[CorvairJim]

My primary hobby is building and restoring plastic models, so I thought it was time to see what I could do to modify a diecast. I'm taking baby steps. This first one, I just stripped the tampos from this Hot Wheels '59 Bel Air 2-door and detail painted it. Take my word for it, the tampos were awful - "REDPHIN" scrawled in letters as high as the body sides from the front wheel wells all the way to the back bumper, and various sponsorship lettering on the decklid.

I have a Matchbox Cadillac "Flower Car" in the works, cut down from a Hearse. Photos to come once I get it back together and in paint.

 

[Mr. John]

Oh yeah remember it well! Nice job are you using paint pens?

 

[RogerDuffus]

Great work you doing!

 

[CorvairJim]

Great work you doing!

Thanks!

Oh yeah remember it well! Nice job are you using paint pens?

Yeah, that's the beast I started out with in all it's ill-conceived glory! The silver I used was a Sharpie (!), and the stoplight red is a Testor's brush paint. The black wash for the grille was Testor's flat black applied with a brush dipped in paint thinner.

 

[opie_7afe]

looks good! what did you use to remove the tampos with? i found an awesome product to remove tampos that will not remove the paint(unless rubbed too aggressively with a qtip or cloth) and tampos remove so easily way easier then acetone or nail polish remover. i use a product made by stoners called "tarminator" and this stuff is great to remove any sticky residues or certain paints and tar stuff like that..can find it at auto parts stores and as i said the best,easiest, and safest stuff i have used to remove tampos. i use this product in automotive detailing and is a great product to have around the house!. of course always test in a hidden area first. here is a link to the product if you are interested http://www.tarminator.com/

 

[Outlaw Diecast]

Welcome to the world of customizing diecast. A lot of your skills will transfer over until you get into the grinding and cutting, then you get the tiny zinc alloy shavings all over you. Suggest getting a full length apron before you start on the grinding. You may not be at that point yet, but it will happen to you sometime. HT is a great place to communicate and find out info of almost any kind for your projects. I recently joined swiftysgarage.net and I am still checking it out but I hear it a great place too. Might check that out your self. Welcome aboard look like you are off to a great start. Keep the pics coming for your latest

 

[Outlaw Diecast]

looks good! what did you use to remove the tampos with? i found an awesome product to remove tampos that will not remove the paint(unless rubbed too aggressively with a qtip or cloth) and tampos remove so easily way easier then acetone or nail polish remover. i use a product made by stoners called "tarminator" and this stuff is great to remove any sticky residues or certain paints and tar stuff like that..can find it at auto parts stores and as i said the best,easiest, and safest stuff i have used to remove tampos. i use this product in automotive detailing and is a great product to have around the house!. of course always test in a hidden area first. here is a link to the product if you are interested http://www.tarminator.com/

Thanks for the tip on that Opie_7afe. Just read your post as mine was loading up. Nothing is more disturbing than finding a nice casting with a nice paint and you know all it needs is the tampos removed, you use the nail polish remover and you think you are in the clear and then a small area of the paint starts showing the raw metal through. Next step your drilling out the rivets. I'll check out that product

 

[Mr. John]

 

[opie_7afe]

even with that mr.john you can break through into the paint when some castings paint on the edges is really thin. however you can do the same thing except using the tarminator in the marker instead of the NPR or other solvent. i just have not found a dead marker yet to transfer some of my tarminator into it..so im using q-tips lol. but any product where you can let it soak with no harm done yet removes the tampo is great for me. its alittle more pricy then NPR however you dont need much of it.like i said i tried most of the suggestions on the forum and randomly gave the tarminator a shot as i had some anyways and worked great. however i forgot to mention it sometimes can dull the paint slightly so a quick rub with a cleaner wax or some polish and its beautiful. for polishing my diecasts i use a mixture of duragloss rv/marine polish #501 mixed with duragloss polish bonding agent #601 (duragloss calls their sealants polishes and still call their actual polishes a polish so its really confusing) however the DG product is great as it polishes using microfine abrasives and then leaves protection behind so one step and done. you'd be surprised at the difference with a brand new diecast and you do a quick rub with the DG501/601 combo.

 

[Mr. John]

"even with that mr.john you can break through into the paint"

Yeap you must be careful, i was mainly showcasing my application method. Any chemical will work!:thumbsup:

 

[roadskare63]

Hey Jim!!! welcome to the custom die cast side of HT...I'm so used to seein ya on the model boards, it's good to have yer skills and ideas over here too man!!:wave:

 

[opie_7afe]

ok i made a video to show how well the stuff works and show another option on removing tampos the thread is http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?p=4280832 ...just another option is all it is!.

 

[CorvairJim]

Hey Jim!!! welcome to the custom die cast side of HT...I'm so used to seein ya on the model boards, it's good to have yer skills and ideas over here too man!!:wave:

Glad to be here! I look at it this way: A car model is a car model, and it doesn't matter if you get it in pieces in a cardboard box that says "Monogram" or already assembled in a blister on a card that says "Hot Wheels" on it. I like to rebuild models that someone else built up back 40 or 50 years ago, or even longer, too. I look forward to experimenting on these little guys. They're inexpensive enough that if I screw one up, I can just strip the wheels off of it and toss it. No biggie.

 

[Outlaw Diecast]

You can screw it up, you just improvise another direction

 

[Lummox]

Good to see ya up here Jim, anxious to see the flower car!

 

[Stangfreak]

I have several of those castings and everyone of them are slapped up with the goofy tampoos... That is the very best I've ever sen that casting look... Great job... Wish HW would fire that goofy tampoo guy !!!