1928 Model A Ford

[Bernie]

Although I sometimes restore worn-out diecast, I don't like to "resto-mod", as they call it in the 1:1 auto restoration business. If the door handles were not painted on the original model, then I don't add a touch of silver paint to break up the panel. But this is an exception. A friend of mine found this and some other old cars when cleaning out the home of a recently deceased uncle and gave them to me sine he knew I collected. It's an American Tootsietoy circa 1928. I collect other series of Tootsietoy but never the Model A Ford because they are a bit too basic for my taste.

Somewhere along the way, this car acquired a repaint with the standard enamels used for 1:24 plastic models. It wasn't the worst job, but I could see that the original color was also red and I hoped to strip off the recent paint and return to the original, no matter how bad it may be. From the factory, the car was all red with gloss black wheels. It also should have a matte black grille which some child probably ate.

[Bernie]

The paint on these old cars is pretty hardy (probably lead-based) and I previously had success in using auto brake fluid to strip off model paint and leave the original. I went to work with a cotton swab but didn't make much discernable progress. Possibly because the underlying paint was the same color and it was hard to see what results I was getting. I decided to go for broke and just let the car soak in a cup of brake fluid, expecting it wouldn't harm the original paint. I was wrong. I obviously let soak too long, but I'm not certain how long would have been just enough. In retrospect, I should have gone to another method like nail polish remover, then to acetone. The wheels are black oxide and resist most solvents.

Having lost the original paint job, I decided to improvise and improve. One of the great things about these very old models is that they are one solid chunk of Zamak (though hollow). Parts are far less likely to warp, bend or break.

[Bernie]

OK, I've skipped forward a few steps. Most cars of the Twenties and Thirties had solemn paint jobs. Grays, browns, dark blues and greens. It was only the customs, the Duesenbergs and Cadillacs that were brighter than the bottom of an ashtray. There were no bright red Fords in 1929, the earliest I could find paint chips for. There was a deep maroon, but yellow was the standout color. If I were to modify this model, I wanted to least mimic the color palette. I settled on a fairly cheery Duchess Blue. When the project is complete, I'll put up a photo of my prototype along side the finished product. Normally I color match OEM paint but this was a throwaway project so I went to the big box home improvement store and eyeballed the colors. The car looks a bit green in the enclosed pic, it didn't photograph quite right. The actual color is more blue but hardly an exact match for the actual Ford shade. It's "close enough for government work" as we like to say.

I hate these close-up photos because they highlight every fault. The model is only 2.5 inches (64mm) long so things look a little better in hand, especially to these ancient eyes. After painting the roof I realized that I should have masked it to get straighter lines. It's only a toy, but I still want quality. I'm at the point of no-return now. By my estimate, painting the chassis is the hardest part. Every variance in the painted line will detract from the finished product. Perfect is the quest, but I don't think it's attainable with the minimal amount of time I'll be devoting to the task. If the chassis paint turns out badly, this goes in the trash. if it works, this goes in a corner of the collection, probably rarely seen again. It's less a project of significance and more an exercise in what I can do when necessary.

[Bernie]

The careful masking job caused more problems than solved them. The paint wicked up the gaps and across the body so I ended up freehanding the job. Always put down a protective coat between each step in case you have to erase big mistakes. I'm not happy with the outcome but the major steps have been done and now I can touch up and polish to get a more satisfactory result. It's not bad for an evening project but now I have to step back before I tackle the cleanup. I think I rushed it too much tonight.