Objective opinions, eh? You guys crack me up! Some nice pluggage their, Gerald. The Talon stuff looks nice, although I have never been a big acrylic paint fan. Model paints should stink, in my opinion.
There is another product that has been around for ever that works well, too. They are along the lines of the SnJ products. Im referring to the Floquil metallics. They're old skool - but then there is no skool like oldskool, right?
The Floquils...
Are tenacaious, since they are "hot" laquer based products.
Can be handled without fear.
Can be masked readily after application.
Don't really need a primer, if you do a good job of surface prep.
Are buffable, from dull to shiny. (WARNING: Pet Peeve Alert: "Mirror shiny" is out, BTW. With a few exceptions, military service aircraft don't look like that, except at factory roll out. Even then, it's not a single shiny metal, but more like a hodgepodge of panels. Nothing is quite as disconcerting on an aircraft as a monotone, mirror shine. It ends up looking like a chromed toy.)
Come in a variety of shades and can be shaded with enamels, too.
Airbrush right from the bottle.
Stink like paint should.
Come in a large bottle at a value price.
Like I said, old skool. You'll find them in the railroad section of places that sell such stuff.