Respray the Mustang - Part 1

Shelley's dream car would be a 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback.  Of course it would also have to be black.  Well we don't have a real one.  The nearest I can manage is a slot car.

I bought two Mustangs produced by Pioneer Slot Cars with the intention of painting one black. The only ones available were racing styled, all the road going 1968 Mustang slot cars are limited edition and no longer available.  One of the racing ones is mainly white and the other mainly blue.

This post is part one because at the moment I have only got as far as painting the body.  I am currently waiting for the top coat lacquer to dry before I can reassemble it.

I selected the darker of the two bodies in the hope the over paint would cover better.

The Pioneer models are very well put together.  I initially thought I might have trouble taking it apart and was prepared to mask it but with a bit of fine scraping with a sharp knife and gentle levering with a screwdriver, it popped apart neatly.

I'm glad it came apart because the masking would have been very tricky.

I am making a road car out of a racer.  The racer is missing a front bumper but I found a Scalextric spare part from a 1970 Mustang that is close enough.

I drilled some mounting holes ready to accept the bumper.

I tried several methods to remove the transfers but nothing worked. I have my doubts if they are transfers and are perhaps some form of paint application.  Final solution was very gently with wet 600 grit paper.

After that I washed it with a drop of detergent then thoroughly dried it.

I attached it to a stand with the other parts that needed paint.

Sprayed with a thin coat of primer and then I had to wait for it to dry. That is the trouble with painting.

For anyone paying attention to the photos, I did not spray the car in our kitchen. As it is winter I kept the car and the paint in doors to keep them warm. I took them out to the shed to spray and brought them back to dry.

A few hours later I did the same with the black paint. I did just two coats because I am worried about the paint getting too think and flattening out the details.

Again, waiting.

Now to add back the painted details.  Luckily there is not much to add but they are tiny features.

I used to paint small models and prefer acrylic paint. My paints had not been touched in 20 years so I bought some new paint. Much to my surprise some of my old paints were still OK.

There is no trick to painting the details, as far as I know. It just needs a steady hand and continually retouch until the lines are just right.

More waiting, and then a final top coat of car wheel lacquer. That's where I am now... waiting for paint to dry.

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Edit: This morning I checked and the lacquer has dried clear, so I can relax.