Hey all,
Thought I'd post up one of the projects I'm working on at the moment; moulding a replica Nissan Skyline R34 GTR rear wing. I have just completed the moulds for the wing stands, and a couple of reasons I wanted to post this one up was firstly because it was actually a more complex shape than it first appears, with several sneaky undercuts. And secondly, I wanted to show the way I prep my plugs.
I do not like using 2k paints, I refuse to use them myself. Instead, I spray my plugs with ordinary single pack high build primer, which I then flat down with 400 grit and go through the grades to 2000 grit before polishing up, as per normal. The high build doesn't polish up to a nice gloss very well, but I do it for the sake of surface porosity. I then spray the plugs with PVA (no wax), spraying it as I would a paint, although the PVA is actually more forgiving. This gives me a very nice, smooth, glossy surface. I know a lot of people recommend using 2k paints, and a lot of people don't like PVA. And while I see the benefits of 2k paints etc. for me, the single pack high build is a hell of a lot cheaper, a hell of a lot easier to use, and a hell of a lot safer. Then the PVA gives me very close to a perfect surface finish, and only requires a quick flat back and polish up which I do on all my moulds anyway.