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This article aims to give directions on how to create your own custom car. The steps given are using a KMart Rubber Tyre racing car as the car being customised so other cars may vary slightly, but the steps should basically be the same.
1. Drill out the rivets holding the car together. Use a drill bit (a metal drill bit) the same size as the rivel. Be careful as to only drill out the rivel and not the plastic. The first time I did this I "followed through" and had a hole in the back window of the car!
2. Separate the car into the individual pieces. Keep all parts safe and take note as to how the car came apart as you'll need to put it back together the same way later.
3. Apply paint stripper to ONLY THE METAL CAR BODY - if paint stripper is applied to plastic parts it will melt them! Be careful when using paint stripper as it's harmful to the skin so when using it wear rubber gloves and place the car on something like a metal baking tray when applying the paint stripper and leaving it to work. The brand of paint stripper I used is "Strypit" which works well.
4. Leave the paint stripper to "work its magic" for about 30 minutes and then scrape it off using a stripping knife (or other suitable tool) - remember the rubber gloves then rinse off the car and leave to dry. You may need to do this step twice to remove all paint from the car.
Paint the Car Body
5. Apply a metal primer to the car body (including the plastic mouth piece if customising a lenticular car), preferrably using a spray paint. Apply thin even coats to avoid running paint. Start with the inside of the car first followed by the outside ensuring that the car is dry before turning it over. Apply two to three coats of primer as necessary. Remember not to rush this as the main coat of paint will not look good if metal doesn't have a good base.
6. Apply the colour of choice to the car body (including the plastic mouth piece if customising a lenticular car), preferrably using a spray paint. Apply thin even coats to avoid running paint. Start with the inside of the car first followed by the outside ensuring that the car is dry before turning it over. Apply three coats of paint to the car. Take your time with this to avoid having to start again.
6a. An optional step is to paint the eyes on the car - best to use a brush or use a decal (see step 9 on how to apply decals).
Paint the Wheels
7. If the car wheels aren't the desired colour then you'll need to paint them. Firstly remove the rubber tyres from the rims to make sure they stay clean then mask off any areas you don't want to be painted. Either using spray paint or paint with an artists brush (you can spray some spray paint onto a piece of cardboard and use that). Apply a coat of primer then the colour of choice. Again apply thin coats and do multiple of them - multiple thin coats will always look better than one thick coat! Leave plenty of time between coats for the paint to dry. Don't forget to put the tyres back on if you removed them!
Paint the Bars of the Rear Window of the Car (if Required)
8. The the bars on the rear window of the car require painting, mask off the rest of the window and apply the paint directly onto the bars. Prime first then apply the sesired colour using either spray paint or a brush. Leave plenty of time between coats for the paint to dry.
Decals
9. Create the decals you require for the car on a PC using an appropriate graphics tool (Adobe Photoshop is often the tool of choice).
10. Correctly size the decals for printing. Trial it out on normal printer paper first as decal paper is expensive.
11. Print the decal out on decal paper. There are two types of decal paper - white and clear. If there's white in the decals and you're printer doesn't print white ink then you'll need to go for white decal paper. A good tip is to apply the colour of the car as a background for the decals so you don't have to be as accurate with your cutting - this tip doesn't apply if using clear decal paper. Another option is to use sticker paper - this doesn't look as good, but may meet your need if it's your child that'd going to bash the cars around!
12. Apply clear coat to the printed decals prior to cutting. Apply 3 clear, even coats allowing time to dry between.
13. Cut out the decals and put to one side
Putting it all Together
14. Apply the cut out decals to the car body (please refer to the instructions provided with your decal paper as to how to do this)
15. Apply clear coat to the car once all decals are in place. Apply the clear coat in thin even coats. Do as many coasts as you require but I'd recommend a minimum of three.
16. Reassemble the car (hopefully you can remember how it came apart)
17. Secure the car together (by replacign the rivets that were drilled out during step 1. This can be done by either re-riveting, using small screws (take note of the size of the screw head - you'll want the car to roll once you've finished it), or using hot glue (which is my recommended option)
18. et voila!
