AlClad (or, I am in love again)

echolmberg

Member since
February 2003
From: Green Bay, WI USA

AlClad (or, I am in love again)

Posted by echolmberg on Monday, March 28, 2005 1:44 PM

I know this topic has been covered many times before but I just need to post this here. Last night I tried AlClad for the very first time aftr hearing so many good things about it. All I can say is....WOW! I love this stuff! I'm working on a P-51. I've built many of them and used MM buffing and non-buffing metalizers as well as Tamiya paints and SnJ metalic powders. I loved the SnJ powder (and still do) but wow! The AlClad went on so smoothly and it looks more like aluminum because you don't see the microscopic metal flakes like you would in other metalic finishes.

Bottom line: If you haven't used this stuff by now, DO IT! I'm making this Mustang for my dad because he likes the markings. He's going to love the finish on it too.

Best wishes,

Eric

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 28, 2005 1:49 PM

Yeah there are a lot of good things said about it and I can't wait to use it myself, probably on a B17 which would look really nice!!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, March 28, 2005 2:22 PM

How's the clean up with Alclad, i.e., do you clean with laquer thinner or a special thinner?

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Matthew Usher

Moderator

Member since
April 2003
From: USA

Posted by Matthew Usher on Monday, March 28, 2005 3:12 PM

It's made me a lot more enthusiastic about car modeling, too. The bumpers on this 1956 Plymouth are Alclad II chrome. I stripped the original kit plating, smoothed out the (considerable) mold-separation lines, then added the Alclad over a gloss-black-enamel base coat.

Great stuff!

Matt Usher @ FSM

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echolmberg

Member since
February 2003
From: Green Bay, WI USA

Posted by echolmberg on Monday, March 28, 2005 4:28 PM

H3nav,

I used Model Master lacquer thinner. I ran the paint through my Aztek airbrush and had no problems whatsoever with either the painting the process nor the clean-up. It would probably be more economical to go to the hardware store and get a bigger container of lacquer thinner but since I'm going to be 'taking a break" from my natural metal birds for a while I thought the Model Master bottle would suffice for now. I used AlClad Aluminum as the initial coat on the Mustang but tonight I'm going to use their Stainless Steel to pick out some panels. I also have their chrome which I picked up by mistake one day but I do plan on using it sometime in the future (can you say "Reno racers and bright 1930s era planes??). Thanks to Mr. Usher's picture above I can't wait to see how good it looks on a race plane!

Eric

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jdavidb

Member since
August 2004
From: Kennesaw, GA

Posted by jdavidb on Monday, March 28, 2005 5:12 PM

I can get alclad II cleaned out of the airbrush with mineral spirits. Mineral spirits really does wash it right out although it's not what we'd expect with a lacquer paint.

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echolmberg

Member since
February 2003
From: Green Bay, WI USA

Posted by echolmberg on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 10:39 AM

Jdavidb,

Thanks for the tip! I've got a good-sized container of mineral spirits so I guess I'll use that to clean out the ol' airbrush afterwards. I didn't realize you could use that to clean out lacquer. That'll save some $$$.

Eric

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Matthew Usher

Moderator

Member since
April 2003
From: USA

Posted by Matthew Usher on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 10:54 AM

More Alclad chrome, this time on Revell-Monogram's 1966 GTO:

I never would have believed it, but I think Alclad looks more like real chrome than the chrome-plated parts that come in most car kits. Properly applied, the Alclad has a more scale-like chrome look, in my opinion.

On a related note, I use hardware-store lacquer thinner to clean my airbrush, no matter what I'm spraying. It cleans pretty much everything out in one pass.

Hope this helps!

Matt Usher @ FineScale