24 replies to this topic

[Alex]

Hello DX,

I'm sure some of you have seen my post a while back concerning the 1:18  AUTOart Lamborghini Diablo GTR I scored for $10, but was missing a mirror. I obtained the mirror by buying another damaged GTR, taking off the part I needed and reselling it at a lower price. However, the new mirror is yellow and I have never painted a model before. I figured it wouldn't be wise to learn on my GTR :)

A fellow member who will remain unnamed unless he chooses the contrary currently has the mirror and contacted Steffi at AUTOart Germany (HOORAY STEFFI!!!) to see if she could provide the paint or at least some method of matching it. Luck wasn't on our side this time, so the idea of The Home Depot came to mind. I went there this evening and started playing with the swatches. Then I figured it would be wise to ask for help since I'm partially colorblind The required swatches were found and I was pretty happy, but not content. The guy at the counter was pretty impressed with the quality of the model and stated he had a few Maistos at home. He also stated he would do whatever he could to make my baby whole again and that they had a scanner that matches the color perfectly. I knew about this, but thought it was only for interior paint.

Anyway, enough ranting from me. I thought this was pretty neat, so here are the pics

Playing with the swatches:




Scanning the model to match the paint:


Pack it up! We're going home:


The paint looks fantastic


So, the paint obtained from The Home Depot cost me about $3.50 and will be sent out to the aforementioned DXer tomorrow to finish the job. I don't know if this is the answer, but I'm hoping it works. I'll keep you guys updated, post pictures of the end result and give thanks for restoring this fantastic model back to its original glory.

Edited by Alex (SoFL), 04 October 2012 - 06:30 PM.

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[Sven]

Haha nice, I like the pics. Do you think Home Depot does a lot of Die Cast paint matching?

[ayaxr]

I love the look of the lady .......... "Grown man playing with toys................"  

Kudos on your endevour.

[tonyg54]

What a great idea. This could come in handy for those making custom displays, dioramas or cabinets. Getting paint to match the wood to the model could be insanely cool.

Is this going to be shot through an airbrush? Have you called a Lambo dealer to see if they could order a small bottle of touch up paint?

Thanks for posting Alex!

[mairandeddy]

That's a great result Alex, you were very lucky to get a donor car!

And the paint match is spot on....the only thing is that it appears to say 'flat' on the top of the pot....in UK, 'flat' is used for 'matt'....are you sure it's gloss finish??

[Alex]

Sven, on 04 October 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Haha nice, I like the pics. Do you think Home Depot does a lot of Die Cast paint matching?

I was surprised to hear he had seen this before, but not on many occasions.

ayaxr, on 04 October 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

I love the look of the lady .......... "Grown man playing with toys................"  

Kudos on your endevour.

Thanks man. I'm hoping this works. The paint looks awesome and if it works I'm sure it will make a lot of people's lives here on DX easier.

tonyg54, on 04 October 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

What a great idea. This could come in handy for those making custom displays, dioramas or cabinets. Getting paint to match the wood to the model could be insanely cool.

Is this going to be shot through an airbrush? Have you called a Lambo dealer to see if they could order a small bottle of touch up paint?

Thanks for posting Alex!

Your idea concerning the cabinets is cool indeed. I'm pretty sure this will be shot through and airbrush and I did indeed visit the Lamborghini dealership just down the street from the AUTOart store in Hong Kong, but they said they didn't have anything in stock.

mairandeddy, on 04 October 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

That's a great result Alex, you were very lucky to get a donor car!

And the paint match is spot on....the only thing is that it appears to say 'flat' on the top of the pot....in UK, 'flat' is used for 'matt'....are you sure it's gloss finish??

Thanks! Yes, I was VERY lucky to get the donor car, but since I bought this model I feel like the planets aligned in order for it to be returned to its original condition

mairandeddy, on 04 October 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

That's a great result Alex, you were very lucky to get a donor car!

And the paint match is spot on....the only thing is that it appears to say 'flat' on the top of the pot....in UK, 'flat' is used for 'matt'....are you sure it's gloss finish??

It is in fact gloss. You scared me for a minute, but the guy at the store took his time to make sure everything is spot on :)

[schuifelhoofd]

Neat!! Great color match, and for that price. I bet Lamborghini would ask more for a small can, than you paid for the car.

tonyg54, on 04 October 2012 - 07:10 PM, said:

What a great idea. This could come in handy for those making custom displays, dioramas or cabinets. Getting paint to match the wood to the model could be insanely cool.

Cool thought; if you were to have a "garage" for just 1 model, colorcoded cabinets or stripe alongst the wall would be really cool.

