I do use 51 on a regular basis. Although when done I only mix about 2 ounces of paint there are many colors that just get used more. 805 Solid Black, 801 Solid White, 864 Magenta, 841 Orange Yellow and I could go one but won't bore you like watching womens fashions on the Home Shopping Channel, LOL. Did you know in this paint system there are actually 3 Black tints. 805 Solid Black, 806 tranparent Black and 99 Jet Black, interesting huh ? And you thought black was black.
So I have to replace these from time to time....... well yesterday was one of those times. Hobby modders enjoy your spray cans cause this is what I deal with. I needed 4 toner/tints, 841 a yellow, 850 a red, 810 a fine silver and 855 maroon. I also needed some fish eye eliminator.... 5 gallons of thinner and some activator, the total $505 and change. Yep thats $505 DOLLARS. See I only buy pints of tints but still...... reds are the most expensive ranging in this case from $92-97.00. The silver was $74 and the yellow was $91.00. Take an average and multiply that over 50+ tints and it adds up. Mind you this $505 includes the Fish Eye Eliminator which I buy about 4 times a year. The activator which runs $75.00 I buy about 4-6 times a year and thinner at least 4 times a year. So it all just adds up...and doesn't include the powdered pearls at about $60.00 a pop for 8 ounces nor the quart of clearcoat and activator which combined runs over $100.00 and I buy that about 6 times a year. The last thing wich I only buy once a year is are the binders (clear additives) that they only sell in gallons at about a 100 a pop. Makes sense now why I charge $200 + for paintwork doesn't it ?
Ok , so lastly I want to say thanks to those who enjoy my ramblings and have emailed me about it. I really didn't know if you guys would have an interest in something other then picture after picture of each little part I touch... I prefer to reflect more on the daily world in general and according to the emails its enjoyed. Thanks for letting me become part of your life. I do promise more pictures in the future but now its time for work. Wonder if I can get these two to do anything, LOL, looks like the dog could hold a car but the cat just want to be the boss, LOL.
Im out........
Hello again John...
Well for my part, I enjoy your ramblings a lot! LOL
It's interesting, funny and informative. I put a link to your blog on my desktop, so now, you're part of my every day internet routine. It's addictive... keep it up!
Cheers
CJ
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Thanks Jeff........ I enjoy writing it even though im not a writer in any way shape or form. Glad you like the real world that is diecast modifying. Its what I do be it good or bad, LOL.
Cheers !
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John, I do enjoy checking daily for updates,it brings a smile to me with each rant.
Thanks for keeping all of us in tume with all you do daily. I do need or care to see every detail posted. I do like to see certain custom parts made, fitted and explained.
Happy Thanksgiving
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I'm reading with amazement the detailed description of the paint system you're using....did I happen to mention that last year I successfully removed the door Tampo from my Fred Gibb Nova? That's right man, did it myself....JP
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See your a pro now, LOL....... just dont try to remove the tampos from the Tin Indian Lane Firebird. They actually painted that car in different colors so where you think you can wipe the orange color off its really painted and silver is tampo then on the body the silver is painted and the orange is tampo. Tread carefully my friend but hey , if ya screwed it up then you can always just repaint it thats what I say, LOL.
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