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Any good base for Alclad, other than acrylic?


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Mr. Color gloss black (#2 IIRC) does a great job. I've written this before, but I find the Mr Color gloss paints go on stunningly well, is a quite thin, and dries very quickly. I used Alclad's gloss black once, but it literally took days to dry, let alone cure.

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REGULAR ALCLAD PAINTS

Apply one of these primers before using Regular ALCLAD paints:

Alclad ALC-302 GREY PRIMER

Alclad ALC-306 WHITE PRIMER & MICROFILLER

Alclad ALC-309 BLACK PRIMER & MICROFILLER

Tamiya or Gunze Sangyo plastic primers

Auto Primer-white or grey

HIGH SHINE ALCLAD PAINTS

(POLISHED ALUMINIUM, CHROME FOR PLASTIC, POLISHED BRASS, CHROME FOR LEXAN, STAINLESS STEEL, GOLD TITANIUM, AIRFRAME ALUMINIUM, MIRRORED GOLD FOR LEXAN)

Apply one of these primers before using High Shine ALCLAD paints:

ALCLAD GLOSS BLACK BASE ALC-304/305

ALCLAD CLEAR BASE ALC-303

(Other hobby enamel paints are suitable-it is advisable to conduct a test on scrap plastic)

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Go ahead and beat your head against the wall, and decant all the paints you want, but the best and easiest base for Alclad is Tamiya TS-14 and Fine Primer, sprayed straight from the can.

I painted this model the same day as the base paints were sprayed.

Curt

399736_10200460526209291_1055213449_n.jpg?oh=a851dd2d871ad197d2f6e98c1b713c41&oe=565E6003

534127_10200426513358991_61833871_n.jpg?oh=f2611a80690511f6df123b7f603d2dc2&oe=56623807

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Curt,

I've heard from others about using Tamiya Spray cans for Alcad bases, but my concern is how to do you get the paint into small, tight areas without applying too much paint to the surrounding areas? That's why I've always used my AB for base coats.

Joel

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Curt,

I've heard from others about using Tamiya Spray cans for Alcad bases, but my concern is how to do you get the paint into small, tight areas without applying too much paint to the surrounding areas? That's why I've always used my AB for base coats.

Joel

I'll back up Neo and tell you to try Krylon gloss black. It's always worked for me. Good Luck!!!

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I've heard from others about using Tamiya Spray cans for Alcad bases, but my concern is how to do you get the paint into small, tight areas without applying too much paint to the surrounding areas? That's why I've always used my AB for base coats.

Decant.

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Decanting just gives me a lacquer gloss black. I can get that already in a bottle without having to go through all the decanting process which is a pain in the butt. The whole point of using a rattle can is so that you don't need to use an Air Brush to apply the base coat.

Joel

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Curt,

I've heard from others about using Tamiya Spray cans for Alcad bases, but my concern is how to do you get the paint into small, tight areas without applying too much paint to the surrounding areas? That's why I've always used my AB for base coats.

Joel

Tamiya goes on very thin, so careful spraying into the tight areas 1st then hit the overall large areas.

I was wary of using any kind of spray can,I like to have as little paint on my models as possible,Tamiya spray is one of the best on the market.

Curt

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I've heard some use Future as well.

As touchy as Future is to airbrush, I wouldn't try it, any graininess, or the dreaded runs will telegraph through.

Also it's recommended to have a black base under any "shiny" Alclad color.

Curt

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If you need a gloss black base for the high shine varieties I'd recommend Mr. Color. I've also used decanted Krylon which gives about the smoothest finish I've ever got from anything out of an airbrush. However, it's just easier to not decant.

I will warn you about Alclad's own black base though. It's fairly well known that there were bad batches that would never actually dry/cure. I used on of these bad bottles on a Tamiya Mustang and it ruined the model when I sprayed Alclad over it. The claim is the bad bottles are no more, but I've tested 3 bottles now that won't/don't cure. So I will never trust it again. Just a heads up...perhaps the problem really is fixed, but I'd be remiss not to share.

Also, I have an article upcoming in an issue of Model Aircraft (likely November) covering doing NMF with Alclad that you may be interested in.

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If you need a gloss black base for the high shine varieties I'd recommend Mr. Color.

Sigh.

HIGH SHINE ALCLAD PAINTS

(POLISHED ALUMINIUM, CHROME FOR PLASTIC, POLISHED BRASS, CHROME FOR LEXAN, STAINLESS STEEL, GOLD TITANIUM, AIRFRAME ALUMINIUM, MIRRORED GOLD FOR LEXAN)

<snip>

(Other hobby enamel paints are suitable-it is advisable to conduct a test on scrap plastic)

Mr. Color is not an enamel. The high shine paints (and ONLY the high shine paints) require an enamel undercoat. Black is recommended for best results, but other colours can be used to achieve the desired effect.

Seriously guys, it's not that hard: Use a smooth, preferably lacquer (or acrylic lacquer), primer of your choice for the regular metallic shades; use a gloss enamel for the high shine paints. Using a gloss enamel will not turn the regular metallic shades into high shine paints; using a regular lacquer or acrylic-based lacquer will lead to adhesion problems with the high shine paints.

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It absolutely DOES NOT HAVE to be enamel. Not remotely. There is no reason whatsoever why you'd need enamel, so if you can give me some reason why...other than referring to their website (which I suspect only says enamel because their horrible black base is enamel) then I'd welcome it. But do note I know a wee bit about paint chemistry:

http://jimsmodels.com/a-bit-about-paint-chemistry/

Mr. Color gloss black:

AirfixLightning12_zpsnlaln9x8.jpg

More of this one can be seen in an upcoming NMF article in Model Aircraft.

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Mr. Color is not an enamel. The high shine paints (and ONLY the high shine paints) require an enamel undercoat.

Seriously guys, it's not that hard: ...... use a gloss enamel for the high shine paints.

Why is that Mike? ie: Why do high shine Alclads need an enamel rather than a lacquer primer base coat?

Case in point- Krylon gloss black lacquer followed by Alclad Bright Aluminum.

Firstpaint7.jpg

Edited by chuck540z3
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If I recall correctly, you're using Krylon Fusion, right?

Easy: because it's enamel. Krylon changed their formula about seven years ago, so now virtually all their paints are enamels. Fusion, Dual and Colormaster are all enamel sprays.

Simple way to tell if your spray paint is enamel: if the label says something along the lines of 'recoat within 1 hour or after 24 (or 48) hours', it's an enamel. Lacquers don't have a window for re-coating, because they cure differently.

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