Photos will obviously be added as I progress through creating my own
1. Drill out the rivets holding the car together. Use a drill bit (a metal drill bit) the same size as the rivel. Be careful as to only drill out the rivel and not the plastic. The first time I did this I "followed through" and had a hole in the back window of the car!
2. Separate the car into the individual pieces. Keep all parts safe and take note as to how the car came apart as you'll need to put it back together the same way later.
3. Apply paint stripper to ONLY THE METAL CAR BODY - if paint stripper is applied to plastic parts it will melt them! Be careful when using paint stripper as it's harmful to the skin so when using it wear rubber gloves and place the car on something like a metal baking tray when applying the paint stripper and leaving it to work. The brand of paint stripper I used is "Strypit" which works well.
4. Leave the paint stripper to "work its magic" for about 30 minutes and then scrape it off using a stripping knife (or other suitable tool) - remember the rubber gloves then rinse off the car and leave to dry. You may need to do this step twice to remove all paint from the car.
Paint the Car Body
5. Apply a metal primer to the car body (including the plastic mouth piece if customising a lenticular car), preferrably using a spray paint. Apply thin even coats to avoid running paint. Start with the inside of the car first followed by the outside ensuring that the car is dry before turning it over. Apply two to three coats of primer as necessary. Remember not to rush this as the main coat of paint will not look good if metal doesn't have a good base.
6. Apply the colour of choice to the car body (including the plastic mouth piece if customising a lenticular car), preferrably using a spray paint. Apply thin even coats to avoid running paint. Start with the inside of the car first followed by the outside ensuring that the car is dry before turning it over. Apply three coats of paint to the car. Take your time with this to avoid having to start again.
6a. An optional step is to paint the eyes on the car - best to use a brush or use a decal (see step 9 on how to apply decals).
Paint the Wheels
7. If the car wheels aren't the desired colour then you'll need to paint them. Firstly remove the rubber tyres from the rims to make sure they stay clean then mask off any areas you don't want to be painted. Either using spray paint or paint with an artists brush (you can spray some spray paint onto a piece of cardboard and use that). Apply a coat of primer then the colour of choice. Again apply thin coats and do multiple of them - multiple thin coats will always look better than one thick coat! Leave plenty of time between coats for the paint to dry. Don't forget to put the tyres back on if you removed them!
Paint the Bars of the Rear Window of the Car (if Required)
8. The the bars on the rear window of the car require painting, mask off the rest of the window and apply the paint directly onto the bars. Prime first then apply the sesired colour using either spray paint or a brush. Leave plenty of time between coats for the paint to dry.
Decals
9. Create the decals you require for the car on a PC using an appropriate graphics tool (Adobe Photoshop is often the tool of choice).
10. Correctly size the decals for printing. Trial it out on normal printer paper first as decal paper is expensive.
11. Print the decal out on decal paper. There are two types of decal paper - white and clear. If there's white in the decals and you're printer doesn't print white ink then you'll need to go for white decal paper. A good tip is to apply the colour of the car as a background for the decals so you don't have to be as accurate with your cutting - this tip doesn't apply if using clear decal paper. Another option is to use sticker paper - this doesn't look as good, but may meet your need if it's your child that'd going to bash the cars around!
12. Apply clear coat to the printed decals prior to cutting. Apply 3 clear, even coats allowing time to dry between.
13. Cut out the decals and put to one side
Putting it all Together
14. Apply the cut out decals to the car body (please refer to the instructions provided with your decal paper as to how to do this)
15. Apply clear coat to the car once all decals are in place. Apply the clear coat in thin even coats. Do as many coasts as you require but I'd recommend a minimum of three.
16. Reassemble the car (hopefully you can remember how it came apart)
17. Secure the car together (by replacign the rivets that were drilled out during step 1. This can be done by either re-riveting, using small screws (take note of the size of the screw head - you'll want the car to roll once you've finished it), or using hot glue (which is my recommended option)
18. et voila!
Photos will obviously be added as I progress through creating my own
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