OFFICAL NATURAL METAL FINISH GB V (2013-2014)

Tug's got it right.  The clear coat does eliminate the subtle differences in reflection (but not color) that the different Alclad shades contribute.  I wouldn't say it looks non-metallic, but it does look more uniform. 

If you are worried about it, prep some scrap plastic with the various Alclad shades you use and test the clear coat.  You will still be out the money for the bottle, but at least you'll know if you object to the effect prior to spraying your model.

Clemens, I have not done a head to head with the Alclad Gloss Klear Kote and the Aqua Gloss, but the AG gets a nice finish for me.  Combined with the lack of fumes and easy cleanup, and I much prefer it.  I'd love to have the Matte in an Aqua version.

Not to butt into the thread, but would using Future floor wax (forget it's current name, Pledge....) have the same basic affect as the clear coat?

Can you maybe help an auto guy out here - seems you are on the exact topic I was looking for when I dropped into this thread!

I have done some experiments on various chromes available locally. I also have a bottle of Alclad chrome, which I haven't tried yet. But the moment I clear them for protection (and I can only presume Alclad will be even more so!) they seem to "dissolve" into the clear and become either a silver or even just grey colour. Being from South Africa, I cannot get my hands on Alclad Aqua gloss easily, but I have now found one possible supplier.

So - how do you guys clearcoat chrome? I've heard Aqua gloss is a good bet, but before I go that way... It does not have to remain completely mirror-like, a bit of dulling is fine. It is for the McLaren F1 cars of late, just for background. So it has to be clearcoated - still some decalling to be done on the chrome as well.

Valkyrie: I haven't used Future over NMF, but have read other's complaints about it.  That said, I have seen some great looking work done using Future over Alclad as an undercoat for the decals, and then finished with a lighter sheen coat.  It can be very hard to gauge clear finishes from photos.

Seabe: Unfortunately, I have not attempted to achieve a chrome finish on any of my builds, so do have the experience to guide you.  My expectation is that it will be hard to maintain a truly metallic chrome appearance with any kind of clear coat, but if anything would be successful, it would be something very glossy like the Aqua gloss.  Sorry I can't be more help.

Once again, I would recommend that both of you try the combination on some scrap plastic beforehand.  I know that doesn't eliminate the hassle of having to procure a hard-to-get bottle, but acceptable outcomes are in the eye of the beholder.  

Seabe

So - how do you guys clearcoat chrome? 

Seabe:  I would recommend you peruse a bit more through this thread.  I think you'll find a ton of info about Alclads in particular.  In regards to the Alclad Chrome, it is one of the high shine group that requires a gloss black undercoat. Lightly spray the Chrome on top until you find the coverage you want.  Alclads are very durable and do not need a clear coat.  Because the surface needs to be pristine before painting, your surface is already acceptable to receive decals and there's no need to seal them.  I would however trim them down as much as possible to limit any silvering that may occur. A little Micro Sol would help them settle down though but for the high shine Alclads I would be careful not to put too much.  So far no one has found any trouble with Micro Sol on anything...but there's always a first.  Just take your time!

Hope that helps. =]

Thaks guys...

bvallot, will look through some more. Where I've seen it mentioned on auto forums, though, the guys mentioned that you had to clear it in order not to "touch it off"... O well, time to do some more reading, then! Or experimenting...

My problem is - I'm talking 43rd scale F1, so very small and thus the relative "amount" of sol (per area) will be... a lot! Esp with the complex curves and numerous decals.

As I'm still waiting for an order of goodies to come in the mail, I picked the mustang back up to finally address some of the last bits of weathering before I put my final coats to seal everything up.  So far I've started the oil leaks along the radiator and underneath the engine.  I've used a fine brush to put down The Detailer and followed oil leak schemes from photos of planes from this FG.  This is what I have so far:

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

I'll compliment this with a light wash of Flory to help it along.  =]

That is cool, I have not seen a pin up on the gear door before :-)

Theuns

Yeah! I've learned that these were early markings for this craft. Some time after he became an ace, he removed the pin-up and placed more kills and various mission markings. But I was looking forward to having a pin-up in my collection. =]

Hi SS.

