Protection for Mr Metal Color metallic paint

[luftmodels]

Hello guys!
I did extensive research on this topic all over the internet but didn't find any proven solution.
I'm in the process of building of A6M2 1/32 and working on the prop. It is a buffed & shiny aluminum (some records say steel) metal according to history. I went with aluminum because the final finish represents what I see in real photographs. So I went with buffable Mr Metal Color. I truly love these metallic colors for their realistic shine I can't get from anything else (apart from Alclad but it was too shiny for my purposes).
So, anyway, as many of you know, Mr Metal Color tends to stick to fingers easily and god forbid you to apply masking tape to it (lesson learned).. The question is, how do you seal it to retain its shine? Mr Color webpage suggests aerosol can of Mr Top Clear coat which I had never tried. Did anyone had a chance to try it out? Any other suggestions? I use AK gauzy agent for minor metallic surfaces but feel hesitant regarding large and smooth surfaces such as the blades.
I sent the entire evening painting and buffing the prop and I can't afford to ruin it. I still need to paint the back in brown and apply decals, so I must seal it one way or another.

[dnl42]

Looks great!

 

Why not try some test pieces of scrap plastic or perhaps some Evergreen sheet?

 

BTW, I'm quite interested in the result. 

[bmwh548]

Paint a few spoons and then clearcoat them with all the clears you have. Once they're dry compare them and see which one retains the best metal sheen.

[Alan P]

Hi, like you I use Mr Metal Color for the buffable high shine finish. I've used Klear polish as a sealer for it with great success in the past. Testors Glosscote lacquer is also fine. 

 

My most recent build was a P-38 Lightning using Alclad and Mr Metal Color paints - I tried using both Gauzy and Alclad Aqua Gloss sealers over a polished aluminium finish and both were equally good - no fingerprints, self levelling but best of all, didn't diminish the 'metal' appearance. So I wouldn't be concerned too much about using Gauzy but as everyone else is advising, maybe try it on a less visible or scrap part first and see what you think. 

[ckw]

3 hours ago, luftmodels said:

it was too shiny for my purposes

This is the problem - Gauzy works great, but in my opinion is too shiny for some purposes. I'm using AK Extreme metals now as it allows for a variety of metallic finishes and seems to be reasonably robust (certainly more so than Mr Metal Color!).

 

I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a propellor. I also use it on natural metal finish aircraft, but that brings up the problem of decals - how do you protect them without using a top coat? I don't have an answer to that yet, so have so far stuck with subjects where I could paint the majority of the markings. (Applied with care, you can mask AK Extreme).

 

42 minutes ago, Alan P said:

I've used Klear polish as a sealer for it with great success

Yes that works, but again possibly too shiny for you ... you can mix Klear with a bit of matt base (e.g. Tamiya X21), but I not convinced this results in a proper metal look.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[luftmodels]

9 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Looks great!

 

Why not try some test pieces of scrap plastic or perhaps some Evergreen sheet?

 

BTW, I'm quite interested in the result. 

Thank you. I do all scrap testing on my collection of plastic spoons, however some items I don't have in my possession (like Mr Top coat) therefore I'm asking for opinions.

 

6 hours ago, Alan P said:

Hi, like you I use Mr Metal Color for the buffable high shine finish. I've used Klear polish as a sealer for it with great success in the past. Testors Glosscote lacquer is also fine. 

 

My most recent build was a P-38 Lightning using Alclad and Mr Metal Color paints - I tried using both Gauzy and Alclad Aqua Gloss sealers over a polished aluminium finish and both were equally good - no fingerprints, self levelling but best of all, didn't diminish the 'metal' appearance. So I wouldn't be concerned too much about using Gauzy but as everyone else is advising, maybe try it on a less visible or scrap part first and see what you think. 

Could you tell me, please, how do you apply gauzy agent? Do you do light mist first [and let it dry] and then "wet it" to even coat? Or even wet coat straight from the get go? It is a bit different [from my experience] from traditional clear coats.

 

5 hours ago, ckw said:

This is the problem - Gauzy works great, but in my opinion is too shiny for some purposes. I'm using AK Extreme metals now as it allows for a variety of metallic finishes and seems to be reasonably robust (certainly more so than Mr Metal Color!).