[lambodiecast]

Sounds like a great idea ... just one remark : isn't that Arancio shade on the Diablo GT a metallic flake ?

Anyway, think about color coding interiors with this option ... you specifically do NOT want to have metallic flake, and it has to be matte or satin matte anyway ... you've made me think about a few very nice options ... and you can apply it with a pencil too ... cheap, color coded paint ... love your idea here.

[johneli1]

lambodiecast, on 05 October 2012 - 01:48 AM, said:

Sounds like a great idea ... just one remark : isn't that Arancio shade on the Diablo GT a metallic flake ?

I have the GTR in Yellow and Orange and the Orange is definitely not metallic!

[Craig]

Great fix, the Orange GTR is a complete stunnner, looking forward to seeing it retuned to it's former glory

[wrx_triggerhappy]

Awesome Alex - that's great news!!! Will have the spray can ready.

Regarding matte paint - you can add the gloss overlay once the base layer dries with some special sauce model finish spray which i'll add if its not glossy enough.

[mobius]

Wonder how this paint would work on diecast? Wouldn't a car paint shop be able to offer similar color-matching service?

[Autobahn]

Alex, going to Home Depot was a brilliant idea!  I hope all goes as planned for your Diablo!

[Alex]

Not for $3.50 ;-)

[Alex]

wrx_triggerhappy, on 05 October 2012 - 10:55 AM, said:

Awesome Alex - that's great news!!! Will have the spray can ready.

Regarding matte paint - you can add the gloss overlay once the base layer dries with some special sauce model finish spray which i'll add if its not glossy enough.

Thanks so much for your help Sam! The paint was shipped mid afternoon today. (Fingers crossed)

[acisne]

Brilliant idea but I hate to be Debby-Downner. Latex (or water based) paints does not adhere to oil based paints that is on most diecasts. Also that paint is too thick to go through a hobby spray gun and has to be thinned with a proper agent.

[Alex]

Couldn't we just strip the original paint since its the wrong color anyway? Also, wouldn't it need to be thinned so as to be sprayable and not cover the part with too thick of a coat?

Edited by Alex (SoFL), 05 October 2012 - 04:27 PM.

[Petey]

It should be fine, with the right prep and application methods you can get s decent finish with any paint on any surface, I saw somewhere a few years ago a guy painted a 1:1 corvair with household enamel and it came out like factory, so I'm sure a tiny plastic mirror on a 1:18 will be perfectly achievable

Good on you for sticking at it though, in all honesty I'd have just painted both mirrors gloss black as it'd have matched the wheels, but nice to keep it original

[acisne]

Petey, on 05 October 2012 - 07:56 PM, said:

It should be fine, with the right prep and application methods you can get s decent finish with any paint on any surface, I saw somewhere a few years ago a guy painted a 1:1 corvair with household enamel and it came out like factory, so I'm sure a tiny plastic mirror on a 1:18 will be perfectly achievable

Good on you for sticking at it though, in all honesty I'd have just painted both mirrors gloss black as it'd have matched the wheels, but nice to keep it original

I hate to tell you, but you are wrong. A water-based latex paint like the Behr will not be able to "penetrate" and get a hold into an oil base paint like enamel. It may coat it, but will not be bonded to the part below.

Alex (SoFL), on 05 October 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

Couldn't we just strip the original paint since its the wrong color anyway? Also, wouldn't it need to be thinned so as to be sprayable and not cover the part with too thick of a coat?

It could work, but it depends what you strip down to. Is the part plastic or metal? It will been to be thinned 50/50. I have used that HD paint on 1/18 plastic military models and it has come out great. But since the plastic is porous it stuck.

[seppuku]

ayaxr, on 04 October 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

I love the look of the lady .......... "Grown man playing with toys................"  

Ha! But little does she know how much it's worth.

[guywithazonda]

seppuku, on 06 October 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

ayaxr, on 04 October 2012 - 06:50 PM, said:

I love the look of the lady .......... "Grown man playing with toys................"  

Ha! But little does she know how much it's worth.

I'd love to see her expression if she was told!

[Alex]

Ok, so after a few months my baby is whole again. Huge thanks to Sam (wrx_triggerhappy)   As you can tell from the rest of this thread it was a little bit of an adventure to try and match the paint, but the color is spot on and I'm really happy with the result. Here are a few pics for you guys.

[Rinceman]

Perfect match. Nice work guys. Love these things.

[Skotch]

Excellent job!!!

[Alex SZ1996]

i would not be able to tell it is a repaint. good job

Edited by Alex SZ1996, 27 March 2013 - 02:59 PM.