I just picked up a 1/72 Trump F100-c Super Sabre I am building for the IPMS Nationals in July. Any space for it here?

Theuns

Lotsa space in here! I put her on the list!

Theuns...!?!  You're a machine!  How do you find the time!?!

LOL! well, the problem is that I always said " I don't build for competition" but with the MiG's win at the IPMS I got a taste of success..............and now I am hooked!  ;-)

At my club few folk build with alclad or even NMF so I have a bit of a atvantage there, but with the nationals I am affraid I am out of my zone there, but what the hey I am going for it.

Hopefully the heat stains if done well on the F100 might give me a few "extra looks"  LOL.

The detail on this little Trump kit is actually very nice.

Theuns

Looking good BV.  Nice to see you back on the Mustang.

I would like to chuck my hat in the ring here seeing I am about to start my Tamiya Jug. I will be building this kit......

Awesome.  Looking forward to seeing how the rivet set works for you.  

Welcome aboard!

This build is going to be really interesting for me to watch for several reasons:

• I love P-47s
• This Tamiya kit is the best 1/48 kit out there IMO (except their Razorback)
• I'm curious how those HGW rivets work out for you. I thought about ordering me a set or two, but i wasn't sure if they work well enough...

Glad to see a jug on here.  I've been wondering how well these rivets settle down onto everything.  I'll be watching...

I've finished Crim's mustang. I had some last second hang ups.  For future reference to everyone out there...Tamiya tape takes off your decals quite well if you haven't done something to seal it.  Naturally, I'd have done this by now, but the NMF never got a coat of future soooo....  ( <-- been waiting to use that one.  =] ).   Anyhow.  Hopefully someone out there learns from this mistake.

Everything has been corrected and all the trimmings have been dressed up.  Pictures will be coming.

Okay.  I still have to fit the fuel lines to fix up and match them to the wing surface.   But for now I have just about everything done for this one...

Here's the APS-13

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

The antenna is made from very tiny brass rod.  To solve the problem of inserting them I used a brand new exacto blade and made a very small hole straight down.  The sharp tip ensures the hole's low profile.  The light on the dash was made from a female end of pin that connects a fuselage.  It was originally the pin part to the P-40 I'm working on.  I cut it out from the cowl flaps and thought I might make it of some use.  So, I filed and sanded it down into shape and I think it worked out fairly well.  I'd like to have gotten the thickness down a bit more...but I think it's a good first attempt.

Radiator...

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

Didn't want to overdo the weathering here.  I kept it simple and let what I'd previously done with the NMF surface to stand up on it's own.

Glass for the gun site.

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

I haven't finished the wooden base yet.  I've got a piece of oak to cut and stain, but for now I've got it on a temporary stand.

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

image by brittvallot, on Flickr

=]

I forgot to mention that I put a coat of Alclad's Light Sheen which did take the shine down some.  If you compare it to photos of war time P-51's, it's actually a pretty good fit for what you come out with.  I also, used Alclad's Flat Klear Kote on the anti-glare surface and markings.  

Guys I need your expert input please.

I sprayed a 1/48 PT-20 fuse gloss black alclad primer, needless to say it didn't come out nearly well enough......AGAIN!

I then sprayed gloss black enamel and sanded with 12000 to mirror gloss.

When I sprayed the Alclad pollished alluminium it just did not get the standard nice mirror look to it but stayed a satin look almost like dualuminium.

I doubs it was the undercoat, it was VERY gloss but it has been raining all week and there is allot of moisture in the air still. Could it be the alclad maybe affected by that, almost like blushing?

If so can it be sanded with 12000 and re-done or do I need to strip and start over?

Thanx

Theuns

Hi Guy's,

There.s been a 'slight delay' on the F-100 build caused by a number of factors - conflict with my other hobby - an aging and now departed mother in law and not least a poorly fitting top cover at the front end - more on that later but suffice to say I couldn't live with it and could not decide how best to deal with it - best thing then is walk away and come back afresh. I do have an idea now just need the time to get to grips with it.