 

I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a propellor. I also use it on natural metal finish aircraft, but that brings up the problem of decals - how do you protect them without using a top coat? I don't have an answer to that yet, so have so far stuck with subjects where I could paint the majority of the markings. (Applied with care, you can mask AK Extreme).

I was looking at AK extreme and I had impression that this is repackaged Alklad (just like AMMO MIG does) therefore didn't buy any when I had a chance. However, I bought their shiny black base for metallics because Alclad one have bad reputation... well, AK one is bad in this regard too, it left fingerprints after 2 weeks! I stick to tamiya gloss black as a base from now on.

[Alan P]

On 7/8/2020 at 3:14 PM, luftmodels said:

Could you tell me, please, how do you apply gauzy agent? Do you do light mist first [and let it dry] and then "wet it" to even coat? Or even wet coat straight from the get go? It is a bit different [from my experience] from traditional clear coats.

Hi again, I sprayed Gauzy Intermediate straight from the bottle at about 18psi pressure (1.2 bar) in 2 light coats (more than a mist but less than a wet coat) with about 15min between coats. The Alclad Aqua Gloss was sprayed at slightly lower pressure (about 15psi/1 bar) but with just one even coat over an already gloss surface. I'd be happy to use a combination of both products in future. 

[Alan P]

On 7/8/2020 at 3:14 PM, luftmodels said:

I was looking at AK extreme and I had impression that this is repackaged Alklad (just like AMMO MIG does) therefore didn't buy any when I had a chance.

Definitely not the same! AK is easier to work with and more durable as Colin said, but I've had problems twice now with it not drying fully, and also with bad reaction to Tamiya masking tape. I've gone back to using Alclad because I think it's easier to use, dries quickly and gives a better metallic finish. But it's easy to say when you have a favourite already! 

[ckw]

On 08/07/2020 at 15:14, luftmodels said:

I bought their shiny black base for metallics because Alclad one have bad reputation... well, AK one is bad in this regard too, it left fingerprints after 2 weeks!

Yes - I didn't have much success with the black base, and, frankly, I couldn't really see any difference to the final result whether or not I used it. I spray it directly on to the primer level (Mr Surfacer) and it works fine

 

36 minutes ago, Alan P said:

I've had problems twice now with it not drying fully, and also with bad reaction to Tamiya masking tape.

Exactly the problem I had initially. The trick is to use very light layers, almost dry. Promotional material seems to imply you can apply wet coats and the stuff is magically auto levelling and will even fill imperfections. Wet coats are a mistake. Having learned this with help from forum members and a bit of trial and error, 'misted' coats at around 15psi seems to work fine, can be masked and overcoated as required.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[luftmodels]

7 hours ago, Alan P said:

Hi again, I sprayed Gauzy Intermediate straight from the bottle at about 18psi pressure (1.2 bar) in 2 light coats (more than a mist but less than a wet coat) with about 15min between coats. The Alclad Aqua Gloss was sprayed at slightly lower pressure (about 15psi/1 bar) but with just one even coat over an already gloss surface. I'd be happy to use a combination of both products in future. 

Thank you for a neat tip! I used to "wet" it with gauzy (like typical varnish) and now I'm going to try your approach. By the way, if you could use one, Alclad Aqua or Gauzy?

 

7 hours ago, Alan P said:

Definitely not the same! AK is easier to work with and more durable as Colin said, but I've had problems twice now with it not drying fully, and also with bad reaction to Tamiya masking tape. I've gone back to using Alclad because I think it's easier to use, dries quickly and gives a better metallic finish. But it's easy to say when you have a favourite already! 

Fair enough. Alclad is tried by time and had recommended itself by many modellers. I had decent results myself and no reaction to tape, so I thinks I'll not even try AK in this case. Thank you!

 

6 hours ago, ckw said:

Having learned this with help from forum members and a bit of trial and error, 'misted' coats at around 15psi seems to work fine, can be masked and overcoated as required.

Thank you for a tip! I will definitely try this method.

6 hours ago, ckw said:

I couldn't really see any difference to the final result whether or not I used it. I spray it directly on to the primer level (Mr Surfacer) and it works fine

I'm going to disagree here. My tests had shown otherwise. Please, look below. Top spoon has gloss tamiya black acrylic as a base and the bottom one has Mr Surfacer 1500 only. This was done with Alclad Aluminium airframe.

