Alclad II Polished Aluminium

I've forgotten to mention that I've also tried other shades as well (Al, Copper, Magnesium etc. without any primer) including the Chrome (with the de-canned gloss black auto-spray paint) which gave a good result (my modelling skill aside :-( ).

I was just this Polished Al that really give me confusions. I did what I've done with the chrome befor application. By the way, I shook the bottle all the time and spray at somewhere between 10-20 psi (while the air flowing, according to my compressors gauge) from a siphon bottle and Badger 360. I also tried the gravity feed on the 360 when I tried the P/A previously (my first half bottle) on one of the old model.

I take a good look at the model again and found that it look at its best at the much lighter coted area but I could still see alot of black undercote especially when the viewing angle changed. If I look at it at a particular angle, I could be seen as a shinny black aircraft. This also happended when I laid the first few cotes. That's why I was thinking that I needed more cotes.

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 just picked up a coupla of bottles of aluminum shades today so I might be back when I get read to build my red tail mustang... (Tuskeegee airmen) this will be my first time spraying it but wanna be sure to do it right as I want this model to be a show stopper... a real good NMF with that red tail sure will look good together.

This I wont claim as a showstopper, but it's a Tuskeegee Stang I built several months ago using Alclad2. Gives you some idea of what yours will look like.



Regards, Rick

just picked up a coupla of bottles of aluminum shades today so I might be back when I get read to build my red tail mustang... (Tuskeegee airmen) this will be my first time spraying it but wanna be sure to do it right as I want this model to be a show stopper... a real good NMF with that red tail sure will look good together!!!

(yeah got the black enamel fro Alclad... just to be sure... although their site lists using grey primer under everything but polished aluminum, chrome and the like.. will prbably still use the black as I have seen the builds here that used it and it works!)

I've never had to use more than 1/2 bottle for a 1/48 fighter like a p-51. A P-38 would take more paint, but should still be less than a full bottle. However, the polished aluminum doesn't cover as well as the standard colors. I usually spray overall with basic aluminum & then mask & spray individual panels with other shades such as dark al, white al, & polished al.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by austkdang G'day Guys, I've been reading and getting informations and tips from this forum. Thanks, everyone. Now to alclad P/A, I've under-coted the P-38 with the gloss black. I've tried both auto-paint and Tamiya TS-14 and found that it is hard not to get the overspray (which will dull the surface). At the end I managed to get it done. When I applied the P/A, it looked as if I only spray a cote of clear lacquer with very little glitter of metal. I then tried to put some more cotes on ( about 10 min apart) it looked more and more metal. Until one and a half bottle of alclad later ( I still feel that I need more cote), It looked like a non-metalised silvery paint. So I left it for 24 hours. Everythings still the same. The surface is shiny and glossy enough, but the color look real plain. Nowhere near the sample shown on Alclad page. I've just return to modelling recently (after about 20 years) so I assumed that its something that I did wrong. Thanks in advance.

Pingy is right mostly, the Alclad does need gloss black undercoat.

I think you need to either shake the bottle ALOT more, or check your spray pressure, because it shouldn't take a bottle and a half to coat a plane.

When I used my Alclad last, half a bottle was all I used, and that was with 2 coats, and total coverage of the entire model.

After shaking the bottle, you have to move pretty quickly to transfer the Alclad to your airbrush, the pigments tend to settle VERY quickly too the bottom, and the occasional stir with a toothpick while spraying will keep everything nice and consistent.

As for the acrylics, they work great when you add retarder to the mix.
I have a special bottle prepared for my acrylics, they are all I use 99% of the time.

It has 50% Iso Alcohol, 50% Distilled water, and 10 drops of retarder, in a 50ml bottle.

Works fine.
Hope this helps

Cheers
Sean

Alclad says to use an enamel gloss black with the polished aluminium and chrome shades. Tamiya TS-14 is a synthetic laquer, so it might not do a great job as a primer for P/A. Next time try spraying Humbrol Gloss black or even Alclads own enamel gloss black primer.

You can also try giving the alclad a polish with some very fine sanding pads. That might bring the shine up a bit.

Hope this helps.