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Who uses Mr. Metal Color?


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Hi All,

 

I'm just getting into all different kinds of airplane modeling, after years of building mostly armor.  I have a bunch of the Gunze Super Metallic paints, as well as the current Alclad II paints for spraying metallic/metal colors on airplanes.  However, I also have purchased a number of the different colors of Gunze Mr. Metal Color paints.  As I understand it, these Mr. Metal Color paints are designed to be applied with a brush, stroked in one direction, and after a short time to dry, can then be polished using a Q tip or similar.  From the videos I've seen the resulting finish is spectacular, but very fragile (comes off on hands if handled).  (As an aside, I've read that some clear finishes damage the finish, in that they do not allow the 'metal character' of the finish to show through, and actually dull the finish, though I've read that some rattle can top coats retain the finish.  I am not a rattle can enthusiast, and am interested if any clear finishes in bottles, either airbrushed or brush painted, retain the metallic finish of these paints.)

 

Mainly, I'm curious if/how you other aircraft modelers use these Mr. Metal Color paints, as compared/contrasted to/with the sprayed metal paints.  It seems to me that these would be good for airplane landing gear struts, but that's just me.  Wondering how you use these paints, if you use them at all.  Thanks for your thoughts.

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Mr Color is my favorite paint, so I have tried their Mr Metal Color on some sample parts. Your description of application, buffing, and handling is correct. I haven't yet used it on a model, but I will when the opportunity presents itself.

 

I usually use Alclad for metallic coats. They spray well* (in my 0.5mm nozzle), are robust to masking, decal applications (I use Micro Set and Micro Sol), and take a clear coat well. They are somewhat sheer, so always prime before using them. I use white, gray, and black as undercoats. I use Mr Color C33 Gloss Clear for gloss finishes and Microscale Industries Micro Satin and Micro Flat for semi-gloss and flat coats respectively.

 

For oleo and chromed parts, I recently started using Molotow Liquid Chrome. Their pen applicator is easy to use. Wonderful stuff!!!

 

* The Alclad Chrome is fragile, and will rub off in handling. I've never tried masking it.

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Thanks for your response.  I've heard about the Molotow Liquid Chrome before, and it seems REALLY impressive.  My biggest concern about it, though, is shelf life.  I know that my need for chrome, which would be primarily on landing gear oleos, would be used extremely rarely.  What is your experience in both the marker itself, and the liquid aspect of the item?  If I were to use the marker on, say, a monthly basis, and for very tiny bits, like 1/48 oleos, which as you know are almost zero area, would the marker remain viable for a long time?  I'd hate to spend $25+ and then have the marker go bad in a few months.  Thanks for your thoughts.

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45 minutes ago, Curt B said:

Thanks for your response.  I've heard about the Molotow Liquid Chrome before, and it seems REALLY impressive.  My biggest concern about it, though, is shelf life.  I know that my need for chrome, which would be primarily on landing gear oleos, would be used extremely rarely.  What is your experience in both the marker itself, and the liquid aspect of the item?  If I were to use the marker on, say, a monthly basis, and for very tiny bits, like 1/48 oleos, which as you know are almost zero area, would the marker remain viable for a long time?  I'd hate to spend $25+ and then have the marker go bad in a few months.  Thanks for your thoughts.

That's exactly my use profile!

 

Not sure exactly how long I've had it, but it's been more than a few months.

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On 9/7/2019 at 7:11 PM, Curt B said:

Thanks for your response.  I've heard about the Molotow Liquid Chrome before, and it seems REALLY impressive.  My biggest concern about it, though, is shelf life.  I know that my need for chrome, which would be primarily on landing gear oleos, would be used extremely rarely.  What is your experience in both the marker itself, and the liquid aspect of the item?  If I were to use the marker on, say, a monthly basis, and for very tiny bits, like 1/48 oleos, which as you know are almost zero area, would the marker remain viable for a long time?  I'd hate to spend $25+ and then have the marker go bad in a few months.  Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I've had one for a couple of years now and it works as fine as the day I bought it. Sometimes have to "pump" the tip a few times to get it going, but that's normal for any of these kind of markers.

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23 minutes ago, Keroburner89 said:

I don't know why, but I have so much trouble spraying these and have had problems for years. 

 

It's like no matter how thin I make it or how I've adjusted the pressure, it just refuses to spray properly. It rather comes out in bursts- super annoying

Which paint and what nozzle size? I've had some problems spraying Alclad with a 0.3mm nozzle, so I mostly use my 0.5mm nozzle for metallics.

 

I have no problems spraying regular Mr Color in either 0.3mm or 0.5mm nozzles.