[ckw]

24 minutes ago, luftmodels said:

I'm going to disagree here. My tests had shown otherwise. Please, look below. Top spoon has gloss tamiya black acrylic as a base and the bottom one has Mr Surfacer 1500 only. This was done with Alclad Aluminium airframe.

2 points: 1 - I was talking about AK Metallic, not Alclad ... completely different products and 2) I always give my primer coat a going over with 5000 grade paper to get a super smooth finish - it doesn't look like you've done that

 

It's important to realise that Alclad is lacquer based, AK Metallics are enamel based - totally different animals, and hence require treatment appropriate to each. To elaborate on the black basing for AK ... this is only recommended for the polished aluminum paint, not the other colours, as it is said to give a better shine. In my spoon tests if there was any difference it was very marginal, and used without it provides a good polished result.

 

Please note that I'm not saying that AK is better than Alclad (I've not used it, so can't compare).

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[luftmodels]

3 hours ago, ckw said:

2 points: 1 - I was talking about AK Metallic, not Alclad ... completely different products and 2) I always give my primer coat a going over with 5000 grade paper to get a super smooth finish - it doesn't look like you've done that

 

It's important to realise that Alclad is lacquer based, AK Metallics are enamel based - totally different animals, and hence require treatment appropriate to each. To elaborate on the black basing for AK ... this is only recommended for the polished aluminum paint, not the other colours, as it is said to give a better shine. In my spoon tests if there was any difference it was very marginal, and used without it provides a good polished result.

 

Please note that I'm not saying that AK is better than Alclad (I've not used it, so can't compare).

 

Cheers

 

Colin

Sorry, I misunderstood then. I've tried your method starting from 6000 and ending 12000 grit paper and got quite shiny surface. Before I used paper towel buffing only. Anyway, the result was somewhat between my other two spoons, more closely to the bottom one with some shine and weak reflection. Thank you for the tip, I will definitely use it in future.

[luftmodels]

On 7/10/2020 at 3:39 PM, luftmodels said:

2) I always give my primer coat a going over with 5000 grade paper to get a super smooth finish - it doesn't look like you've done that

I would like to thank you once again for this invaluable advice. I don't really need to chaise high gloss paint anymore because highly polished MR surfacer 1500 does wonders!

 

On a side not, if someone ever interested, I did invest into Mr Premium top coat (which isn't cheap for a small can) and tried it out on a spoon covered with mr metallic aluminium.

There are 3 zones:

Top - gauzy agent (excellent for what it is)

Middle - bare polished paint

Bottom - Mr Premium Top Coat [semi-gloss] (doesn't work for metal in my case). The reason why I bought is because it was advised on the official mr metallic color page.

 

I hope this will help someone to protect their Mr Metal Color finishes.

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by luftmodels
Edit

[ckw]

At some point in the distant future, archaeologists are going to be writing lengthy dissertations about 21st century man's strange cult of spoon painting

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

[Aeronut]

12 minutes ago, ckw said:

At some point in the distant future, archaeologists are going to be writing lengthy dissertations about 21st century man's strange cult of spoon painting

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

No doubt it will be deemed to signify some sort of ritual (archalogical speak for “we haven’t got a clue”)

[luftmodels]

Well, I have some updates. Gauzy agent doesn't work for me. Being honest, this is terrible solution in all departments [at least for me]. They advertise that it is perfect base for weathering and oiling. Nope. White Spirit removes it quicker than you say "gauzy".  And doesn't matter how many layers you put. Same goes for masking tape, clear layer just flakes off with a tape and leaves paint exposed with ugly flaking. Being so, back to drawing board....

[ckw]

5 hours ago, luftmodels said:

Same goes for masking tape, clear layer just flakes off with a tape

That is interesting. I used Gauzy over AK Extreme Metallic purely to allow masking (as I initially had problems masking the AK stuff) and it worked perfectly. Now Gauzy is designed for use with AK which is enamel based, Mr Metal Color is laquer based. I'm guessing theres's an incompatibility - worth noting!

