Aside: 69 AMT Olds 4-4-2: the 20 Minute Paint Job--including Polish!

From last time--it looks like the 69 Chevelle Convertible is going to take a long time to build!  So I was thinking, how can I make a part of this go faster?  How about the paint?  How fast can I do that?

I purchased this AMT Olds 4-4-2 to steal chassis and engine compartment bits for the Chevelle (more about that next time?).  That means I have a leftover body. I got to thinking: can I paint this leftover in 15-20 minutes time (including prep, paint, and polish), and not have it look completely horror show? Why???  Why not?

Let's get started! I took about 5 minutes prepping the body, which mostly involved sanding off some mold lines with 600 grit wet and dry, then going over it very quickly with 2000 grit.  

Next, time to prime: OmniPak MasterBlend is the primer to use.  It dries in about a minute and I have never seen it barf with any color coats I choose. There are lots of primers for plastic model building out there, but I think this one is the best.

After misting on a coat, waited a minute and misted on another.  

Next, on to color coat: Duplicolor Perfect Match is easy to use, can be found in any old car parts store, and for rattle can paint, goes on nice and smooth, I think.  So right after the primer was dry to the touch (maybe 2 minutes?) I put on 3 light color coats, waiting a minute between each coat.  Normally I'd let the color coat dry and sand, but this is speed-painting, and we are already about 10 minutes in!  So forget the sanding. I went crazy with Una Capa Laca clear.  2 very heavy coats, dumping it on until the paint looked like it was going to run.  I waited about one minute between coats.  Yes the color coat was still wet when I capa laca'd.  Sorry!

I let it dry for about 4 hours. I won't count that time I guess, I ran some errands and took a nap, so that doesn't count right?  After the body was pretty dry, I quickly (!!) sanded with 2000 grit wet and dry (wet), then followed with Megular's 7, Tamiya Polish "Finish", and Novus 2 and 1.  These are all polishes I have used before, just never this fast.  I mean I barely applied each, got the paint and cloth to go squeak-squeak and moved on.

So how did it come out?  Really, OK I think!  You can see here, there is a bit of wavy gravy in the trunk but overall, for 20 minutes total work it is not horror show.

I think with 15 more minutes polishing (no reason I have to say I am done, but I could just say I am) and some foil, decals, and other finishing steps, this isn't going to look too bad.

The "shine" isn't all that bad either.  It's a bit cloudy and not as deep as I'd like. I figure I should have at least waited for the color coat to dry!  But again, this is 20 minutes total work.  Yes, 2 part Polyurethane is going to look better, but I can't even get that paint mixed and ready to shoot in 20 minutes.  Rattle cans rule!