Alclad II Cleanup ?

Lacquer thinners / cellulose thinners / gun wash - these are usually found in a tin in your hardware store & are not expensive - although the are not that healthy.

If it hasn't dired yet, I use 91% alcohol which works fine. If it is dry, then it is a bit harder to get out of the airbrush parts, and I resort to using lacquer thinner.

Alclad2 is a lacquer, so clean up is best done with lacquer thinner.

Regards,  Rick

Well I have not sprayed anything yet. Still getting the model cleaned up and getting info on the Alclad II.

Looks like I will use the lacquer thinner to clean my AB. But now I have another question. Do I need to thin the Alclad II with anything for my AB ?

Hay thanks again for all the info

Bud

Dubau

But now I have another question. Do I need to thin the Alclad II with anything for my AB ?

Hay thanks again for all the info

Bud

No, you can spray it straight out of the bottle. Just make sure to shake it up well to adequately mix it.

Here's the site for Alclad that you may find useful:

http://www.alclad2.com/index.html

Also, Swanny's article on Alclad is very informative:

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Alclad.html

Thanks for the links.

 It helped 

Bud

Yes, clean with lacquer thinner, shoot straight from the bottle, mix well and often and mist on with light coats.

Have you ever used Testors Metalizers? They're very thin and spray easily. Alclad is a lot like that but not nearly as delicate and with a more realisitic metal finish. The pigment/metal particles will fall out of suspension fairly quickly so swirl it around in the airbrush cup or bottle often and before you add more to it. You'll get a more metal like finish if you build up light coats. Spray it on too heavy and it will just look silver. The smoother the surface you spray it on the better finish you'll get. If the Alclad looks dusty when you're done you can buff it lightly with a soft cloth like maybe a piece of flannel. Be gentle or you may scratch it. It won't rub off as much as Metalizers will but it isn't really meant to be buffed like some of them either. But, it's lacquer and dries very quickly and by misting on light coats sometimes when you're done it will look like it has a coat of dust and you can wipe that down a little. Give it time to dry thoroughly of course.

Don't let any of that throw you, it's actually very easy to use.

Tony

Thanks Tony

I was reading that you should 1st spray Alclad Black Primer then a Black Enamel, then the Alclad Chrome.

Is that right or just spray a gloss black and the Alclad Chorme ?

Thanks again all

Bud

Dubau

Thanks Tony

I was reading that you should 1st spray Alclad Black Primer then a Black Enamel, then the Alclad Chrome.

Is that right or just spray a gloss black and the Alclad Chorme ?

Thanks again all

Bud

You can use either one, not necessary to use both. Another trick is to spray different shades of gloss black and dark greys on panels. Then when using one Alclad color will actually give you several panel shade variations instead of using several Alclaad shades. You only use a dark base color with the chrome and polished alum. Alclad. You can use lighter gloss greys with the other Alclad paints. The reason for using gloss acrylic paints is to get a very smooth surface so the metal finish will look realistic and the acrylic acts as a barrier. Swanny's article covers this including the use of Future.

Thanks

I prime everything anyway. I got used to using lacquers on auto kits so priming was pretty much a necessity. The biggest thing for Chrome and Stainless  Alclad is to shoot them on smooth, glossy enamel. You can use colors other than black. You can shoot a basecoat and top it with clear gloss enamel and then top with Alclad. I've sprayed them over lacquer and have seen others say they've used it over acrylics. But the thing about using enamels is that Alclad will react with it and *burn in*, for lack of a more technical description. So it's more durable. Black gives a nice background but sometimes it's kind of a giveaway that's it's Alclad and not chrome too. It can be a fine line between too much and too little Alclad and if you're a little light on the coverage sometimes the parts have a black tint. It's the same with any color but you can use that to your advantage too. Like using blue with a blue car, any tint that you see in the chrome can be attributed to reflection. I've used it on black, white, blue, red and maybe yellow. Try it out when you get a chance, that bottle of chrome will go a long way. Actually I like the stainless steel even better.

Tony

So what Lacquer do I use for a primer ? I know Gloss Black for the Chrome Alclde but I am spraying a lacquer Maroon color what do I prime with ?

Thanks

Bud