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Just finished a 1/72 Hasegawa T-37B. I finished the airplane like the T-37's when I was at Moody back in the 60's. That would be NMF. This is the second airplane I've had issues with Alclad. I did everything by the book. After filling and sanding, I polished everything to a glass-like shine. No scratches to be found. Before primer I cleaned the model with 50% isopropyl alcohol. Then I shot Alclad Gloss Black Primer. I let it sit for a day to be sure the primer cured completely. Next I shot Alclad Aluminum, misting on a couple of coats with good coverage. No black primer showed through the Aluminum. Again I let the model sit over night to be sure the Aluminum paint was cured. Then I sealed it with Tamiya Gloss thinned 1/1. When I was doing decals I noticed blisters in the paint at corners and mated edges. After decals I sprayed with Alclad Semi Matte to seal the paint and decals. Now the paint on the model's painted surfaces are cracked in many places. I'm at a loss. I bought a couple colors of AK Xtreme Metal last Saturday. It's an enamel paint, a paint I'm more familiar with. The next NMF model I do will be painted with that paint. I hope for better results.
OK. In the stash: Way too much to build in one lifetime...
frank, i wounder if its the Tamiya clear coat. You should not need to seal the paint Alclad before adding decals, you can apply them straight to the Alclad.
I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so
On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3
I do not know the answer although I've had versions of that problem too, without the Tamiya clear.
In my opinion your dry times are really short. I typically go at least three to four days, sometimes so long that I forget about the model.
My only two bits to add here.
Modeling is an excuse to buy books.
Thanks, Bish and GM. Other than the curing time I'm concerned about the paint blistering. The cracked paint along the canopy was a blister that flaked away showing the primer. In the third picture you can see blistering where the tail wing joins the vertical tail. It is a befuddlement as the king would say.
Bish, the only reason I clear coat the Alclad is so I don't rub the paint off the leading and trailing edges of the wings. That happened with an LT-6G I built a couple of years ago.
I never overcoat my Alclad finishes. As someone mentioned above, decals go down fine on Alclad. I haven't noticed bubbles or cracks with trying an overcoat, but I feel overcoats do alter the sheen of the Alclad.
With any unusual paints such as Alclad or any nmf finish, I do a lot of testing. The popular test subject in this area seems to be plastic spoons. Many of our club show-and-tells are from folks with their test spoons showing off their latest new paint tests.
Don Stauffer in Minnesota
Thanks, Don. When you shoot Alclad, how long do you let the paint cure before you do the decals?
Hi;
I would give it four or five days in the dryer box. I don't know what Don will say though. Personally I will not use any of the sprayable metal finishes on aircraft.
I still foil them. T.B.
fotofrank Thanks, Don. When you shoot Alclad, how long do you let the paint cure before you do the decals?
I only let it set for four or five hours- never had a problem.
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