# Getting the (3) "gumballs" 28s OFF AW RED chrome 55 Chevy?



## Harmie (May 29, 2007)

At first i was going to add this to Xence's "old AFX painting help please" thread, but someone suggest i post a thread, so any how here goes. I love love LOVE the new AW red chrome 55 chevy. (Who doesn't?) I think it would (- scratch "would", think positive :woohoo: ), -* IT --WILL-- *look good _WITHOUT_ the white 28"Gumballs" on the doors and roof. Can anyone suggest *HOW* to remove the white 28 circles WITHOUT affecting / damaging the red chrome finish underneath? (I realize it may take some time and patience, but am open to trying). Please and TY, sincerely, Harmie (Christopher)


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## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

I think Bob or Bill had luck with that process,I just strip the car and have it re-chromed.Ask Joez to,if he can see to type past that friggin mullet.
DRAGjet


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

I've never worked with this particular body. I'll give this a stab though.

Lets preface this with the idea that A-Dubs paint is pretty decent and thickly applied. It's not the same deal as the old school meatballs on a molded in color car were you can just massage the meatball off with wreckless abandon and re-polish the car.

First thing I'd do is mask everthing off except the meat balls. You're gonna be handling it quite a bit so ya wanna protect yer chrome and painted edges. Dont stick the tape right on the chrome! Cut yourself a little mask and tape it over the delicate areas. Ya dont wanna lift any chrome later! USE QUALITY TAPE!

Once the body is protected you can start on the meatball removal. I use a surface cleaner by Martin Senour #6383 from Napa. I pour some off and let it breath a while so the extreme solvents can flash off. It's fairly mild in formulation but I dont take chances.

Use Q-tips dunked in the remover and squeeze the excess off. Dont want that cleaner running all over your body and under the tape. Do one "ball" at a time by dabbing the surface cleaner on and gently rubbing in a circular motion. Always use many gentle strokes instead of aggressive strokes. Think butterfly not grizzly bear... LOL. The idea is to soften the meatball paint and polish it off gently without the letting the cleaner soften the candy finish under the meatball.

Once you start to make some headway let that spot dry out and move to the next meat ball and so on. It'll take some patience. Continue the process of moving around from spot to spot until all the white is gradually removed.

It may also be possible to use a medium rubbing compound, however great care should be excercised so's not to cut the candy through. AW paint is generally pretty thick and ya can probably get away with it if you're careful.

All that said the possibility of a tattoo or ghost line in the candy where the meat balls were is a distinct possibility. Dont panic! Carefully wet sand the meatball ridge with 2000 til it's flat and repolish the area and then polish the whole car. 

One way or the other you should be able to get the meatballs off with patience. Repolishing the finish is a given; maybe even a final clear coat after everything is said and done. No guarantees, ya just gotta tiptoe along and dont lose your patience or get in a big hurry.

Post your progress and good luck!


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

The master at work again!!! Sounds like a plan to me, Bill. I would do the Shoney's side last. In other words do the right side first. I call the left side the Shoney's side because: Back in the late 60's or 70's, Shoney's was a drive in type restaurant, you pulled up to a speaker, ordered food, and ate outside in your car, kinda like Sonic today. Any time you done something to your car, new wheels, tires, chrome pipes, etc., you headed to Shoney's to drive through to let everybody check out the new ride. All the parked cars saw the left side. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I went through, ah good times!!!
Sorry to bore you guys, I had a flashback!!! RM


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## SCJ (Jul 15, 1999)

While this is essentially the same process as Bill (All hale BH) describes above………...I have via the q-tip and Model Masters Airbrush paint thinner method removed several numbers (Not meat balls, just numbers and other assorted tampo's) from JL/AW cars and it has worked very well.

With that said, please note the Model Masters Airbrush paint thinner is much stronger (maybe even a different chemical make-up) then standard paint thinner so start with the regular stuff and try the MM airbrush as a last result. I would also caution you that colored chrome is really just a standard chrome car that has been clear coated in one transparent color or another, so the "color" layer is pretty thin even though the car itself has several layers.

