I was able to spray my natural metal finish (NMF) last night. Truth be told, NMFs are my absolute favorite part of model building. Weather its a P-51 or P-47, I really enjoy the transformation from plastic to metal. I know a lot of modelers are intimidated by NMF finishes, but I have a foolproof way of throwing it down with the Alclad II line which is truly fantastic stuff. If you follow my method, you'll never have to worry about paint lifting. For those interested, here's my method but you can tailor make it to fit your personal needs. Here's how:
1. Wet sand your seams and such with 2000 or higher grit paper. Once satisfied its smooth and to your liking (I check my seams with a silver Sharpie...works great), wash your hands with dishwashing detergent to alleviate the natural oils on your skin. You could also wear surgical gloves I suppose, but I don't. Once done, wipe the airframe down with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel to remove any fingerprints or other such residue from the building process. I always take an old toothbrush to the panel lines and crevices to make sure all of the sanding dust is gone as well. I then use Alclad's Grey Micro Primer and spray at about 20 psi. The nice thing about Alclad's grey primer is that it fills in any micro scratches you may have missed. I suppose you could use any primer, but this one has always worked for me and is designed for the Alclad line. It should look like this when done. (Note: This stuff, as well as the Metal colors, dry very quickly, but to be safe, I let each coat cure for about fifteen minutes or so before handling.)
2. Spray the entire airframe in Alclad "Duraluminum". I think this is the best overall shade for an operational wartime bird. Not too shiny...nor too dull. I'm not going for an airshow Jug here. Again, I spray at about 20 psi which for me gives a nice smooth finish. On this one, I left the tail in primer since it will be paint in 507th FG yellow. Here's the Duraluminum.
3. The next series of steps is to alter the shades of several panels to break up the monotony. Again, I'm going show my way of doing it, but you can do this to your own taste. I started with the panel on the spine and the ammo access doors which were taped off and sprayed Alclad "Dark Aluminum". I try to use post it notes wherever possible and Tamiya tape sparingly because it is fairly expensive.
4. Using the same taping method, I then added a tad of Alclad "Magnesium" to the Dark Aluminum and sprayed the gun breach access doors.
5. this is where it getsfun and the creativity cmes into play. I masked off some panels on the fuselage and the flaps which were then sprayed Alclad "Semi Matte Aluminum". I also taped off two panels on the cowl and painted them this shade. Its subtle but noticeable. At this point the airframe is starting to take on a subtle patchwork type appearance which I find appealing.
6. This is how the finished product looks. I went back and sprayed a few of the small access boxes on the fuselage Dark Aluminum, as well as the ailerons to add further interest. I did leave the upper wing in Duraluminum since I do recall being told these were not painted in Aluminum lacquer at the factory, like the P-51 was. If I'm wrong, please correct me. Once its decaled, weathered and washed, the contrast with be muted somewhat but still noticeable.
Once my research on Perdomo's Jug has concluded (somewhat confusing at this point), I with put down the Olive Drab anti-glare panel, yellow tail, wing stripes, and the blue unit stripes for the 464th FS. The nice thing about Alclad, you can decal right on top of it without a clear coat. Well that sums it up. For those NMF shy, try this out. Thanks for looking, questions and comments are always welcome.
Joe