Fighting Eighty-Four Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Hi all! So lately I have been thinking about how to replicate the metallic goldish-red tint that is on Raptor and Prowler Canopies (and others) that seems to flip shades depending on the angle you view it. Such as these: And while watching my wife apply nail polish I had an epiphany... Why not try Nail Polish? There are tons of wild metallic and iridescent shades out there. And sure enough, I found some on eBay that looked like it would be perfect: I got a bottle of this on eBay for .75 shipped!!! So I took an extra P-51 canopy I had on a recently completed Tamiya Kit, and decided to test it out today. I took an empty Gunze paint bottle, filled it about half way with regular Hardware Store Lacquer thinner. I then dabbed the nail polish brush into the bottle until I had the mixture about right. I then put some in my airbrush, and sprayed the INSIDE of the canopy with a light mist coat. I ended up putting a second, more substantial coat after, and here are the results: I just thought I would share this with everyone as I am pretty stoked with the results, and maybe it can help someone trying to replicate this effect. I will report back after some time to make sure that there are no ill affects on the plastic itself, since I did not dip the canopy in future first and used lacquer thinner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Parabat Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Pretty awesome results, what number is it, there appear to be a few of these in different colours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 11 minutes ago, Parabat said: Pretty awesome results, what number is it, there appear to be a few of these in different colours. I just checked my eBay history, and it's #212. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Parabat Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Fighting Eighty-Four said: I just checked my eBay history, and it's #212. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChippyWho Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 (edited) Just getting my head around the idea of a Mustang Zapper -as the late Mr Marley would say, "Jammin'!" But maybe a Whif Too Far. That canopy looks very similar to the Prowler's pimp-chic window tint; I'll have to experiment to find that elusive soap-bubble look on Hornets and A-10s. Maybe I can persuade Mrs Who that she has a promising career as a nail wizard... Many thanks for the pointer! Edited January 8, 2017 by ChippyWho Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RotorheadTX Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Ho Lee Frack! That's amazing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
coneheadff Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 That looks great!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) On 1/8/2017 at 2:13 AM, Fighting Eighty-Four said: I just checked my eBay history, and it's #212. You ordered from an EBay store located in China? The results look very favorable and I want to give it a shot. Edited January 27, 2017 by Mr Matt Foley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper730 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 It looks really good ...question does it have any "metal flake" particles like those in gold paint? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 WOW, that's pretty slick dude. It looks the part, cool. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
goondman Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 wow, awesome, thank you!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
echolmberg Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 On 1/27/2017 at 3:40 PM, viper730 said: It looks really good ...question does it have any "metal flake" particles like those in gold paint? I was wondering the same thing. In the mean time, I'm going to have to raid my wife's and two daughters' stash of nail polish to see if they have similar items! It's going to be hard to root through their boxes of nail polish while trying to look like a dignified man at the same time. Eric PS. Indeed! Thank you for the great tip! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dnl42 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 2 hours ago, echolmberg said: I'm going to have to raid my wife's and two daughters' stash of nail polish to see if they have similar items! You've got some serious thrill issues, dude! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Funny..... I was just thinking about this the other day. I have airbrushed nail polish for years to paint custom fishing lures with awesome results, and having seen the very opaque finish, I wondered if it would work for these "gold" canopies as well. My only concern was that when I airbrush it, I use actual nail polish thinner, which is some VERY hot stuff! You'd almost certainly have to give the canopy a dip in future and let it dry for a week before trying it though. Otherwise I think that the canopy might melt! Nice to see that it has some potential. Thanks for sharing ;0) Fred K. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DutyCat Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Alclad has a clear dark gold tint color that works really well for this...not quite as "reflecty" though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 I just checked the canopy again today, and there are no adverse affects from spraying this on the inside. It is a little dull on the inside where I painted, so I think if I dipped the canopy in future it would gloss it right up. For those asking if it has gold flake, I am not sure. But it does change color depending on the light from full gold to an almost reddish hue. I thinned the polish with store brand laquer thinner, which is also quite hot, but using the light mist coats seemed to have no ill effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Matt Foley Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 On 2/4/2017 at 4:12 PM, Fighting Eighty-Four said: I just checked the canopy again today, and there are no adverse affects from spraying this on the inside. It is a little dull on the inside where I painted, so I think if I dipped the canopy in future it would gloss it right up. For those asking if it has gold flake, I am not sure. But it does change color depending on the light from full gold to an almost reddish hue. I thinned the polish with store brand laquer thinner, which is also quite hot, but using the light mist coats seemed to have no ill effect. That is great news. I ordered my bottle last week. I'll get it in 30-40 days.....I hope. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fighting Eighty-Four Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 Bringing this thread back from the grave, but since it is my thread I figured why not! Anyway, I used this technique on my recently completed F-22 Raptor model, and am very pleased with the results and wanted to share them here since this discussion is concerning this very application. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stinger16 Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Looks great buddy. I might have to try that technique sometime Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ridinshotgun Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Any idea on the color name? I ran that number for that brand of polish and it doesn't come up. Or a link to the original listing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Underdog Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 That does look the business, but I think it would be prudent in firstly applying some Future for protection... great idea and worth a try! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 3 hours ago, ridinshotgun said: Any idea on the color name? I ran that number for that brand of polish and it doesn't come up. Or a link to the original listing? I am interested in this too. I searched on eBay under the Born Pretty brand and could find nothing that looked quite like what is pictured above. I searched the general Internet and all the Born Pretty "Holo Polish" looked to be a pretty coarse glitter polish. Nothing like the fine pigments in the bottle you have. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shion Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 try this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NICOLE-DIARY-Chameleon-Mirror-Nail-Polish-Sequined-Glitter-Decoration/163072188434?var=462203550740&hash=item25f7dc2012:g:Gr0AAOSwlgNbDR6N Quote Link to post Share on other sites
arnobiz Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 Or this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BORN-PRETTY-Nail-Polish-Holographic-Chameleon-Magnetic-Color-Changing-Nail-Art/312274375095?var=610911501670 For HUDs this one might work well too: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BORN-PRETTY-Nail-Polish-Holographic-Chameleon-Magnetic-Color-Changing-Nail-Art/312274375095?var=610911501775 I just ordered one of each 🙂 Arnaud Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 28 minutes ago, shion said: try this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NICOLE-DIARY-Chameleon-Mirror-Nail-Polish-Sequined-Glitter-Decoration/163072188434?var=462203550740&hash=item25f7dc2012:g:Gr0AAOSwlgNbDR6N Sorry, that doesn't look anything like the one Michael used. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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