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www.SlotCarJohnnies.com


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## gear buster (Dec 1, 2005)

*You beat me..*

You beat me John.
I was just experimenting last night with airbrush thinner. Just like you said works wonders.
Here is my findings. The red mettallic JL cuda / white stripe tampo. 
No problem
The Pink JL cuda / black stripe tampo. Would take off the pink before the stripe.
AW Fast and furious bodies.. Excellent removal ao all colors of bodies.
Meat ball numbers on the Blue Viper...Removed it but a slow proccess.,

I would give bills a shot first like SCJ said the MM is a hotter thinner.
Good luck and Patients is the key on the chrome cars...:thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

SCJ said:


> While this is essentially the same process as Bill (All hale BH) describes above………...I have via the q-tip and Model Masters Airbrush paint thinner method removed several numbers (Not meat balls, just numbers and other assorted tampo's) from JL/AW cars and it has worked very well.
> 
> With that said, please note the Model Masters Airbrush paint thinner is much stronger (maybe even a different chemical make-up) then standard paint thinner so start with the regular stuff and try the MM airbrush as a last result. I would also caution you that colored chrome is really just a standard chrome car that has been clear coated in one transparent color or another, so the "color" layer is pretty thin even though the car itself has several layers.
> 
> ...


Awww! Quit it John...you too Randy! Y'all know that "Master of Disaster" is is a better fit. Best we can do is keep the casualty rate to a minimum. You'll note I never provide an actual body count.:freak: 

Funny that, now I got an urge to neuter (de-ball) a candy AW 55! LOL.

In retrospect, Drag's probably dead on the money with the strip, re-plate, and repaint idea...and still, if ya could pull off the job without killin the factory finish...just think what a "Rare Factory Error" candy 55 would bring above it's already exorbitant collector value. Tee hee 

Now as to paint thinner (mineral spirits) vs airbrush thinner; airbrush thinner has a higher flash rate. No doubt a mineral spirit base, however through casual observation, the flash rate certainly must be adjusted with nasities to pick up the pace slightly. Evidenced in the warning labels. Paint Thinner is classed as a "combustible" where as airbrush thinner is a "Flammable"...Like Gearbuster I just go for it...good enough for the horse shoes and handgrenades around here. LOL. A comparison of MSDS would be the true tell for the exact science types.:thumbsup: 

Hence my let it breathe trick to tone the bite down if necessary. I just slop some in a little lid and wander away for a bit. If ya leave air brush thinner open...IMHO it becomes regular thinner in a short time.

The problem in the whole scenario is the value of the car in the first place...as the value goes up...so do my apprehensions of catastrophy. As I'm not an autoworld collector I wouldnt know this....but after some more thought on the matter if they made a meatballed standard 55, wouldnt the prudent approach would be to experiment on the $16.00 car?


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## SCJ (Jul 15, 1999)

Bill Hall said:


> Funny that, now I got an urge to neuter (de-ball) a candy AW 55! LOL.


ROFLMAO....:woohoo:




Bill Hall said:


> If ya leave air brush thinner open...IMHO it becomes regular thinner in a short time.


If you leave the lid off to long you'll get a buzzzzzzz .


:freak:


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www.SlotCarJohnnies.com


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## gear buster (Dec 1, 2005)

*Leavin off the lid*

Leavin off the Lid..HHmmm Thats called flashing arent it..:freak::freak::thumbsup:.. 
Bill you said let it breath.. I did try breathin that there stuff and I moved to west virginia...LOl JK..:woohoo::woohoo:


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

gear buster said:


> Leavin off the Lid..HHmmm Thats called flashing arent it..:freak::freak::thumbsup:..
> Bill you said let it breath.. I did try breathin that there stuff and I moved to west virginia...LOl JK..:woohoo::woohoo:


LMAO, Good Ole West Virginie.......we went there on our honeymoon 5 years ago and pee'd ourselves when we saw a soda machine with a hand written sign that said "push butt in to get soda"


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Nope Chris I didn't have any luck with this...that dang sticker is a tough one to get off. Ended up just making the whole car stipped down to white. The AW chrome cars don't leave any tinting in the white plastic.

