I will NEVER use ALCLAD again. Period.

[breadneck]

Just a little curiousity here..i dont know if this alclad primer is the one your supposed to put on to get that shiny metallic finish, but i got some alclad metallics myself, but never tried them. Anyway what i wanted to say was that i once by fluke tried to use a silver marker pen on one of my kits and wow..the effect was very neat. But ofcourse this may be a mere suggestion for you if you wish to try it out. Have fun fiddling with your metallic finishes. I know it can be a B.A. pain ;-)

[Devilleader501]

as far as masking, Frisket Film is my best friend especially when you use real thin coats of paint dusted over the area masked. when I spray the metalizer i spray a few more coats than usual to get it thick then sand with very fine sandpaper and then buff it out from there. with the sludgewashes I use and the effects i can get overspray off of the model with there really isnt any other option for me. To me its the easyest way to get those kind of effects. For getting overspray and bleed marks off of my models I use a #2 pencil eraser. it even works on canopys. coupled with the soapy acrylic wash I use i achieve pretty good effects. If i had any rescent pics of the effects i get ide post them but should have some pics in the future of some of the projects im currently working on.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Devilleader501

[Dingo]

I use Alclad's gloss black primer several times with no problems whatsoever.

I even sprayed XC High Speed Silver as a top coat (awesome paint BTW) with no problems wither.

See here

http://vbulletin.degem.net/showthread.php?t=10619

http://vbulletin.degem.net/showthread.php?t=10203

http://vbulletin.degem.net/showthread.php?t=10329

I know that Tamiya X-1 Acrylic Gloss Black as some shrinkage issues when thinned with Tamiya Thinner or Alcohol.

Thinning it with Enemal Thinner (yes..yes..) solves the problem.

Edited December 23, 2011 by Dingo

[Fishwelding]

Cold comfort, Cobrahistorian: If you wait around two years, Alclad Black Primer eventually does dry. I shot an F-84E with the stuff and had the very same problem: tacky for weeks. I shelved the project indefinitely, because I didn't have the patience to strip it all off.

I picked it up after two years and, sure enough, the paint had finally cured. Not exactly a sales point for the brand, I realize.

Then again, maybe it has to do with a chemical incompatibility with Republic Aviation airframes?

[Sebastian Haff]

USe Gunze super metallizer instead, the finish is as good as with Alclad IMHO, and more easy to use .

Amen, brother. I abandoned Alclad II a year ago when I discovered Mr. Color Super Metallic. It produces just as good of a result, without all the drama. I don't know why more modelers don't use it, but I figure that's more for me!

[Netz]

Yes, but what about masking? NMF often have multi-hued panels. How do you pull that off with Testors Metalizer? I have heard of using wet Post-It notes, but that isn't always practical over compound curves.

BTW, I have tried SNJ and was not impressed. It kind of went on like metallic aluminium paint. It dried very hard and I would have had to polish it for a week to get it looking like really shiny natural metal.

For masking I like to use Para-Film, you can stretch it over any contour and then trim it with a curved blade knife.

Any adhesive type masking over Metalizer will most likely pull it up, if you have to use an any type of masking I like to make the contact surface as small as possible, usually by laying some tissue paper over the tape/post-it to only allow about a 1/8 inch area of tape that will actually touch the paint. HERE'S a photo example of a good masking technique I just found

SNJ, I bought the SNJ kit, and used the spray once,it actually looked transparent and I never used it again, but what you do want is the powder,that is whats going to give you the metallic sheen, if you want a very shiny finish, 1st spray a layer of gloss lacquer, and while still tacky rub in the SNJ powder.

I know that Tamiya X-1 Acrylic Gloss Black as some shrinkage issues when thinned with Tamiya Thinner or Alcohol.

Thinning it with Enemal Thinner (yes..yes..) solves the problem.

If you use an Acrylic paint as a base cote you are asking for problems, it will crack as the surface tension increases as the lacquer on top dries.

Curt

Edited December 23, 2011 by Netz

[Cobrahistorian]

Cold comfort, Cobrahistorian: If you wait around two years, Alclad Black Primer eventually does dry. I shot an F-84E with the stuff and had the very same problem: tacky for weeks. I shelved the project indefinitely, because I didn't have the patience to strip it all off.

I picked it up after two years and, sure enough, the paint had finally cured. Not exactly a sales point for the brand, I realize.

Then again, maybe it has to do with a chemical incompatibility with Republic Aviation airframes?

Fish,

I think you may be on to something.

Well, the coat finally dried. I then made the mistake of spraying Testors metalizer buffing aluminum over it.

BAD choice.

Ever seen a crinkle-finish zippo?

So, this Jug has now been stripped down to the bare plastic for a THIRD time. I know I shouldn't have gotten impatient and waited to spray the Alclad aluminum, but this project has taken far too long already.

Now that the paint's been entirely stripped, I'll start polishing the plastic again. Gonna try a simple polish, pre-shade and metal on the -30-RE and a new gloss black primer (that dries!) on the -28-RA.

Considering I've got another stack of Jugs to do, I'm gonna need to figure out what works best.

Jon

[El pibe vitina]

I use Humbrol Enamel Gloss Black or even Dark Sea Blue as primer for ALCLAD paints like Chrome and never had troubles with these paints.

Bye for now...

[Tate]

I use Future as a primer. The Alclad will stick to it really well. I can even mask over it with Tamaiya tape without pulling the finish up.

[RAIN]

In Canada, tried Alclad's gloss black primer, still extremely tacky for me as well after two days.

I'm in Canada as well, and I've had no tacky issues with Alclad's gloss black primer...knock on wood.