I went overboard on chipping. Can I fix it?

[AlbertD]

I have my Tamiya Birdcage Corsair gathering dust on the shelf. I used chipping fluid but it's way overdone and I don't like the way it looks. I did a layer of aluminum and chipping fluid then a layer of zinc chromate primer with chipping fluid then color coat.

 

I was thinking of just doing a bit of light sanding and re-paint the areas. Is this my best approach? 

[JeepsGunsTanks]

Can you really go overboard on a Birdcage? They got really beat up in the Solomons! 

Edited September 27, 2022 by JeepsGunsTanks

[nmayhew]

it would be easier to understand with some pictures

 

these things did get very beat up so providing it looks right, and is in the right areas, you'd be surprised with what will pass

[Confusionreigns178]

I've read that a lot of Pacific landing-strips were made out of crushed coral. When an aircraft's propeller got it flying around, it acted like very coarse sandpaper and reduced exposed areas of the planes to a nearly-naked state. 

 

Is the chipping as "bad/overdone" as you're thinking?

 

I also read that the Japanese fighters had paint dropping off in big clumps, mainly due to the very poor-quality paint used and the "sand-blast" effect of flying coral pieces.

 

Cheers. 

 

Chris. 

 

   

[Martinnfb]

[AlbertD]

Here are a couple of pictures. Now that I look at it after all these months it may not be too bad.

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by AlbertD

[Martinnfb]

[AlbertD]

1 minute ago, Martinnfb said:

That's a great photo. I have not seen it before in my research. It definitely has some wear to it,

[MikeMaben]

Hi Al, I'd sand/feather the areas lightly with fine sand paper and repaint.

[nmayhew]

13 hours ago, AlbertD said:

Here are a couple of pictures. Now that I look at it after all these months it may not be too bad.

 

 

ok i see what you mean

 

it's not that these Corsairs weren't chipped to hell, but that just looks quite 'clumsy'

 

the amount of chipped area is too great, but for me the killer is that it's basically one or two giant chips that just look like a map Westeros over the wing

 

the trick is to aim for lots and lots of mini chips, albeit some are just quite close together

 

if that was me i would indeed do over - the wing bend line is a natural starting point for a complete repaint, and that way you keep the rest of the model intact

 

i would also use hairspray rather than chipping fluid, but that's just me

 

best of luck!

[AlbertD]

16 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Hi Al, I'd sand/feather the areas lightly with fine sand paper and repaint.

That sounds like a good way to go. Aside from the chipping I'm pretty happy with the model. 

[AlbertD]

6 hours ago, nmayhew said:

 

ok i see what you mean

 

it's not that these Corsairs weren't chipped to hell, but that just looks quite 'clumsy'

 

the amount of chipped area is too great, but for me the killer is that it's basically one or two giant chips that just look like a map Westeros over the wing

 

the trick is to aim for lots and lots of mini chips, albeit some are just quite close together

 

if that was me i would indeed do over - the wing bend line is a natural starting point for a complete repaint, and that way you keep the rest of the model intact

 

i would also use hairspray rather than chipping fluid, but that's just me

 

best of luck!

When I re-do it I'll try hairspray. 

[LSP_K2]

Many Corsairs got thoroughly trashed in their appearance.

[Woody V]

In my humble opinion, most wartime photos show a lot more filth and grunge than chipping.
It's easy to overdo chipping but not grunge.

Grunge, not chipping, is the challenge.

[KUROK]

Actually your chipping looks fine if the rest of the aircraft gets weathered too.

The other areas look too clean that's why it stands out so much.