Dash makes great Chome 55s....just paint with transparent paint and you are done.










Bob...zilla


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## Harmie (May 29, 2007)

BobHch (and Bill H, and everyone), thanks for trying and the info. I WISH it was JUST a sticker! I got a couple of the Dash chromes, w/ flames of various colors.I Prefer the snap-on AFX compatibles to the tjet versions, don't have any that are solid chrome AND AFX compatible. Guess i could try to strip the flames off one (that has flames...that might be a shame,) and then "paint with transparent paint." -What brand (out of a can) could be used as a "transparent" paint?
So far my progress has been only to confirm that the local Riebes/NAPA store KNOWS what Martin Senour #6383 is, they just don't carry it. AARGH. There are a couple NAPA stores in other towns i will call. I got a couple BASIC questions for any one who may have a suggestion. What is meant by "quality tape" ? The blue painters tape? Or, spend 3 or 4 bucks on a roll of 3M regular masking as opposed to 50cents on a cheap brand? Also, if i can eventually get these white suckers off my rig, and am at the polishing stage, what do you use? Novus? Something else? and last, (for now,anyhow!) what would i clear-coat it with? i appreciate anyones input ... Harmie ( / Chris )


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

Harmie said:


> *snip* and last, (for now,anyhow!) what would i clear-coat it with? i appreciate anyones input ... Harmie ( / Chris )


Lots of us use Future Floor Coating found in the grocery store for clear coating....lots of information in other threads about Future.

I was a AFX snap on guy till...Hobby Talk got my interest into screw on T-Jet bodies. Now I am hooked, lined and sinkered. Still like the AFX snap on but, now have more flexibility. Heck I even like Tycos now but, just a little...Har Tyco Pros are fun to drive on my small track with some nice rear tire slide out.:woohoo:

Feel free to join us in Chat Wed or Friday nights also! We don't always talk about slot cars but, some times we do...LOL

Bob...zilla


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Sorry Harmie, Got a litle vague on ya. Any low tack tape is fine. I use blue er green , whatever is around. The idea is not to pull anything off when unmasking. Do no harm is the motto. I never lowball my materials because I often have other peoples cars in house and therefore responsible for their well being. Overly cautious to a fault perhaps.

Dont sweat the surface cleaner, try the airbrush thinner. Just be prudent and sneak up on it. 

Most of the guys have great success with Novus. Dont use it myself, because I use 1:1 automotive compounds that I have in stock. For my restorations I often need a little more "cut" than you will require for your 55 project. Most all my builds are wet sanded to dig out heavy playwear; like nicks, doinks, and deep scratches that novus wont touch. Based on intel from the board I have no doubt you will be fine with Novus for your project!
It's just a little fine for my uses.

Future is the accepted, and easy way to go. It's fool proof, extremely durable, and cost effective...a jug goes a long ways. I dont use it myself much because I prefer the hand rubbed super high gloss look or the "fall into the pond" clearcoats. Merely a personal prefference. However the cars that I do have in future are bullet proof! Then can take a nasty tumble and come up roses. It's acrylic and is meant to be walked on and resist scuffing...thousands of slotters and housewives world wide cant be wrong.:thumbsup:

True clear coats are NOT guaranteed. They should always be tested for compatibility with the base coat before you aim them at your car. They can lift/wrinkle base coats and fubar your decal work. My rule of thumb is never use enamel and lacquer together...and never use fast drying clear coat over slow drying base. Always try to use base and clear with matched or similar properties!

Argueably, this is not to say that some combinations wont work. I tend not to invite the devil to dinner when considering the amount of time and effort that goes into a build.:freak:

Pics are worth a thousand words. Be sure to post up as you proceed so we can all follow along.:wave:


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