JohnT Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I am about to sell my soul to the dark side and put away my tins of "silver" and other varying shades of paint and try using something to achieve a natural metal finish on the Italeri 1/32 Mirage. As this is only marginally less scary in my nightmares than biplane rigging I thought to ask on here what you guys find easiest to use. I have an old Revell Mirage which I will stick together quickly and make some errors that require filler and sanding to see how that affects coverage so as to use it as a tester as I go along. I should find it easy to produce errors that require sanding etc on that beastie. I have been reading what other BM'ers use and see that certain products require differing approaches. Bearing in mind this is a first attempt I'd like to try something that is not going to put me in therapy (actually not sure that anything in modelling does not run that risk now I think on it!) Can I ask what you guys find easiest? Alclad, Foil, Metalcote etc and what generally are the pitfalls? Hoping to benefit from treading in the footsteps of giants here Thanks in advance guys John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 I've been a user of the Humbrol Metalcote paints, which I find work well. I've also used Alclad, which is excellent, but very pricey here in Australia. Currently, I'm experimenting with the Uschi van der Rosten powders, which appear to be a good solution, so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwart Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 If you airbrush acrylics then i would recommend the new Vallejo Metal Color range.No smell,easy cleanup ,shake/mix them as long as possible though, then straight into the cup no need to thin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) I'm a big fan of Alclad. These paints can only be airbrushed but are ready to use from the bottle. There's an extensive range of metal colours which are divided in two groups: regular or high shine (there are other types but these are the most useful for aircraft). Regular shine colours should be applied over Alclad's White, Grey or Black Primer & Microfiller. High shine colours should be applied over Alclad's Gloss Black Base. These primers are also ready to use from the bottle. These primers can be used for other types of paints and are excellent. I'm now using them for all builds. Both for primers and paints the recommended pressures are printed on the bottle's label (something between 15 and 20-25 psi). I think I usually set the compressor for 15-20 psi. Cleaning of the airbrush is done with cellulose thinner. A good thorough clean is in order after spraying their primers. Alclad also has a range of clear coats, from gloss to flat and a special one called Aqua Gloss, which is designed for their high shine paints. They're also ready to use from the bottle. The clear coats can be cleaned with cellulose thinner. Aqua Gloss is water based and should be cleaned with water or IPA. Alclad should be easy to use and produce great results if you follow the above recommendations. You can find more details in Alclad's web page. Just to get an idea of what can be achieved with Alclad, you can see my first attempt at using these paints here and a more recent here and here. Hope this helps. Cheers Jaime Edited October 28, 2015 by jrlx 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noeyedears Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Been hearing good things about AK xtreme metal paints Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Just started using Vallejo Metal Color - as Gwart says, excellent results, practically zero smell, fast drying, likes varnish, tough finish. Very good range of colours as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rom1 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Been hearing good things about AK xtreme metal paints Hi I aggree. i used them onmy YF23 and TA152. great products. I would also recommend to try the new vallejo acrylic metal paint. Tehy seem great too: no odor, fast drying, resistant... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Hi I aggree. i used them onmy YF23 and TA152. great products. I would also recommend to try the new vallejo acrylic metal paint. Tehy seem great too: no odor, fast drying, resistant... Re the AK paints, what do you use for clean up? I've just been on AK's website and cannot find if these paints are acrylic, enamel, laquer or something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noeyedears Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 they sell their own thinners, i dont know if anything else works as i have not tried them but it doesnt seem so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homerlovesbeer Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 An excellent demo of AK Interactive xtreme metal paints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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