 

I panel line etc with water color and pastels, so didn't encounter your weathering problems, but again good to know. Not sure what Gauzy is, but sniffing the bottle I get a slight whiff of ammonia

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[luftmodels]

9 hours ago, ckw said:

That is interesting. I used Gauzy over AK Extreme Metallic purely to allow masking (as I initially had problems masking the AK stuff) and it worked perfectly. Now Gauzy is designed for use with AK which is enamel based, Mr Metal Color is laquer based. I'm guessing theres's an incompatibility - worth noting!

 

I panel line etc with water color and pastels, so didn't encounter your weathering problems, but again good to know. Not sure what Gauzy is, but sniffing the bottle I get a slight whiff of ammonia

 

Cheers

 

Colin

Mr Metal Color is very soft paint unlike an AK Xtreme Enamel. Even after days of drying it still melts to the touch (even after proper buffing). I guess this is just nature of the beast. But the finish is impeccable, just hard to work with. I can't even mask bare Mr Metal Color because tape just pulls off paint away (typical tamiya tape).

I was always wondering about what do they put in gauzy and your sniff is on point. The smell is familiar but I couldn't recollect. Thank you!!

Why don't you use oils for weathering? Would love to know your personal take because so many people swear by it.

[ckw]

5 hours ago, luftmodels said:

Why don't you use oils for weathering?

Couple of reasons -firstly, I'm not a heavy weatherer ... I work in 1/72 and I find at that scale a light touch is needed. Secondly, I usually paint with enamels which means you can't do the white spirit wipe away (unless you protected the paint first with an acrylic coat).

 

Water colours work well, and you can make as many attempts as you like and just wash it away, though they don't adhere as well as oils. Also you must spray on the final clear finish, as a brush will pick up the water colours,

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

 

 

[luftmodels]

1 hour ago, ckw said:

Couple of reasons -firstly, I'm not a heavy weatherer ... I work in 1/72 and I find at that scale a light touch is needed. Secondly, I usually paint with enamels which means you can't do the white spirit wipe away (unless you protected the paint first with an acrylic coat).

 

Water colours work well, and you can make as many attempts as you like and just wash it away, though they don't adhere as well as oils. Also you must spray on the final clear finish, as a brush will pick up the water colours,

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

 

 

Got it. Totally makes sense in case of enamels. Thank you for your explanation!

[Ray_W]

Sorry, late to the party. Having used a lot of Mr Metal Color, my experience is to only use it in applications where no recoat is necessary as it has very low bond strength and no matter what it lifts. You can coat but can't mask over it or use it in an area where you need mechanical strength. However, I love it for realistic metal finishes. Great for individual panels and superb on exhausts. Fantastic for prop plades and spinners just don't touch. If you need to mask, decal, wash then use something else.

 

For a tougher product out of the Gunze range I like their Super Metallics which I then finish coat with Gunze clear lacquers from their GX range and have had no trouble masking and weathering. The finish looks good. Having also used Alclad I would say the experience is similar. De-tack any masking. Treat carefully, typical with all metallics, and no issues. Gloss coat, further masking, washes all ok.  

 

I recently tried AK's Extreme Metal Range and they are now my preferred paint for bulk sprayable metallic finishes with one proviso and that is not to use their black undercoat - I expect it is an alkyd resin (enamel) product so it cures rather than dries and I don't know how long it takes to get an adequate cure. It did not work for me. Next "Polished Aluminium" build will be AK Extreme Metal over a base coat of Gunze Black GX-2 . I am confident this will be superb. I need more experience but I have a suspicion it is stronger than Super Metallics and Alclad. 

 

I go into the gory details in this build. 

 

 

Weathering. Firstly, I apply thin coats - undercoat, colour coats, gloss coat and then use enamel washes. I have found, irrespective of the gloss coat, you can damage the base colours through mechanical damage with the wash.  I'm sure if I hand brushed Future over the top giving a nice thick coat (and did not use an ammonia based wash) the grand kids could jump on the model with no damage but this will not achieve the look I want. I also do not like Gauzy. Similar experience and did not achieve the look I like. I just think products like Tamiya X-22, the new Gunze aqueous clears or their lacquer GX ranges all thinned with Mr Levelling Thinners gives a gorgeous thin protective gloss coat even over AK Extreme Metal with adequate drying/curing.

