Neil Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Ok, anybody applied the Alclad metal finishes to un-primed kits? As I understand it, the paint should be applied over primed kit plastic, the basic reason being that Alclad will sometimes 'etch' the plastic surface if a primer is not applied first? So far so good. Now, maybe Alclad could be applied in maybe 2 or 3 LIGHTLY misted coats to stop the solvent attacking kit plastic ? Anybody tried this with success.......? Only asking because I have never used Alclad, only SnJ for natural metal finishes in the past. TIA, Neil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
polybebber Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I've used Alclad on my Lightning F.3 with no extra priming, except where puttied. Prior to airbrushing Alclad, the model was wet sanded with 600 grid paper, that was all I did to prepare the surfaces. I've airbrushed 2 light coats und polished with a Dremel polishing wheel. Decals were also applied right on without any Future as base. Maybe I was only lucky , but I even skipped the black underneath the highly polished aluminum areas and it looked fine to me. If interested, check the Gallery, you'll find the model there. HTH. Lothar Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly Quirk Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I applied Alclad to some unprimed wings and had a fit. Masking pulled it up, and when I applied a wash that affected it too. On the same kit, I primed the fuselage and had no problem with it whatsoever. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Whiplash Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I would say be safe and prime!! I ALWAYS use primer when spraying laquers...just my rule of thumb. Nothing is worse than destroying a good kit...been there, done that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justin Davenport Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 I always use Alclad with primer and never have had a problem. I use Painter's Touch primer, and gloss black on the shinier areas for different sheens/effects. Justin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Miccara Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 I'll spare you the details.... but prime, prime, prime. Regardless of the etching problem, if you're using chrome or polished aluminum Alclad in particular, you will get a much better finish. I suggest the Alclad Gloss Black as the primer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Miccara Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Here's another view.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neil Posted December 19, 2003 Author Share Posted December 19, 2003 Thanks for the advice chaps. Just to play safe I could be priming it then....... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kuma Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 Hi! When I first used Alclad I didn't prime. I had no problems with etching the plastic but encountered an annoying tendency to peel after masking (Tamiya tape). So I had to redo some panels twice or three times. You can see the results on my F-104 in the thread on applying white paint in this section and on the IPMS Austria site (http://62.178.164.35/~hannes/PP/ipms/Images/Magazin/ipms2002/Wettbewerb/A2/DSCN9287.jpg). Peeling never happened again when I started primed the airframe. First I tried the white Tamiya primer in a can, but it was a little too rough for my liking. Maybe it was my fault because I'm not used to working with a spraycan. The results are here: http://62.178.164.35/~hannes/PP/ipms/Image...b1/DSCN3362.jpg Heavily thinned Mr. Surfacer 1000 was much smoother, but I was still not too content with the result. For my last model I used Alclad grey primer and it did the trick. The last thing I have to experiment with is the black Alclad primer. I only used it in small areas and here it worked like a charm. Results for those two tecniques are still not photographed, so I can't show it to you. Sorry. Martin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ricardo Posted December 19, 2003 Share Posted December 19, 2003 I tried using polished aluminium on an unprimed model (Monogram's 1/72 B-24J) and it started to melt the plastic awfully! The plastic remained with some tackiness for a couple of days. My advice is Don't even try to do it. Ricardo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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