BrianI

I'm currently experimenting with chrome paints as well. What seems promising so far is to prime in flat black primer. Let that dry then gloss that with 2K clear gloss. (5 minute tack coat, then 2 wet coats with 5 minutes between coats). Let that dry overnight then Apply 3 light coats of AK Extreme Metal Chrome / or Alclad Chrome, 5 minutes between coats. Let the Alclad / AK Extreme Metal Chrome dry for around 30 minutes Seal that with 3 light coats of Alclad Aqua Gloss (5 minutes between coats). Once the Aqua Gloss has dried for around 30 minutes. Then spray with 2K clear gloss (5 minute tack coat, then 2 wet coats with 5 minutes between coats). (Pretty much the method recommended for the Pro Scale "Chrome Paint System") It's a bit of a faff though, plus not to mention the use of 2K clear gloss is pretty scary when you look into potential side effects. Is it worth the hassle? I'm not entirely sure! While Vallejo Metal Colour "Chrome" isn't as chromey as the likes of Alclad / AK Extreme Metal Colour Chrome, it is pretty simple to use, relatively non toxic, and seems to look not too bad once sealed with Aqua Gloss.. I'll pop some pics up of some crash test "chrome painted" spoons once they are fully dry. Although the kit I am building, an old Gakken 1:16 1935 Morgan Super Sport Three Wheeler, has pretty scratched up chrome plated pieces in places, so something needs to be done.

I did use an H&S Ultra with a 0.2mm needle, and I found it struggled with Tamiya & vallejo acrylics. I now spray everything using an PS290 with a 0.5mm needle! Nothing gets stuck in that 😉

So the gloss black didn't dry at all well. So I've repainted using a matt black primer, and I'll put a clear gloss over the parts ready for chrome paint.

Thanks, I may take a look at that!

Bit of a delay in updates, but I've got some Mr Color GX2 gloss back airbrushed onto a couple of parts which are needing "chrome" painted. GX2 thinned with Mr Levelling Thinners in a ratio of 1 part paint to 2 parts thinners seems to do the trick. 434944818_25152354671045559_6906846716892994031_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr 434945275_25152354367712256_991412280897282200_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr

As a follow up, I've still not ordered a resin printer yet, due to having an expensive car service bill last month 😞

Some primer on the body shell, which highlights some sink marks / flaws needing sorted! I wasn't looking for complete coverage, but just enough to highlight any issues. IMG_4134 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4136-ghost by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4135-flaw by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Well, I used this "oily glue" to assemble Marvin the Martian. It works quite well on PLA+ 3D printed items. IMG_4130 by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Marvin the Martian 3D print. Quite a fun little print, which I printed out piece by piece according to the filament colour required. IMG_4130 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4131 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4132 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4133 by Brian Innes, on Flickr Sliced by Brian Innes, on Flickr Helmet by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Nothing too exciting, just some paint & glue from my localish model shop Wonderland Models, and since I'm fed up messing up clear parts snipping them from the sprues, a set of photo etch razor saw blades and a handle to hold them!

That is a helpful image thank you! I was thinking that you had to fill the wash and cure station "wash" container full of IPA (around 7L worth) for it to work. But a couple of small say 500ml plastic tubs I'd be happier using, rather than having several litres of IPA in a container in my modelling room.

Thanks again, that is most helpful. I am still considering using water washable resin, which would avoid having to buy 10s of litres of IPA.

That's interesting to know, thank you. I take it the best practice then is to print resin parts as solid, rather than hollow? How do you cure the "inside" then?

I ordered myself what I thought was "thin low viscosity superglue", due to my old thin superglue having dried up, and the medium superglue not really working with the micro nozzle applicators. What arrived was called "High Strength Oily Glue", branded Kollell. oilyglue by Brian Innes, on Flickr Not much info about this or similar brands of "Oily Glue" (Such as Tree Frog) on the interwebs, apart from videos on social media / youtube of someone cutting a pair of flip flops, and gluing them back together. I did try gluing to bits of PLA 3d printed plastic together, and it was nice and thin to go through the micro nozzle applicator, and seemed to glue the parts OK. Interestingly it doesn't have as pungent a smell as Superglue. Not as sticky fingers. Will it also work for clear parts? Will it work on painted parts? Maybe something to experiment with. It's certainly not worth the hassle of sending it back though.

Kind of fiddly, but at least that is the Gakken 1:16 1935 Morgan Super Sport Three Wheeler engine mostly put together. Painted using AK Extreme Metal Chrome over Mr Color GX 2 Gloss Black. Humbrol black enamel wash, and some Revell Aqua Color Fiery Red for the Red detail around the "M" logos. IMG_4127 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4128 by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Thanks for the reply. I do have a decent respirator which I use when airbrushing, plus a decent spray booth which vents outside. I'll need to look more into water washable resin though, as some posts I've seen elsewhere say water washable resin prints can crack months down the line.

