A black jet ...

That it does!

Hey Swanny one (perhaps Dumb) question: why are you using gloss black as a primer? shouldnt you be using something like white or gray?? i think you are planning to paint that bird on a silver scheme right? if so then i would plan to use white primer instead of black, can you explain me please??

thanks in advance....
and let me tell you YOU ARE THE MAN!!
CONGRATS!

my very best regards
Hector.

definitely looking good swanny.

joe

Awesome Swanny, glad to see you got the kinks worked out of that bird. Can't wait to see that NMF!

on the Alclad bottles they suggest that you use gloss black or white car paint as a primer for aluminium.
It stops the alclad from etching the plastic and for some reason the alu finish looks better over black

QUOTE: Originally posted by mandrake Hey Swanny one (perhaps Dumb) question: why are you using gloss black as a primer? shouldnt you be using something like white or gray?? i think you are planning to paint that bird on a silver scheme right? if so then i would plan to use white primer instead of black, can you explain me please?? thanks in advance.... and let me tell you YOU ARE THE MAN!! CONGRATS! my very best regards Hector.

Economics and appearance. The color that you use as a primer will influence the final appearance of your topcoat. This is why in automotive paint you have red primer as well as varying shades of gray. When applying a NMF finish a black primer will give it a deeper 'glow' to the final color. I could have used white but it would result is a more silvery finish and I want an aluminum finish. Also, the Krylon Gloss black that I am using ($2.68 for 11 ounce rattle can) is actually a lacquer-based paint so it will etch the plastic for me and provide a solid base for the Alclad lacquer. Some people like to use acrylics for lacquer primer but there is always a chance that the lacquer will react with it and destroy your finish - I've seen it happen. And finally, with this solid black primer coat which used about 1 ounce from that rattle can which equals a total cost of $0.24 I will need only about a third of a jar of Alclad - that jar cost nearly $7.00 so my final coat cost will equal about $2.33 totaling $2.57 in paint. If I did not use the primer I would probably expend the entire bottle of Alclad to get a solid finish color on this model. Sorry I ran on so long but I hope this answered your question.

Swanny, did you transfer the paint from the can and then airbrush it? It looks way to good to come out of the can! Dumb question, I know, but I just had to ask.

Nice job!

Yes, Benzdoc. I decant the paint first with a drinking straw then use my airbrush to apply it.

Looking good, Swanny. Seems like Dr. Alexander Lippisch had an influence on the designers at De Havilland. I had only seen this aircraft on video - from above, the resemblance to the Me 163 Komet is remarkable ! Is it about the same size? The wingspan looks like it could be wider than the Komet.
Looking forward to the finished bird.

Not sure about the Komet comparison, will have to dig one out of the stash and see how it measures up.

WOW Swanny you are the master! thanks for the explanation, keep up with the good work!

my best regards
Me.

Swanny looking good, now gotta see her in her true form when finished

Thanks for the great tips Matt.
I would never had thought that a basecoat of black would make the NMF finish have a deeper "glow" as you mentioned. That's the great thing about this forum, there are some great tips here from you veterans.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by Swanny Yes, Benzdoc. I decant the paint first with a drinking straw then use my airbrush to apply it.

a STRAW! The light bulb just came on. I've always sprayed from the can to a small bottle, but the results were, well as you know, a mess.

Thanks for the great tip Swanny!