Hi -
I am a new member in the forum and live in the United States. I have learned much from my brief time on the boards and look forward to learning more.
I am prepping a fiberglass hull that I intend to complete as a static model. I have gone through a number of forums, including Stavros’ painting guide; however, a number of products mentioned there (and in other posts) are unavailable or prohibitively expensive to acquire in the US. Has anyone found good equivalents or substitutions for the following on this side of the pond?
Halford’s Aerosol Paints- I have read that some have used the big Rustoleum rattle cans with success, though, I am wary of losing detail, especially when it comes to fittings. Two other major brands available in the US are Duplicolor and Krylon, the latter of which seems to have a good match for HP’s Polar Gray - they call it “Glacier Gray” - however, it isn’t an auto paint. Unfortunately, the range of colors for clearly labeled retail automotive acrylic enamels seems to be wanting. (Krylon Link:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Krylon-FUSION-ALL-IN-ONE-Matte-Glacier-Gray-Spray-Paint-and-Primer-In-One-Actual-Net-Contents-12-oz/1000460205When using aerosols in the past, I typically have used Tamiya fine gray primer and then the appropriate spray color; however, matching the spray colors with those in the bottles is an utter headache (just use the same names!). The sheer size of the hull means I would likely have to go through multiple of these little and expensive cans. Great for 1/350 & 1700...1/96, not so much.
I’d great appreciate insight on the following:
Auto Body Fillers - Isopon P38 / P40, Easylite, or Top Stop...the latter two sound like particularly great products. Though there are a few options over here, Bondo is the only auto body filler that I know of; however, I’m not sure of its finish, strength, or ability to be sanded, let alone which of the half-dozen Bondo filler options that I should use. I’d welcome insight on Bondo or other US products.
Primer Filler- Rustoleum and Krylon have primer fillers but I would welcome advice from any who have found better offerings here in the US.
Panel Wipe - I found a PW panel wipe made by Gtechniq on Amazon.
Is this sufficient?