I have kept up with things though - very nice weathering BV but Theuns setback has broken the reverie!

Theuns - as you may recall I have not, other than very small parts, put any Alclad over a gloss black base as yet but if you take a look at the Alclad instructions I posted on page 25 you'll see they stress that Highly Polished should go over a gloss Acrylic base and the Chrome over a gloss Enamel one (Their bold). I note however that they state (in the first image) that the other colours should go over an Acrylic primer as well. That surprises me as I was always under the impression that their primer was cellulose based. If, as thought it is cellulose based, then high humidity will, in all probability, cause blushing though I haven't experienced this (with this product)

Whether the type of base layer is the cause of your problem I have no idea and I don't know why they should be so specific for each paint effect but they must have good reason. Is it worth doing a test piece as they recommend?

We have a couple of extremely talented car modellers in our club and they both stress that the Chrome should have a sealer to prevent finger damage. I know one of them has tried just about everything available to seal this finish without loss of effect - but both prefer plain old Johnsons Kleer.

As said previously I use Chrome as a highlighter more than what it is intended for and have not experienced any finger 'lift off' from Alclad layers below - given that I feel that the 'gloss' base layer has to play some part in this anomaly.

Stripping it may be difficult - I've not done this to any silver - anyone know if this reacts to oven cleaner in the same way as acrylic?

Hope this helps some Theuns - finishing 'disasters' can be a pain but you can get a real buzz if you can overcome them.

Regards - Tug

Thanx for the feedback .

I have used gloss black enamel for most of my ALclad projects with good success. The only variable here was the weather, and I am starting to think the high flash-off rate of the alclad might be the culprit.

I should have known better, but ah well so we learn.

As for the stripping, I put the fuse into a container of bleach as I have used this to strip paint off before , although it takes some time, it does work well. I just hope it will be able to somehow get to the bottom coats and hopefully lift the alclad like that. If not I will sand as smooth as I can and re-spray the black n dry weather.

Theuns

Theuns:  Sorry to hear about your issue; I have no doubt you will get it under control.

Tug: Good to hear from you.  Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law.  Condolences to your wife & family.

BV:  Congratulations on finishing up, it looks fantastic!  You must be very happy with it (and ready to work on something else!)

She's looking awesome, BV! What picture do you want me to put on the front page?

Well Spartan, I'm gonna fix up my light box and film with it some and pull some pictures from that.  Hopefully, I'll have them done by the end of the week.  =]

Hi Guys,  just to say I managed to improve (I think) that front end some though perhaps not as well as I'd like. Whatever it's enough to rekindle the spark a tad and I'm ready to begin painting today. 

Here are a few more pics to bring it up to date -

First up was to get it masked - the rule is there to give it some scale

Then give it a going over with Micro-mesh 6000 and water as a lube

After the primer went on (Alclad Micro primer) it really highlighted the poor fitting of this hatch. After much prevaricating whether to build the low spots up with filler or take the high points down I opted for the latter

The lines were re-scribed and an attempt at recovering the rivet detail made using a pointed piece of wire held in a pin chuck

Not a hundred percent I know but much better than before. It's going to have to do now though.

At least I could begin painting so got on with the preshading using Tamiya Nato black. I got out the 1/48 version I made some time ago to give an indication as to how I went about it!

Handling it whilst pre-shading soon served to show it was not going to be easy to hold to paint so this morning I made this simple fixture using balsa sheet and a piece of white faced particle board

Well that's current state of play - next is to pre-shade all the flying surfaces and then it's time to break the Alclad out.

It's been a bit quite of late - hope you are all okay and beavering away on your NMFs

Regards - Tug

nice job on the panel, its a big bugger innit. ill have to do a 1/32 kit one day.

Tug! That thing is huge!! I love what the 1:32 offers but damn! I don't know where I'd put that after. lol  

Misty...I'm still not used to the name... ;)