Molotow liquid chrome

[S5 modeller]

Hi chaps. 

I've heard great things about molotow liquid chrome pens, and decided to pick one up to try. I've not used it yet, but am about to start a kit that needs extensive chrome stripping and re applying. 

Due to the large amount of painting needed I was hoping to airbrush it all. 

Can anyone tell me if the the molotow paint needs thinning? If so what would anyone recommend? 

Thanks in advance. 

 

Matt 

[BIG X]

Hi Matt,  I bought one a couple of years back, but have only used it a few times.  I've used it for headlight interiors and wing mirrors on vehicles.  My method was to push the nib of the pen a few times onto a piece of non stick paper - but any non porous surface should work - to create a 'puddle'.  I then used it neat with a fine brush to paint the said parts.  It dries 'very shiny' - but appears to 'dull' down over a period of time.  I guess a clear gloss coat over the top should bring it back though.

[roginoz]

G'day, Matt,

One of our club members used it on a model hot rod and, because of the amount of chrome to be covered, bought the Molotow refil unit as it contains more paint and is easier to airbrush than trying to get the paint out of their normal pen.

Don't recall if he said he thinned it. I can find out if you like.......

Rog

[Rob G]

By coincidence, I happened to use the Molotow chrome on a spinner just the other week- it airbrushes perfectly well straight from the refill bottle. I used my Iwata HP-C which has a fine needle/tip and had no issues at all.

 

Lay it on A LOT thicker than you would with paint, light coats just go grainy and dull, do a couple of tests runs first. Clean up with isopropyl alcohol, metho may work too. As may other thinners. Once you've painted, put the thing away somewhere dust free for as long as you can stand to leave it; don't touch it, don't try to 'fix it up', don't do nowt for at least 3 days, a week is better. It sands well, but the coat is thin so don't go at it with rough paper, I used 8000 grit MicroMesh on mine and cleaned up the dust spots back to primer easily. Repair damage with a second coat, but spray the whole thing again, don't try patching, it'll look naff.

 

I top coated mine with Aqua Gloss clear, and it took a bit of the shine off, but that's OK., it still looks good. There's videos of people using the stuff on YouTube and I recommend watching a few of them, if only because the stuff is too expensive to waste needlessly, so free information is good to have.

 

That's about it. Have fun!