Tamiya Flat Aluminum.

Hi, all -

In experimenting with different metallics, I found I was not at all happy with the Tamiya flat aluminum as airbrushed. I used X-20A for thinning, tried a few different ratios, good paint and not tempermental. But it's not a good finish, when compared to Alclad and others, just way to grainy.

However, when playing around with it, I found if you use the right polishing pads it really does give a very good aluminum finish. I used 1200 grit to start, then went to 8000, bingo, it looks great. Not much polishing is needed. Decals go on well without clear coat, then whatever clear you like to protect it with, I used Tamiya clear well thinned and multiple coats.

The one downside is it's easy to mark before clear coat, I used light white gloves while handling. Still prefer Alclad, but for quick and easy jobs it's a winner. I used a psi of 18-20, .30 needle, surface details well preserved.

Patrick