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Old 12-24-2018, 12:22 PM
Michael Moore Michael Moore is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 145
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Hi Kent, thanks for the holiday greetings. I've got a couple of street bike projects that I want to end up with full streamlining like Alan Smith's Vetterized 250 Ninja, but I want to do that in aluminum and not composite. I don't expect those to be finished any time in the near future since the mechanical parts of the vehicle need a lot of design and build time.

Various things can be used to dull/lighten the surface. I've got a spray can of Magnaflux developer powder to try, spray foot powder and white hair-color spray (as at Hallowe'en) have also been recommended. I bought some cheap white poster paint from a hobby shop but I applied it with a cheap brush which left raised streaks that were picked up in the scan so that probably ought to be sprayed too, or maybe lightly rubbed down with a cloth after it dries. Straining the paint before applying it might help for removing small lumps.

Chalk dust, baby powder, or foot powder could all be applied from a shaking bag as is done with parting powder when making casting molds.

The goal is an thin, even thickness coat with even coverage of the part so you don't have holes in the scan or pick up lumps from the coating.

If a person needed a scan of something the size of a car as a "one-time" deal, I can see how they might make a sensible choice by spending a goodly sum of money with a pro that has high-end equipment, high-end software, and high-end knowledge of how to use those items so they can deliver a high-end product to the customer.

Having hobby projects is fun, but sometimes it pays to give an expert some money and get things done so you can move on to something else.

cheers,
Michael
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