On with the AK Extreme Metal Chrome! While it doesn't give as chromey a look as Alclad Chrome, it does seem to be more durable. I'll let these dry overnight, then seal them with a light coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss which should protect the chrome during assembly. IMG_4122 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4123 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4124 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4125 by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Bit more progress on the Gakken 1:16 1935 Morgan Super Sport Three Wheeler. One of the cylinder heads I noticed had a stud snapped off. So a small hole drilled, and a short bit of 20 Gauge beading wire glued in place: IMG_4117 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4118 by Brian Innes, on Flickr That done, a bit more priming then on with a base coat of Mr Color GX2 Gloss Black. I'm not sure where I saw the recommendation to use this as a gloss black for chrome paints, but it certainly goes on nice and shiny, thinned 1 part paint to 2 parts Mr Levelling Thinners: IMG_4119 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4120 by Brian Innes, on Flickr IMG_4121 by Brian Innes, on Flickr I'll leave this to cure overnight, then hopefully get some AK Extreme Metal Chrome airbrushed on. I also got the wheel halfs glued together, and primed ready for painting red.

Thanks for the reply Mike. I've watched a couple of youtube videos about water washable resin, I think I may just use standard resin as it seems to give better results.

A bit of hunting on the internet, and I've managed to source some decent reference images from a Car Auction Website, which was selling a 1935 Morgan Super Sport Three Wheeler (which sold for 41,000 euro!) image1 by Brian Innes, on Flickr image2 by Brian Innes, on Flickr RearLight by Brian Innes, on Flickr FrontView by Brian Innes, on Flickr FrontLamp by Brian Innes, on Flickr SpareWheel by Brian Innes, on Flickr FrontChromeHeader by Brian Innes, on Flickr EngineBlock by Brian Innes, on Flickr Interior by Brian Innes, on Flickr

Hi all. I'm pretty confident now using my Creality Ender 3 S1 printer for doing "functional" / larger scale prints. However when it comes to doing finer detailed things such as figures, parts for 1:25 model kits etc, then I think a Resin 3D printer would be a good addition to my man cave although I still have a niggling doubt about resin 3D printers due to the short life span of the LCD screen. Some manufacturers quote 2000 hours. How many prints does that equate too? 100? less than 50? I'm considering the following options. Anycubic Photon Mono X 6Ks Elegoo Mars 4 Max. Elegoo Saturn 2. All these have a similar build volume which looks like it would match my needs. I am still a bit confused about the need for washing / curing stations, and whether water washable resin would be easier to use? Budget wise I'd hope to be around £450 maximum including the washing / curing setup. I'm leaning more towards the Anycubic Photon Mono X 6Ks, combined with the Anycubic Wash & Cure 3 Plus (which I assume is big enough for the Mono X 6Ks?) Also is "Water Washable" Resin easier to work with compared to standard resin which needs washed in Isopropyl Alcohol?

Some progress on the kit. Chrome plating stripped off using thick bleach. Due to the age of the kit the chrome wasn't the best quality, a bit scratched in places. 420125929_24610622368552128_3267916444651606541_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr 420104196_24610621971885501_364596139730240247_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr 420918523_24612022315078800_8599223192694820824_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr Also my first repair to the kit, since I managed to snap off one of the "bolts" on the engine. But a small hole, and an offcut of some stiff wire did the trick! 420460170_24612161108398254_3149745885888265371_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr 420663827_24612161418398223_6606827890585409303_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr I'll hopefully get some primer down to see if there is any filling needing done, then on with a gloss black base coat for the AK Extreme Metal Chrome!

After a year or so using my MK1 Foam Core Spray Booth Shroud, built from 4mm foam core board: 420129763_24597090329905332_7723056415899304731_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr I decided to do a slight modification, to give it a bit of a roof to better capture fumes & overspray, so here is MK 2 420120304_24597090469905318_5121647734791168553_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr I may add some daylight LED strips to the top and sides though. Spraybooth is a Benchvent BV300D booth. Perhaps MK3 will be built out of plywood / perspex or similar 😉 I also added a desk mounted compressor regulator holder out of some wood, plumbing parts, a washer, a nut and a bolt, double sided tape secured to the desk! 420028645_24596816309932734_4276932931739969924_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr 419897994_24596821859932179_4451274953589819479_n by Brian Innes, on Flickr

That is good to know. I'll probably be stripping and repainting the chrome parts on my Gakken 1:16 Morgan Super Sport Three Wheeler, more than likely using AK Extreme Metal Chrome over a gloss black base. One thing I've found out on facebook modelling groups, is it seems that newer batches of AK Extreme Metal Chrome are actually laquer and not enamel based. I wonder if the GX100 will work ok on the Lacquer based AK Extreme metal Chrome? Luckily both my jars of AK Extreme Metal Chrome are the older enamel base.

Dracula still isn't finished! Hopefully soon though!