Custom Paint GE 44 Ton

I like it Dave.

8 Hours paint must have dried quick.

You are a very skilled modeller wish you lived in West Australia!

Roo

NICE paint work!   looks like a lot of tedious tape work there

WOW....nice!

Wow, excellent job, Dave...it sure didn't take you long to customize one of these!

Dave,

Fantastic job!    Sure wish I could have been looking over your shoulder to learn how you can do that.

Thanks,

Ed

Wow, great job Dave. What tape do you use and how did you make the decals?

I will probably have do this to one as its unlikely MTH will ever letter one for Kodak.

Pete

Dave, that is one eye catching paint scheme. That will make a great addition to your layout...........Paul

That came out awesome Dave.

Thanks for the nice comments!

I have been using Tru-Color paint.  I think it is automotive paint (sure smells like it).  I dries very fast.  Most paints of this type can be taped in 20 minutes.  I remove the tape immediately after spraying.  

For tape I used 3M fine line tape.  I used the blue nylon for the safety stripes.  The blue does not work well for a detailed surface so I used another 3M tape for that (even finer).  It is tan in color.

The decals were homemade printed on a laser printer.  I drew the logo in CorelDraw.  I usually use Highball graphics but thought I would give the DIY stuff a try.  I have to say I was quite impressed with the results.  I did spray them with Testors decal set before application.  This dries incredibly fast too!

Dave

Dave there are already so many wows that I'm at a loss for an exclamation.  All that in only 8 hours is unbelievable.  I think I have that many hours in a single color paint job of a K-line S2 and the results pale in comparison to your results with such complicated paint scheme.

David Minarik posted:

 

The decals were homemade printed on a laser printer.  I drew the logo in CorelDraw.  I usually use Highball graphics but thought I would give the DIY stuff a try.  I have to say I was quite impressed with the results.  I did spray them with Testors decal set before application.  This dries incredibly fast too!

 

 

 

I have extensive experience with laser printed decals. You should be able to apply them without any coating.   All my custom decals I show here are laser, applied w/o any clear coat. Different paper and printers may vary but laser decals are very popular in the model car hobby.  You did great.....

That looks great

Excellent!!!

AMCDave posted:

David Minarik posted:

 

The decals were homemade printed on a laser printer.  I drew the logo in CorelDraw.  I usually use Highball graphics but thought I would give the DIY stuff a try.  I have to say I was quite impressed with the results.  I did spray them with Testors decal set before application.  This dries incredibly fast too!

 

 

 

I have extensive experience with laser printed decals. You should be able to apply them without any coating.   All my custom decals I show here are laser, applied w/o any clear coat. Different paper and printers may vary but laser decals are very popular in the model car hobby.  You did great.....

Dave,

Thanks,  I tried them years ago with an inkjet printer with barely acceptable results.  I was very surprised how well these hid.  I will definitely be doing more 'homemade' stuff in the future.  This cuts down on my wait time.  I just wish I could print white.  

Dave

Looks great.  Excellent workmanship.

Have you gotten any white decal paper??? It's limited use but helpful.

Laser ink, good ink, is iron based and thus not translucent like ink jet which is just a dye and not a ink. 

Dave,

I do have some white paper and I have tried it with black outline but never with color.  I think it might be tough to match toner to paint.

Dave

David Minarik posted:

Dave,

I do have some white paper and I have tried it with black outline but never with color.  I think it might be tough to match toner to paint.

Dave

I think you said you have CorelDraw....if so paint a square of scrap plastic as you paint your model. Scan it into Corel and use the sample tool, eyedroper, to match surround color for the decal. Not perfect but very close. 

That is one awesome paint job. 

AMCDave posted:

David Minarik posted:

Dave,

I do have some white paper and I have tried it with black outline but never with color.  I think it might be tough to match toner to paint.

Dave

I think you said you have CorelDraw....if so paint a square of scrap plastic as you paint your model. Scan it into Corel and use the sample tool, eyedroper, to match surround color for the decal. Not perfect but very close. 

Dave,

Thanks for the tip!  I will give it a try.

Dave

I'll add another WOW!

Can I ask you guys a question though?  I see the reference to laser printing decals.  I was considering a much less ambitious project and I wanted to laser print a simple B&W graphic for my idea.

I am aware of the Testors paper for printing decals, but the only type I find is marked as "for use in inkjet printers".  While I don't think it specifically says not to use it in a laser printer, I'm aware of the obvious heat concerns around using a laser vs an inkjet (don't want to risk melting a sheet of decal paper inside my relatively new printer if the paper is not designed to handle the heat! ). 

Years ago (long before I had a color laser printer), I thought I saw a laser version of this paper too, but I'm not having any luck finding it recently.

What are you guys using?  Is it the Testors product, or something else (hopefully available on-line?).

Thanks.

-Dave

This reminds me of a small company I do some work for.....out of the 5 of us 3 are 'Dave'....FUN!!!

I use Bell Decal paper out of FLA. Google it should come right up. Good stuff. 

Outstanding. Amazing speed and quality.

Taking orders, David ?

The New Munoz Lines will now need a blast furnace facility.

Mike Reagan, how about slag cars to go with this fantastic 44 tonner? Oooop's, Mike Wolf, how about .  .  .

Very nice Dave! Tru-color paint rocks. I use it too.

Rob

Great work, Dave. I'm considering a color laser printer. What make/model laser printer are you using?

Awesome!

Great job on this engine. Love it...

David

That looks great Dave, nice job! 

You Da Man !! nicely done jp...wow

Amazing Dave, really beautiful work......I'm having a lot of fun with it......Magner is my wife's maiden name!

Peter

David Minarik posted:

Thanks for the nice comments!

I have been using Tru-Color paint.  I think it is automotive paint (sure smells like it).  I dries very fast.  Most paints of this type can be taped in 20 minutes.  I remove the tape immediately after spraying.  

For tape I used 3M fine line tape.  I used the blue nylon for the safety stripes.  The blue does not work well for a detailed surface so I used another 3M tape for that (even finer).  It is tan in color.

The decals were homemade printed on a laser printer.  I drew the logo in CorelDraw.  I usually use Highball graphics but thought I would give the DIY stuff a try.  I have to say I was quite impressed with the results.  I did spray them with Testors decal set before application.  This dries incredibly fast too!

Dave

 

 

Thanks for the tip on the tan 3M tape. I have the blue version but I wasn't sure it could produce that sharp and edge.

Pete

Pete,  

It is not regular masking tape.  I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow.

Dave

AGHRMatt posted:

Great work, Dave. I'm considering a color laser printer. What make/model laser printer are you using?

Matt,

It is an HP CM 1415  I have always had great luck with laser printers.

Dave

David Minarik posted:

Pete,  

It is not regular masking tape.  I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow.

 

Dave

 

Would it be 3M Fine Line? It seems to fit the description.

Pete

Dave, that shows the world some of your talent.  You are very gifted.  Being a motor guy, I still tell my friends about the great bikes you build.  Shown below are some of the other beautiful creations Dave builds with fantastic paint.  People in your area are lucky they can get work done by you.

Norton posted:

David Minarik posted:

Pete,  

It is not regular masking tape.  I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow.

 

Dave

 

Would it be 3M Fine Line? It seems to fit the description.

Pete

Pete,

That is it.  It does not do well over details.  I just used it for the safety stripes.  There is a thinner, more flexible tape from 3m that I use for that.

Dave

Dave, I think both the blue and tan are called fine line. The tan is 3M 218. Its described and thinner than the blue tape. I am pretty sure I can find it in town at the autobody paint stores and give it a try.

Pete