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Nice work. I happen to have an ICM Mustang I want to do one of these days when I get some other projects out of the way. I might try the buffing technique you used one of these days. Do you have any tips for getting it right the first time?
Yes! Go to
www.widgetsupply.com and type in item#BBB06 (1" muslin buffing wheel). Order up a few of these, they have a 1/8" shank and should fit into most Dremel-type tools. Spray on your silver paint (not buffing metalizers, just regular. I like Floquil). Spray your darker panels first. The mask them. Now spray the lighter silver over the entire model. Then remove the masking from the darker panels. Don't worry about any adverse effects the masking left on the darker panels, the buffing process should remove or greatly diminish these. Let dry for a few hours, preferably overnight, the paint should be nice and hard. Now it's ready to buff. Set your rotary tool at a slow speed, then make gentle passes over small areas. Keep the tool moving, you don't want to risk cutting into the paint too deeply in any one place. Notice no buffing compounds are required. I recommend wearing a dust mask, as the wheel will throw out a lot of loose fibers. Switch to a new wheel if you get a lot of paint build-up on the first wheel. You should be wearing soft cotton gloves during the buffing process, as the finish will be sensitive to your finger oils and will easily pick up fingerprints. If this happens, just buff them out. To maintain the true aluminum look, do not clearcoat the model. This means your decals cannot be sealed, unless you brush a clearcoat on each decal. I did brush on Polyscale clear flat on the nose checker decal, and the top wing insignia. The rest I left alone.
Good luck with that-
Regards,
Mark
