Your suggestions to paint struts

Hi Dave.

Alclad chrome is what I use, over gloss black is best but fine without. Great for headlights as well.

Cheers from Mick.

I use little strips of foil, but it's far from perfect.

One of the guys here used a chrome pen on a fuel tank....came out looking just like Bare Metal Foil.  Take a look at the slingster thread in the auto page.

goldhammer

One of the guys here used a chrome pen on a fuel tank....came out looking just like Bare Metal Foil.  Take a look at the slingster thread in the auto page.

 

I gotta get me one of those, sounds much easier and reviews are good.

If the struts are fairly large, I use Alclad, for small ones I use the chrome pen.  Fortunately not many struts are that shiny.  Are we talking here about wing struts or landing gear struts?

For the oleo portion of landing gear, that area is so small you don't need it to be very shiny, and I find gloss silver works fine. I paint the main part of strut matt aluminum, so that small area of gloss aluminum looks shiny by comparison.  I have used tiny strips of bare metal foil in the past, but it was a lot of work and not worth it.  So, as I say, I painted it. For navy aircraft or modern jets with white struts, the contrast with gloss silver is enough to make the oleo stand out.

Now, however, since I have one of those new liquid chrome pens, I used it on my last kit with an oleo area, and it looks great!  I will probably use it again in future, since it is so easy- actually easier than using a brush or toothpick and gloss silver paint.

I went ahead and bought the chrome pen.  Outstanding finish.  Thanks for the suggestion!