What's the best thing to seal Alclad before masking?

[Rick Brown]

Chaps

This may have been answered before, sorry if I've missed it.

What's the best way to seal Alclad? I've just had a play and used a sacrificial Fishbed primed with Gloss Black Base then a good few coats of Airframe Aluminium. I then masked using tamiya tape. Removing the mask also removed the aluminium! What's the best thing to seal the alclad before going on to other processes such as decals and masking? Klear or one of Aclads own?

Cheers,

Rick.

[fu_manchu]

Hi

I have used the Alclad gloss one and it is fairly effective, with only a slight change in the lustre of the metal finish. A lot of advice seems to indicate that you don't need to seal it, but I have the same problem as you, no matter if it is one of the 'considered fragile' Alclads or not.

[Nigel Heath]

I have learnt the hard way that Alclad needs to be sealed before masking or even handling as it easily rubs off high spots and edges. I think pretty well any varnish will do the trick, I have used Alclad's Aqua Gloss and Semi Matt as well as Klear / Future. Unfortunately you do lose some of the lovely mirror finish with polished aluminium or chrome type finishes - not sure of any way round this except apply that finish last and be very carefull when handling it.

I don't know if Alclad hardens up after an extended period, would be interested to hear of others experiences.

Nigel

[Rick Brown]

Thanks chaps.

I'll give future a try. I'm not too bothered about loosing a little of the lustre, it looks too much to me anyway.

Anymore ideas are very welcome.

Cheers

Rick.

[pte1643]

I've masked Alclad loads of times, never had a problem. A nice quality low tack tape like Tamiya is fine.

The only real problem I've encountered is getting some Acrylic paints to stick to the Alclad.

Vallejo (largely my paint of choice) can be a nightmare and sometimes peels off, Tamiya seems OK.

[Greg B]

Another trick with the tamiya tape is to remove some of the tackiness by putting it on your clothes/skin and then applying it to the kit. I have not had any issues with it rubbing off when using a matt primer such as their own grey microfiller/primer. If you use that then rub it down with an old t shirt you will be left with a very smooth finish which is a littl emore porous than their gloss balck.

[SaintsPhil]

Most of the finishes you can mask over no problem, leave at least 24h to cure first though. It just seems to be the Airframe Ali that comes off, you don't need masking tape just try rubbing it! Best to paint the other colours first then spray the AA last I would suggest.

[c.smith10]

Most of the finishes you can mask over no problem, leave at least 24h to cure first though. It just seems to be the Airframe Ali that comes off, you don't need masking tape just try rubbing it! Best to paint the other colours first then spray the AA last I would suggest.

The titanium gold rubs of too

[Rick Brown]

Thanks chaps!

It seems my choice was at fault! The tape was low tack Tamiya with it being lower tacked on my mat a few times.

I guess you live and learn, this was a test build to see how I got on with it. This building up to doing the Airfix MK22 Spit. I think I'll go with one of the other shades of Alclad.

Is this an Alclad on there Gloss Black thing or is it common to the ones that go over their microfiller primer?

Cheers,

Rick.

[viscount806x]

Thanks chaps!

It seems my choice was at fault! The tape was low tack Tamiya with it being lower tacked on my mat a few times.

I guess you live and learn, this was a test build to see how I got on with it. This building up to doing the Airfix MK22 Spit. I think I'll go with one of the other shades of Alclad.

Is this an Alclad on there Gloss Black thing or is it common to the ones that go over their microfiller primer?

Cheers,

Rick.

Hi Rick, having used Alclad a few times now, I'd definitely say that an extended cure time really helps. I haven't had the pulling off problems myself and I've used quite a few different Alclads including the Aluminium, White Aluminium and others. Maybe your surface has become slightly contaminated(?) A clean washed under surface (washing up liquid, well rinsed off works) is probably essential as is the type of undercoat. I think it is generally thought that the gloss black undercaoat is needed for the high gloss metallics like Chrome but I have used it for all of them. It is an expensive option but perhaps less so if it saves a respray.

Let us know how you get on, Cheers, Nige

[Rick Brown]

Hi Rick, having used Alclad a few times now, I'd definitely say that an extended cure time really helps. I haven't had the pulling off problems myself and I've used quite a few different Alclads including the Aluminium, White Aluminium and others. Maybe your surface has become slightly contaminated(?) A clean washed under surface (washing up liquid, well rinsed off works) is probably essential as is the type of undercoat. I think it is generally thought that the gloss black undercaoat is needed for the high gloss metallics like Chrome but I have used it for all of them. It is an expensive option but perhaps less so if it saves a respray.

Let us know how you get on, Cheers, Nige

Thanks Nige

The base coat was on for a week and the Ali was on for the same. In between times the model was not handled (Costa stirrer up its bottom!) and was sealed in its box. I brushed at 13PSI from about 4-6" away and could see the paint hit the surface and the solvent evaporate very shortly afterwards.

From this I was pretty sure it was going on well, so I can only put it down to experience. I have given it another coat in the affected areas and its come up ok again. In hindsight, I could have masked of the black base coat on the nose and this could have been left as it was for the finished model.

I have some other Alclad I'll try soon and see if that does the same.

Cheers again chaps,

Rick.

[JeffreyK]

Airframe Aluminum is the nicest, but unfortunately the most fragile of Alclad finishes. Ive used pretty much all shades Alclad offers and the non-shiney ones like regular Aluminum etc. generally don't need any coating at all, the finish is very tough and masking is not a problem. The only time I had an issue with lifting was when using vinyl paint pasks for masking insignia and I think I became a little careless and pulled it off too havy-handedly.

I also had good success with masking (Tamiya tape) over Polished Aluminum (painted over gloss black base), you just have to be a bit careful when pulling off the tape.

Now, Airframe Aluminum is a different story. Regular masking is near impossible with this one. All parts that require other paint should be painted BEFORE the Alclad and masked in reverse as AA is just too fragile and will lift at the slightest pull. If you do need to touch up[ some paint work, use wet tissue paper or post-it notes as your masking medium. Obviously this is a little fiddly and it's not adviseable to use this method as "proper" masking hence my advice to paint "in reverse".

To make AA more durable for handling the model and blending in decals, I've had great success with Alclad Aqua Gloss. Unlike other clear coats such as Klear/Future, it doesn't change the "metal look". Strangely, you need to spray that at an unusually high pressure to get a good finish though. However, a top coat doesn't prevent from lifting paint after masking, you'd just lift the Alclad with the top coat!

Cheers

Jeffrey

[Freecloud]

On 24/09/2012 at 03:10, Nigel Heath said:

I have learnt the hard way that Alclad needs to be sealed before masking or even handling as it easily rubs off high spots and edges. I think pretty well any varnish will do the trick, I have used Alclad's Aqua Gloss and Semi Matt as well as Klear / Future. Unfortunately you do lose some of the lovely mirror finish with polished aluminium or chrome type finishes - not sure of any way round this except apply that finish last and be very carefull when handling it.

I don't know if Alclad hardens up after an extended period, would be interested to hear of others experiences.

Nigel

Hi Nigel, on the subject of Alclad & sealing, how long should Alclad cure before the sealing process with Pledge Klear please chap. Regards. 🙂