Can I use Alclad transparent medium with Alclad non-transparent colours?

Hi Ohms,

Since you're painting windows, I would stay away from any Alclad paint for that.  Alclad paints are lacquers, and they will most likely permanently damage your windows.

Here's a link to a video for a safer method, using Tamiya acrylics on an F-16 canopy.  I have seen other methods for giving it a metallic look too, but can't seem to find them.  Try a search for F-16 HAVE GLASS canopies and you might find videos with some good techniques that can be used on your Batmobile windows.

I have used Alclad Brass a lot, but never over acrylic (normal plastic for transparent parts}. Compatibility is an issue with Alclad.  But it is easy to test.  Just try it on a piece of sprue.

The reason Alclad is so great is that as it comes in the bottle it is very thin, and if you have a good airbrush you can put down very thin, light coats. Set your airbrush for very lights and practice on a few practice pieces of transparent plastic to get the feel.

Thanks to both of you for your feedback.

I'm going to go the Alclad Brass + Transparent route, simply because the Youtube video talks about using Tamiya Clear paints, and there isn't a lot of variety there (the closest colour in that range is yellow). For the Batmobile, it seems either a gold or brass would do.

Potential silly question: before purchasing the Alclads, would it not be simpler to dip the clear sprue in some lacquer thinners as a test? Let me know.

Otherwise, I'll just buy the products. So what if it doesn't work? I'm sure I could use it elsewhere, and just give the windows a slight shadow with Tamiya Smoke (although that would be a disappointing concession).

Testing it on a sprue isn't going to be good enough.  It could look perfectly fine on a sprue, but look terrible when its used on a larger surface.  Use lacquers at your own risk on clear plastic, and it might be a good idea to make sure you can get replacement windows before doing so.  It could end that badly.

Thanks so much, Mr. EagleCash 

I found a translucent golden-yellow water-based paint locally (meaning on a South African website). I'm going to see if I can get my hands on it.

No problem, Ohms.

I think I remember seeing a guy on YouTube once who was putting just a tiny bit of Tamiya X-12 Gold Leaf paint into his airbrush cup that was filled with Future also.  I'm not sure I would be able to do that and keep the transparency of the glass.  Future has a tendency to cloud things with orange peel when its airbrushed.  But, at least it can be completely removed with a soak in some glass cleaner if it screwed things up.  You should be able to do the same with the water-based paint you found if it doesn't look like you want it to look. 

Oh, I forgot to mention: we don't have Future here in South Africa or anything I can find of it's equivalent (believe me, I've searched online).

So that's another reason I don't want to go to the YouTube guy's route.

I just realized today: why don't I just use Tamiya Smoke to make the glass a bit more reflective? If I want pics to look like the windows have a gold tint, I could just have gold light being reflected off the car.

Sure, it's not as authentic as actually having gold-tinted windows, but hey, at least the pics will look awesome years from now. Who knows if the model itself will even be around? 

That seems like another option (maybe the most versatile one) if I don't come right finding a gold tint.

ohms

 

Potential silly question: before purchasing the Alclads, would it not be simpler to dip the clear sprue in some lacquer thinners as a test? Let me know.

 

No, you must use a good airbrush. You must put it on VERY thin.  I am afraid it would go on too thick.

I have used the metallic colors to just do a slight shading on the base color.

Hi guys,

Thought I'd show you the (almost) finished product. I decided to just go with clear windows. They don't show too much of the interior because it's unlit inside, and at the right angles they reflect light, so it looks as if they are tinted anyway.

Quite happy with this effort.

Great job!  Wicked looking beast.  Well done.

Thank you so much. I've been in the hobby for about two years now. Means a lot to get compliments from the FS guys.

Woops! Looks like my pics are gone. Repost:

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