I made this wooden toy car from a piece of wood I save from somewhere in the distant past. I'm not sure what kind of wood it is, but I think it is spruce. It looks like spruce and smells like spruce.
I finished the body with several coats amber shellac sanding with fine sandpaper between each coat until I get a finish I am happy with. The first few coats are simply to get rid of the fuzzies, wood fibers that are sticking up form the first sanding. After the first coat, the body of the toy will fill like sandpaper because the shellac makes them stiff.
After the first coat or two has been sanded, the toy will feel smooth to the touch. You can feel things with your fingers that your eyes can't see.
After the finish is smooth, the rest of the coats are applied to smooth out the shellac and get the color you want. Sanding between coats is not required unless you are going for a glass smooth finish or need to remove some imperfection.
I coat the inside of the windows with a brush. It is almost impossible to get a good coat of shellac inside toy car window openings any other way.
I usually do not spend a lot of time with the inside of the window opening. You can't see in there very well, and the chance that the corners of the window openings will be damaged is high.
The rest of the body I sprayed with an airbrush. The shellac I use can be sprayed directly from the can in my airbrush.
I don't always use the airbrush. I don't have a spray booth, so any spraying has to be done outdoors. Shellac, paint or any finish requires proper weather conditions to spray. I learned the hard way the alcohol solvent in shellac will pull water right out of the air when the humidity is high. The car looks like it is covered with dew.
The wheels are finished amber shellac. I like to spin the wheels slowly with a drill while applying shellac with a brush until the wheels are thoroughly saturated with shellac. Because the wheels are cut across the grain, they soak up a lot of shellac.
The ends of the axle pegs are hand painted with a brush and acrylic paint. I have special jigs made to hold these tiny parts while the paint cures. I like to paint the hubs on these cars. The bright colors are attractive to kids and adults all seem to like them too.
After the paint is cured on the toy cars axel hubs, I apply a coat of clear shellac. The shellac provides an extra bit of protection to the hubs, and in many cases, it will make the colors pop.
During assembly, I apply a bit of wax to the inside of the wheels to provide some lubrication and keep any excess glue from sticking to the wheel.
You can't see them in any of the photos, but there is a nylon washer installed between the wheel and the car body. This serves several purposes. The washer helps to prevent any escaping glue from sticking to the wheel, and it acts as a bearing or spacer between the car body. With the nylon washers, the toy car will roll faster, further, and smoother than a toy car that doesn't have the washers. It does this by keeping the wheels from rubbing on the sides of the body, and nylon washers are very slippery. Because the wheels are not rubbing on the body, the finish is also protected.
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