Humbrol Metallic Steel vs Mr Metal Color Iron

[goggsy]

Just wondering, is there actually any difference between the two, other than the Mr Metal Color being twice the price? I was spraying something today and ran out of the the Mr Metal halfway through. As an experiment I unearthed an old tin of Humbrol and cut it with some cellulose thinners. I masked off the bits I'd done with Mr Metal and then sprayed the Humbrol on the rest of the model. The difference between the two finishes was indistinguishable; they both laid on with the same dark grey matt finish to begin with and then both buffed down to the same very metallic steel like finish. For the sake of consistency I then overcoated the original Mr Metal surfaces with the Humbrol, buffed it down, and overcoated with Alclad Gloss. The results of this are very satisfactory to my eye and I'll certainly be doing this again; I'm just glad I found out about this when I did as Mr Metal isn't easy to get hold of in my area.

[pigsty]

The main physical difference is that Metalcote is enamel, while Mr Metal is lacquer.  Mr Metal also has more colours (though few are really what it says on the label, least of all "Alminume").

 

As for use, I used to be a Metalcote man and now use Mr Metal whenever I can.  However, that's probably because I brush-paint, and I've found that Mr Metal goes on better and is less prone to lifting if you add another coat.  With care you can polish out brushstrokes with Mr Metal; not quite so readily with Metalcote.  One final point is that you have to wait only five minutes or so, not 20, to polish Mr Metal - although that can be a drawback if you have a large area to cover.