dr_gn Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Guys, What's the best smooth Silver/Aluminium/Steel acrylic paint? I used to spray use Citadel Mythril silver, but it doesn't seem the same these days. I'm looking for something with little or no grain, for 1:72 work. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcn Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I was looking at your headline and thinking Citadels your answer so that's a shame as my pot is starting to run low. I quite like the Vallejo model air metallics to brush but I've not airbrushed them. They might be a good alternative. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaker Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 The Revell aqua colour silver isn't bad for a brush paint and I tend to use the Vallejo's for dry brushing but I've found them quite fragile, tend to lift off or scratch easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ijs302 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 the revell aqua with a little light grey mixed in brush paints quite well but i have never tried airbrushing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robvulcan Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I was going to say citadel. I always use them. I have old and new pots both good. But a few months ago they had problems with cheap Chinese knock offs being made wrong and had to re brand all their paints so maybe try them again. I always add Windsor and Newton Flow improver to mine and find after 2 or 3 coats they look fabulous. Revell aqua are also amazing with flow improver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Vallejo Model Air Aluminium and Steel are very good. Very fine grain, spray well. They do a Chrome, but I've found that one to be a bit finicky when spraying... that's almost certainly me and not the paint, though . They do, like any Vallejo paint, need to be treated with care, or over-coated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thanks guys, It's goint to be sprayed, not brushed. i've got some Valejo steel, but I thought it was a bit grainy. How about Tamiya? I thought I saw somewhere a new metallic colour which looked very smooth, but can't remember the name. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmcclure Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I like Tamiya Chrome Silver very much. It sprayed with my 0.5mm CR Revolution very well but less so with my 0.3mm HPC Plus. I have some Vallejo Model Air metallics but they only arrived yesterday and I haven't tried them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley420 Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Vallejo liquid gold is pretty good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Thanks guys. I'd like something approaching Alclad II smoothness, but it can be a pain for smaller parts, plus it's another cleaning process for the airbrush every time I'm spraying acrylics and Alclad. Life's too short. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Guys, What's the best smooth Silver/Aluminium/Steel acrylic paint? I used to spray use Citadel Mythril silver, but it doesn't seem the same these days. I'm looking for something with little or no grain, for 1:72 work. I too are on the quest to find the best silver paint for silver dope! I read many posts on the forum here and found that Citadel Mythril silver was great for this. Unfortunately Citadel changed their paint manufacturer and the new silver isn't the same any more. I am not in a position to know if this is correct or not as I have no old or new Citadel paint, so above comment is only based on what I read. But I also read that the old "Citadel" Mythril silver is STILL available under the "Coat D' Arms" label as Enchanted silver as Coat D' Arms is still using the same paint manufacturer Citadel (Games Workshop) used in the past! You can read more about this here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234952440-citadel-paints/ http://wargameguru.weebly.com/in-focus-review---coat-d-arms-acrylic-paints.html And here is a comparison chart: http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=coat-darms-paint-information~cda000&category=accessories~paints-%252d-coat-d%27arms I ordered some from Hasslefree Miniatures for testing. I hope this helps. Cheers, Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I think the Revell acqua is pretty good. BUT....I have a pot of Vallejo I think it is labelled ' Air' or something. It airbrushes nicely but never ever seems to dry. Comes of on my fingers goes horrid when decals applied so washes away with water goes horrible when Klear or other is airbrushed over it..All this when its applied over a primer!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robvulcan Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I heard talon are very nice. Never use them but worth checking out some say they are better than alclad 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks for the opinions guys. I picked up some Tamiya Aluminium today, and dug out the rest of the silvers I've got. I decided to do a comparison panel, and here are the results: Obviously the photo is useless as an absolute guide to shade, but I can say that in terms of smoothness, the Vallejo Silver and Steel are pretty good, as are the Citadel Ironbreaker and Runefang. The Tamiya is the worst for grain. Surprisingly, the Humbrol Matt varnish seems to do wonders for reducing the apparent grain size. Citadel Runefang is nice, but IIRC not quite as chrome-like as Mithryl (sp?) Silver. So...horizontal strips top to bottom are: Vallejo 997 Silver Tamiya XF16 Aluminium Citadel Ironbreaker Citadel Runefang Vallejo 864 Steel Vertical strips left to right are: Uncoated [] Klear [] Tamiya Satin [] Humbrol Matt #49 Aerosol 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim T Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Have you tried the Gunze buffable metallics? They are very thin with very fine grain. I have brush painted them and they airbrush straight from the pot. They are pretty fragile though but you can buff them to various finishes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Interesting that the matt varnish should have such a positive effect... I'm going to give that a try. Thank you! BTW, I note that you're using Model Color. It might be worth your while trying Model Air (numbers 062, 063, 064 and 065) as they are finer-grained. Worth a shot if you have the time and inclination. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hello, Many thanks for posing the question, conducting the experiment and for posting your results above. I have another suggestion which is possibly worth considering (unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try these myself): the new Vallejo Game Air metallics (72.252-254, or their new metallic primer, 628). They come highly recommended by Andrew Goodridge in his YouTube review (metallics dealt with at around the 4.20 min mark), although the brightest/lightest of these (72.252) is probably not too dissimilar to the Model Air silver (71.063?) John mentions above. I'll have to fire up the spritzenschutzenluftpistole this weekend and let you know how smoothly they turn out. cheers, Andrew. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 Thanks guys. Vallejo would be my preferred option since it simplifies airbrush cleaning massively. I thought the "Air" range was just thinner, rather than having a finer grain? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I think it's as much a case of the 'Air' ranges being composed of finer pigments as being pre-thinned, although they are noticeably thinner than Model Colour paints. That said, I still tend to thin them further to optimise their performance through the airbrush, in the limited experience I've had thus far. This finer pigmentation will hopefully help to yield the smooth finish you're seeking. I intend to practice very soon..... cheers, Andrew. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I think Andrew pretty much hit the nail on the head. The pigment does seem finer, and with a tiny bit of extra thinning, the finish is very smooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'll order a couple of metallics in Vallejo Air (I notice they do an assortment pack). If the grain really is even finer than model colour, then it's job done. Thanks guys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_gn Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 So just to comlete the thread, I got some vallejo Air Silver, aluminium and Steel. I tried them tonight ona Hurricane I'm building, and they are very good. Subjectively I'd say they are slightly better than the Model colour versions in terms of grain, but that may just be lighting. Whatever, the Silver is the match of Citadel, at least when sprayed IMO. Cockpit parts, wheel wells & covers there are silver, wheel hubs Aluminium and the rest (slightly darker) is steel. Cheers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Well done and thanks for posting the results of your trial. The cockpit parts and wheel doors do indeed look very smooth; I have no experience of the Citadel paint but if the Vallejo Model Air stuff is an acceptable alternative, then that's a good thing. I really do hope to be able to test my recent Vallejo acquisitions in the near future. regards, Andrew. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Very good to hear - thanks for the update! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smuts Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 best acrylics I've used are the model-air aluminium & chrome silvers .. Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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