 

Ray

[luftmodels]

14 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Sorry, late to the party. Having used a lot of Mr Metal Color, my experience is to only use it in applications where no recoat is necessary as it has very low bond strength and no matter what it lifts. You can coat but can't mask over it or use it in an area where you need mechanical strength. However, I love it for realistic metal finishes. Great for individual panels and superb on exhausts. Fantastic for prop plades and spinners just don't touch. If you need to mask, decal, wash then use something else.

 

For a tougher product out of the Gunze range I like their Super Metallics which I then finish coat with Gunze clear lacquers from their GX range and have had no trouble masking and weathering. The finish looks good. Having also used Alclad I would say the experience is similar. De-tack any masking. Treat carefully, typical with all metallics, and no issues. Gloss coat, further masking, washes all ok.  

 

I recently tried AK's Extreme Metal Range and they are now my preferred paint for bulk sprayable metallic finishes with one proviso and that is not to use their black undercoat - I expect it is an alkyd resin (enamel) product so it cures rather than dries and I don't know how long it takes to get an adequate cure. It did not work for me. Next "Polished Aluminium" build will be AK Extreme Metal over a base coat of Gunze Black GX-2 . I am confident this will be superb. I need more experience but I have a suspicion it is stronger than Super Metallics and Alclad. 

 

I go into the gory details in this build. 

 

 

Weathering. Firstly, I apply thin coats - undercoat, colour coats, gloss coat and then use enamel washes. I have found, irrespective of the gloss coat, you can damage the base colours through mechanical damage with the wash.  I'm sure if I hand brushed Future over the top giving a nice thick coat (and did not use an ammonia based wash) the grand kids could jump on the model with no damage but this will not achieve the look I want. I also do not like Gauzy. Similar experience and did not achieve the look I like. I just think products like Tamiya X-22, the new Gunze aqueous clears or their lacquer GX ranges all thinned with Mr Levelling Thinners gives a gorgeous thin protective gloss coat even over AK Extreme Metal with adequate drying/curing.

 

Ray

Hello Ray! Better be late than never. I'm still working [see "fighting"] with my polished aluminum look of the propeller.

I highly appreciate your informative input and the link for your build. I truly enjoyed the read and found a lot of interesting ideas for my future work. I certainly love the way you made an exhaust look like using Mr Metallic Colors only. Just wow!

 

What is your take on Gunze super metallic? I never heard anyone ever mentioning them. Are they like Alclad/AK Xtreme? What do you use to cover Alclad finishes?

 

I can't even tell how long it takes to cure AK gloss black base, but even after one week it was sticky and got fingerprints.

 

Could you share your GX100 application settings? I mean ratio to thinner, psi and distance. I have this product but yet to find a proper way of applying it.

[luftmodels]

I really want to get this propeller done in Mr Metal Color Aluminum. It gives the right amount of metal shine, just like the one I've seen in the USAAF Museum in Ohio last weekend. I need to apply brown backing and red stripes but I can't mask over aluminum. Constantly thinking about how to get it done. Quite stressed out by this prop painting. I'm working on it for almost a month!

 

[Ray_W]

2 hours ago, luftmodels said:

What is your take on Gunze super metallic? I never heard anyone ever mentioning them. Are they like Alclad/AK Xtreme? What do you use to cover Alclad finishes?

I think Gunze Super Metallic's are just a solvent based very fine particle lacquer. It maybe has a stronger binder than Alclad so seems to be a little tougher. The flip side is that it is not as buffable as Alclad. I read somewhere (Hyperscale?) someone recommending mixing in some Mr Color gloss clear to improve their performance with a mask. Seems to defeat the purpose. I have not had the masking problem although my use of the product has not been with complex masking jobs and I am very patient with drying times. Very happy to leave a tricky mask on a potential problem coat for days before attacking it. I think it could do a nice job on prop blades.

 

I have not found a coating for Alclad that did not lose some of the buffed finish. Even using Alclad Sealers. Others may have a trick that works. The challenge is retaining that look without lifting with a mask. You need that coat.

 

The AK Xtreme Metal seems a unique product in that it behaves like an enamel yet with a solvent that flashes off like a lacquer giving rapid drying (touch dry) yet retaining a chemical reaction for a stronger bond like an enamel (alkyd) curing - just guessing.  As mentioned, I really like them and looking forward to another aluminium build. They did not lose much with the GX 100 clear coat. In fact, it could be just the thing for your prop blade without a clear top coat as I expect the blades will not have a wash so the sole requirement is the ability to take a mask. Cleaning the airbrush is challenging, I think this is why AK released their own cleaner for this range. I use Mr Tool Cleaner. This works.

