Aluminium Paint/Dope for Early Hurricane & Spitfire Undersides

[Nobby Clarke]

I am modeling a pair of early WWII / immediate pre-war Hurricane and Spitfires. I am using Mission Models water-based acrylics almost exclusively. They have a new metallic colour, MMM-009 RAF High Speed Silver and also several other aluminium shades, notably MMM-003 Aluminium. Does anyone have any advice or experience with which Mission Models metallic would be most appropriate for the aluminum undersurface colour? Mission Models choices are:

MMM-003 Aluminum

MMM-005 Duraluminum

MMM-006 Silver

MMM-007 Dark Aluminum 

MMM-008 White Aluminum 

MMM-009 RAF High Speed Silver

I’m asking this question since most metallic paints are designed to represent bare metal finishes, not paint or dope.
Cheers, Nobby 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Nobby Clarke

[Rolls-Royce]

Nobby, you may want to ask John Miller at Model Paint Solutions. He stocks Mission Models exclusively, and may be able to give you recommendations.

[NorthBayKid]

I’d go with High Speed Silver.  That’s the post-war equivalent.  

[MDriskill]

This might help - a recent article from Model Paint Solutions’ site that uses several Mission Models “silver” shades. Mr. Miller describes how they were done in the article.

 

https://modelpaintsol.com/builds/planet-models-focke-wulf-fw-19a-ente-duck

 

For what it’s worth, I recently did an early Spitfire and used a vintage bottle of Floquil “Platinum Mist” for the underside color which came out very well. If you have access to that it might help in matching up an MMP color.

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by MDriskill

[Rolls-Royce]

11 hours ago, MDriskill said:

This might help - a recent article from Model Paint Solutions’ site that uses several Mission Models “silver” shades. Mr. Miller describes how they were done in the article.

 

https://modelpaintsol.com/builds/planet-models-focke-wulf-fw-19a-ente-duck

 

For what it’s worth, I recently did an early Spitfire and used a vintage bottle of Floquil “Platinum Mist” for the underside color which came out very well. If you have access to that it might help in matching up an MMP color.

 

Uh, oh. Now you've done it. You used the "F" word...😉

[Nobby Clarke]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:41 PM, Rolls-Royce said:

Nobby, you may want to ask John Miller at Model Paint Solutions. He stocks Mission Models exclusively, and may be able to give you recommendations.

Rolls-Royce,

Thanks for your suggestion. I contacted John Miller at Model Paint Solutions https://modelpaintsol.com and he kindly recommended MMM-009 RAF High Speed Silver.

Nobby 

[303sqn]

High Speed Silver was a colloquial name for a new finish for use on external metal surfaces of high speed aircraft.

 

Post war it became apparent that the existing Aluminium finish was not resilient enough for use on high speed jets. One example cited was a Meteor that was subjected to bad weather on its delivery flight and on arrival needed repairs to its finish that required two skilled finishers three days to effect.  

 

As a result, in 1949, a new finish to specification DTD 772 was introduced. The scheme was a composite cellulose/synthetic which was classified as cellulose finish as its final finishing coats had a cellulose base.

 

The system consisted of a pigmented synthetic resin primer for direct application to metal; a pigmented nitrocellulose or synthetic filler suitable for application over the primer; a glossy nitrocellulose or synthetic resin finish suitable for application over the primer by itself or both primer and filler; and two polishes, one an abrasive cutting compound, the other a liquid polish, both free from wax.

 

 

The finish was supplied by Docker Brothers. The colour was identical to the earlier Aluminium finish but much more glossy.