bare metal foil,

No  it will stick just fine and if the BMF didn't lose its adhesive power (old stuff) try it on a scrap piece of plastic 1st 

No special prep steps needed. Just stick it on, burnish it out to catch hold and trim.

Ugh! Not THIS again! I HATE BARE METAL FOIL - IT SUCKS!!!! Look, use ALCLAD II, or SPAZTIX. These are FORMULATED for a true chrome look without a lot of work. Just look it up on youtube for tips on how to use this, and the results happen right before your eyes. It can be repainted over, masked without coming off, and it comes in MANY colours so that you can replicate different metal surfaces easily. Try it - you'll never go back to aluminum foil again!

~ Cobra Chris

Each to his own Cobra, each to his own. I have worked with BMF on auto kits but I only use them for trim work, nothing else. To be honest, it's a whole lot easier to use than painting trim work.

BMF is far cheaper than Alclad and there's no worry of dealing with the toxic fumes of Alclad lacquer. I wish you would quit posting negative things about various products. You've been doing that quite a bit as of late and it's getting old.

I would definitely clear coat an acrylic paint job first And make sure it's fully cured.

otherwise you run the risk of peeling the paint up or at minimum having the paint chip off in places when you trim and remove the bmf.  Speaking from experience lol 

Also make sure you have a really sharp Xacto blade too. I recommend getting Z series blades. They are extremely sharper than the regular Xacto blades. I know from experience the first time I used them. Not a good idea to underestimate how sharp they really are. LOL!