 

I am about to, again, spray my Corsair prop using silver as a base coat to check for defects. My plan was to again use Gunze Mr Color C8. This time, for fun, I will spray a gloss Mr Color GX-2 black base and then AK Xtreme Polished Aluminium and post a picture this evening in this thread. Here's the prop in its C8 before fixing the defects. What is interesting in the picture is that the speckle in the blade is not the pigment but is in the Tamiya plastic. You'll note you can't see the speckle in the Hamilton Standard Propeller Cone. This is standard C8 no undercoat.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, luftmodels said:

Could you share your GX100 application settings? I mean ratio to thinner, psi and distance.

 

I use GX100 and GX112. Both are excellent. The GX112 just seems to lay down a little better for me. I don't know why - alignment of the planets? 

 

I have no science in my method, I let the airbrush do the talking and really watch the surface in terms of how it is going on. I want thin coats, wet for self levelling but do not flood and I really get in and watch how it is laying down particularly in the usual orange peel danger zones - wing roots, under cowling - good chemical face mask mandatory. I'll target the danger zones first so they are not the recipient of dryed (to be avoided) overspray onto a fresh surface.

 

I mix in the cup of my Iwata HP-CS (standard 0.35 needle). You feel in the trigger when the ratio is right. In rough terms probably only 20% GX 100 (maybe less) to Mr Levelling Thinners. You do not need much lacquer.

 

I used to pre-mix and it was never right. Now I can quickly adjust in the cup. Thinner first, paint second. Immediately stir after every drop is added so it does not settle in the bottom of the airbrush. 3 to 4 drops of lacquer in a 3/4 thinner filled CS cup is a good starting point. I usually test spray on the back of my disposable gloved hand.  

 

Spraying distance 2 to 3 inches (50-76 mm). Pressure around 20 psi - lower for tight spots to get in closer, higher for flat slab sides. Multiple coats and watch the gloss build.  I keep going with the coats till I get the finish I want.

 

If I'm worried about damaging the coating underneath I will accelerate the drying with a hair dryer. For example, if the coat is inadvertently too heavy. Once finished, yes, you can go over it with almost pure Mr Levelling Thinners as a mist coat as part of your airbrush cleaning process It does seem to enhance the finish further.

 

Hope this helps. It's a method that works for me, yet the delight of the hobby is I am always learning. 

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

 

 

[luftmodels]

20 hours ago, Ray_W said:

am about to, again, spray my Corsair prop using silver as a base coat to check for defects. My plan was to again use Gunze Mr Color C8. This time, for fun, I will spray a gloss Mr Color GX-2 black base and then AK Xtreme Polished Aluminium and post a picture this evening in this thread. Here's the prop in its C8 before fixing the defects. What is interesting in the picture is that the speckle in the blade is not the pigment but is in the Tamiya plastic. You'll note you can't see the speckle in the Hamilton Standard Propeller Cone. This is standard C8 no undercoat.

 

I would certainly appreciate the picture. I'm open for new discoveries. I use C8 as well and adore how easy to use it and the finish is so impressive. Sometime I think to make it as a go to metallic for any silvery metal part (aluminium, steel, etc). It is just so good and easy to work with! And I can't find the speckle you are talking about. Looks great to me. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

20 hours ago, Ray_W said:

In rough terms probably only 20% GX 100 (maybe less) to Mr Levelling Thinners. Spraying distance 2 to 3 inches (50-76 mm). Pressure around 20 psi.

Brilliant! This is exactly what I was looking for. I've seen some suggestions of 50/50 or 60/40 and it didn't really work. 80/20 is just what doctor ordered! 👍🏻 Are you sure about 20 psi? Why not 15?

 

20 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I usually test spray on the back of my disposable gloved hand.  

I do exactly the same. 😄 Black glove provides excellent contrast for check up.

 

I also tried your trick (from the thread you mentioned) of Post-it sticky notes and it gives me some hope, tbh. It almost doesn't pull any paint and this is exactly what I need for propeller sides. I can't thank you enough for this golden advice! 👍🏻