Best base coat for Alclad "aircraft aluminum"?

Eric

Surface prep is paramount to get good results with Alclad. Make sure the base color is smooth as glass otherwise imperfections or roughness will be magnified by the Alclad finish.

I've only used Alclad twice in my life.  The very first time I used it, I applied a coat of gloss black Krylon out of the rattle can.  I truly Forrest Gumped my way through that one because everything turned out perfectly in spite of myself.  The second time I tried it, however, it was a disaster.  The Krylon didn't spray nicely.  The Alclad looked awful.  So right now, I'm batting .500 and I'm sorta nervous about trying it again.  I've "fallen off the bike" and now I'm looking to get back on again.  It was several years ago when I last tried it so I basically feel like working with Alclad is brand new to me all over again.

Eric

Volumes have been written about Alclad so I won't repeat, except that the stuff when properly applied is really really thin. Because I'm only average skilled, I find I get best results when I DON'T putty anything under it, just do the best I can and live with the gaps.

route62

I would suggest you take a junk kit or plastic bottle or plastic spoons etc and spray part of it with typical grey primer and spray another part with whichever gloss black you plan to use.  Once dry, spray the alclad on each and see the difference.  Then you can decide which way to go.

 

Yes I would experiment first if you haven't used Alclad. Their web site has some great info too. Go to the How to use section there on the right.

http://alclad2.com/

I would suggest you take a junk kit or plastic bottle or plastic spoons etc and spray part of it with typical grey primer and spray another part with whichever gloss black you plan to use.  Once dry, spray the alclad on each and see the difference.  Then you can decide which way to go.

 Thank you everyone for the info.  Where I live (Green Bay, WI), there is no supplier for Alclad.  I picked up that one bottle while I was at Hub Hobby up in MN near the Mall of America the other day.  They had a huge supply of the Alclad product line.  I saw the microfiller but didn't pick it up.  In retrospect, I probably should have gotten a bottle or two of it.  

Suffice it to say, all I have locally available to me are Model Master enamels, Tamiya paints and Vallejo Model Air paints.  Those are the various paints I have readily available to me.  I'm glad to hear that I can carefully apply it to MM gloss black.  I also like the idea of applying varying colors of base coats to alter the metallic look of the NMF coat.

Wish me luck!

Eric

I'm an Alclad user and as Bish  said, gloss black is only used under the "high shine" finishes like polished alum or chrome.

I use Testors gloss black enamel in the small squared bottle.

The gloss black provides depth as the Alclad is sprayed on but too much paint will kill the effect. Non gloss paints will give the Alclad an oxidized weathered look. 

You can spray different shades of gloss greys and blacks on selected panels and use one shade of high shine Alclad  but will yield varied color shades on the panels.

Just to add to the range of opinions, I use Alclad Primer & Microfiller almost exclusively with great results. I like the fact that it comes in three shades, is airbrush ready and lays down very smooth (for me, using my equipment). I've found it to be the perfect base coat for their metallics. One interesting note is that if one sprays it light, it dries matte but when applied heavier it dries to a semigloss whish is perfect under the more shiny colors.

Like many others, I tried Alclad's Gloss Black Base and found that it wouldn't fully harden even after two days in a warm, dry room. Maybe they've corrected this, but I won't be spending for another bottle until I know for sure.

I had horrible results with Alclad primer. I've used Testor's Gloss Black enamel.

Bish is right about gloss black for shiny results. Every bottle of Alclad I have states what to use for a primer base coat. My bottle of airframe aluminum calls for either gloss black or Alclad clear base. I haven't seen gloss white called for but find myself wondering how it will look. Has anyone tried it?

The gloss is a bit of a myth that won't go away. You only need that for the high shine colours. I use Alclad primer, but anything to protect the plastic will do. I have heradof some people useing future.