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19 minutes ago, Keroburner89 said:

I've got the 0.5mm in there at the moment. I might try really thinning down and seeing what happens

I thin all paint (Mr Color, Colourcoat, Humbrol, and Tamiya) to the consistency of 1% milk. Take a look at Alclad consistency. I spray at about 15psi (1 atmosphere). Spray thin coats.

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1 hour ago, Keroburner89 said:

I don't know why, but I have so much trouble spraying these and have had problems for years. 

 

It's like no matter how thin I make it or how I've adjusted the pressure, it just refuses to spray properly. It rather comes out in bursts- super annoying

 

Which 'these' are you referring to?  

 

I appreciate everyone chiming in here about their experiences with metal/metallic paints and applying them via airbrush, but I had been mostly interested in the use of Mr. Metal Color paints, which, unless I am completely off base, are not applied with an airbrush, but rather via regular brush.  I have yet to hear anyone speak about experiences with applying/thinning Mr. Metal Color with an airbrush.  Even the manufacturer videos seem to imply that these paints are not made to apply with an airbrush, but I could be wrong about this.  This is one of the only 'fails' I would say apply to Mr. Color/Mr. Hobby paints, that their official videos are mostly all in Japanese (as well as a lot of the documentation on their bottles).

 

Again, I had really wanted to learn how folks end up using the brush applied Mr. Metal Color paints, and what parts of their airplane models get painted with Mr. Metal Color paints.  

 

However, please don't misunderstand; I am thrilled with any/all info regarding airbrushing any metal/metallic color paints.  I will be building a 1/48 P-51D (the new Eduard kit) fairly soon, and that will be my very first time painting a model with metal type paint colors.  It's really scary to be a newbie without any experience, AT ALL, learning to do metal colors on a state of the art airplane model.  I know, most of you will suggest painting a 'mule', which I agree is the best option for me at this point.  I'll find an old model to use as a test case before slinging metal paint on that P-51D!

Edited by Curt B
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9 minutes ago, Keroburner89 said:

Was referring to Mr Metal Color... I'd surely be deserving of a slap if I were talking about other metallics 😛 

No, no, no, not at all!!!!  😊

 

You are the first person I've heard that has actually airbrushed Mr. Metal Color paint.  Your experiences will be invaluable to me!

Edited by Curt B
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Hey Curt,

 

so I didn't have time to airbrush last night unfortunately, but did quickly brush a few exhaust cans with the dark iron. And it went on absolutely beautifully... So brushing is a great way to go. Just make sure you burnish relatively quickly, as leaving it over night lets it set a bit.

 

I'll keep you posted on my airbrushing efforts (tonight or tomorrow hopefully)

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On 9/10/2019 at 7:03 PM, Keroburner89 said:

Hey Curt,

 

so I didn't have time to airbrush last night unfortunately, but did quickly brush a few exhaust cans with the dark iron. And it went on absolutely beautifully... So brushing is a great way to go. Just make sure you burnish relatively quickly, as leaving it over night lets it set a bit.

 

I'll keep you posted on my airbrushing efforts (tonight or tomorrow hopefully)

Thank you, sir, I am most interested in your activities, and what success you have.  I just did some brush painted Stainless with Mr. Metal Color, on the 'half' molding of radial cylinders on an Eduard Focke Wulf 190A-4.  Because there isn't any real flat or smooth surface on that part, meaning there were no spots where I could actually polish the paint, the best I could get in terms of real 'metal look' was on the very thin partitions between the cylinders, but, they shined up amazingly well.

 

I definitely plan to use Mr. Metal Color on the exhausts of most of my 1/48 WWII fighters. The only thing about that is that I'd guess most of those exhausts won't need (or shouldn't have) bright shine to their finish, so it would probably be best to just do the brush painting of the appropriate Mr. Metal Color paint color and let them dry without burnishing.  Thoughts? 

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On 9/11/2019 at 12:54 AM, jonbryon said:

The underside of this was airbrushed with Mr Metal Color Aluminium thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner, but that was back in 2007:

 

mirage3c_016.jpg

 

Jon

 

Beautiful model, Jon.  After you airbrushed the Mr. Metal Color, did you polish/burnish the finish?  Or did the finish end up being fairly 'metal look', simply the result of the airbrush application?

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1 hour ago, Curt B said:

 

Beautiful model, Jon.  After you airbrushed the Mr. Metal Color, did you polish/burnish the finish?  Or did the finish end up being fairly 'metal look', simply the result of the airbrush application?

 

I didn't know what I was doing when I used the paint and did not polish it. The end result looks the same as if I'd used Alclad.

 

Jon

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