Metalizers

Okay, I solved the problem. This may seem obvious, but the trick is to remove the wash before it dries.

I am building my first model plane in 50 years. It is the Revell F-84G Thunderjet. I painted it with Testors rattle can Metallic Aluminum Plate and Stainless steel. Both buff really well if you don't allow them to dry too long. I then protected them with Testors Metallic Sealer (rattle can). After a week I used Testors acrylic wash and let it dry for about 5 minutes. Guess what? I couldn't get the excess wash off the plane's surface!!!  Water wouldn't get it off and even acrylic thinner wouldn't work. I finally used Windex to remove the wash. I called Testors yesterday and they said that they never heard of such a thing!? The guy that I talked with said that he will need to talk to the lab and get back to me.

Fast Movers

Hi cbaltrin, You stated you have airbrushed MM metalizers over bare plastic. My project is a 1/48 scale Falcon 10 business jet. It will be over all gloss white(enamel). The leading edge slats are polished aluminum. Ques: Should I mask off the slats(bare plastic) first,and then prime and paint the white wing surfaces? Then mask off the painted surface and spray the slats with metalizer? (I'll be using MM Aluminum plate "Buffing" metalizer,with an airbrush). Any recommendations or suggestions is GREATLY appreciated.......THANKS! JohnZ

Fast, If you want to take a look at my Zvezda 787 in the Airliner/Civil Aircraft section you can see what I did for that area of the wing.  I primed (with Krylon White Primer) and painted the wing all white with Model Master Bright White, then I masked off the wing leaving the leading edge exposed and primed with Testors Gloss Black Enamel.  I let that cure for about a day and a half to make sure it had fully dried.  Then I used Alclad Aircraft Aluminum over the black.  Just thought I'd tell you how I did it, others may have a better method.

Hi cbaltrin, You stated you have airbrushed MM metalizers over bare plastic. My project is a 1/48 scale Falcon 10 business jet. It will be over all gloss white(enamel). The leading edge slats are polished aluminum. Ques: Should I mask off the slats(bare plastic) first,and then prime and paint the white wing surfaces? Then mask off the painted surface and spray the slats with metalizer? (I'll be using MM Aluminum plate "Buffing" metalizer,with an airbrush). Any recommendations or suggestions is GREATLY appreciated.......THANKS! JohnZ

I have hand brushed alclad on very small parts, and it works okay as a fine aluminum paint.  But it will show brush marks, not as surface roughness but opacity, so for large areas it should be airbrushed.

I bought some model master buffing & non buffing metalizers in different finishes to add to my inventory. Never used them in the past. Buffing vs non-buffing...what's that all about?

I had never used Alclad until reading several posts on this site.  There are important things to remember when using them.  They designed for use with an airbrush, I dont think that they would brush very well.  A flawless basecoat is necessary as they will show any defect or speck of dust on the surface.  I have just followed what I learned here and have been able to put down some really nice finishes.

Another product that is just now showing up on the market is by AK Interactive products called True Metal.  I've not used this myself, but from what I've read and watched about the product is that it is a wax based finish.  It can be thinned with white spirits or enamel thinners and takes about an hour to dry.  This product can be brushed on and there are several videos out on Youtube showing how it looks.  I've seen some say that this too can be airbrushed if thinned properly.

Alclad is a lacquer, but works over enamels fine.

If you are asking about Mode lMaster Metalizers, those are Lacquers, and are pre thinned for airbrushing. Don't hand brush them. As far as buffable or not, its up to you, but the buffable ones are messy and you cant mask or top coat over those.

Hi Sarg, They are airbrushable right out of the bottle if the bottle is new. They will dry up over time so MM markets a special thinner for metalizer. I have hand brushed them on very small areas before (such as 1/48 P-51 exhaust stacks), but that is a gross exception to the rule. I have never airbrushed them over enamel--only bare plastic.  You cannot mask over them so normally you mask and paint the 'non metalilc' areas first, then reverse mask and paint the metallic areas last. HTH.