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In need of a good silver paint.


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Hi everyone,

     I'm planning on finishing off a Hasegawa 48th TA-4J as VF-126 #00 from one of the Fight's On adversary decal sheets released a few years back. The aircraft is overall silver, maybe even chrome. It's quite bright. See pic below. I usually use Testors Metalizers for my metal parts, but I'm going to need to do some masking on this build, so I need a silver that I can mask over. I also need the finish to be able to take decals well without gloss coating. I prefer enamels, but will consider acrylics as well. I'm in the US, so some of the paints that I've heard good about, like Halford's, won't be available to me. Any suggestions?  Thanks, Fred.

TA-4J 152861 VF-126 #00L.jpg

TA-4J 152861 VF-126 #00R2.jpg

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1 hour ago, Brian P: Fightertown Decals said:

Willing to use lacquer? 
Alclad, MRP, and MrColor Super Metallic are all great. And mask over well. 

 

Hi everyone,

     Brian and Steven: I've tried Alclad before, and it cracked on me. I sprayed the gloss black, let it dry a day or two, sprayed the Alclad, but ended up with a bunch of tiny fractures in it. I never tried it again after that. No doubt I did something wrong, but I hesitate to give it another go. Any thoughts? Thanks ;0)

 

      Gwen & Nebbor: I'll check out your recommendations, thanks!

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Not to be a contrarian but the best option in my opinion is either Tamiya rattle can “Metallic Silver” or “Bare Metal”. Try spraying them over Tamiya rattle can “Gloss Black”. The quality and durability will amaze you. Another solid option when replicating a silver paint finish is Mr Color Silver. 

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Is that aircraft painted silver or is it a bare metal finish? It looks too uniform to be a bare metal aircraft. If its painted I would go with Tamiya LP-11, if its bare metal I would go with Alclad over Gunze GX-2 gloss black. 

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3 hours ago, okthree said:

Take a look at Tamiya LP11. It’s a lacquer based paint and I thin it with Gunze Mr.Leveling Thinner. Sprays beautifully and very durable once dry. 

 

Hi Ok3,

How does the lacquer-based Tamiya paint compare to MRP?

 

2 hours ago, boom175 said:

Is that aircraft painted silver or is it a bare metal finish? It looks too uniform to be a bare metal aircraft. If its painted I would go with Tamiya LP-11, if its bare metal I would go with Alclad over Gunze GX-2 gloss black. 

 

Hi Craig,

What's the shelf life of Alclads once opened? I've never tried them out, but OP stated he had tiny fractures on his Alclad.

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

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13 minutes ago, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

Hi Ok3,

How does the lacquer-based Tamiya paint compare to MRP?

 

 

Hi Craig,

What's the shelf life of Alclads once opened? I've never tried them out, but OP stated he had tiny fractures on his Alclad.

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

Gwen,

My LHS just started to carry the Tamiya lacquer line so I don’t have a lot of experience with it. Tamiya’s lacquers are similar to Gunze if you are familiar with those. Unlike MRP, Tamiya’s paints are not prethinned. I thin 50/50 with MLT. At that ratio coverage is a little better than MRP. I got a nice uniform coverage. I have not tried brushing it but assume it can be brushed for touch ups etc.  MRP is a little too hot to brush. I used LP11 to base coat a P-38, then over painted with OD before I chipped off the paint. It was easy to use with good results. 
 

Also I can address the shelf life of Alclad. I have several bottles that are a decade plus years old and sprays and cures just fine. Alclad has never cracked on me. Alclad are also lacquer base so if sprayed over an acrylic could produce cracks. 

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Another vote for the Tamiya LP paints. They’re outstanding and spray great when mixed 50/50 with Mr Leveling Thinner. If you want to use a rattle can, BillS’s Tamiya suggestions or their Silver Leaf spray easily. 
 

I can also second what okthree says about Alclad. I’ve got ten-year-old Alclad that’s still good. Problems with cracking are usually due to the base coat drying at a different rate from the Alclad. Alclad’s gloss black primer has been problematic in the past. I’ve had good results using Tamiya X-1 gloss black heavily thinned (75/25) with Metalizer thinner as well as plain old Tamiya TS-14. LP-1 should work well, too.

 

Ben

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On 4/13/2022 at 7:53 AM, Gwen Phoenix said:

A couple of good recommendations for your needs.

https://youtu.be/rfLlmmu_rDg

 

K Colors Metallics more than Gaianotes, judging by the look of the silver shine in the pictures.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

Sorry to go a bitt off topic, but a question for Gwen...  Do you have a source for the K Color Metallic paints?  I have looked EVERYWHERE for well over a year trying to find these paints in the US, and have had zero luck.  If you know of a shop that has these paints, and the applicable thinner, I'd be eternally indebted!  

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19 hours ago, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

Hi Craig,

What's the shelf life of Alclads once opened? I've never tried them out, but OP stated he had tiny fractures on his Alclad.

Cheers,

 

Gwen 

Gwen I have bottle of Alclad that are over 10 years old and while I can't guarantee every bottle will last that long, as long as you keep your bottles tightly sealed they will last a long time. I do like there metallics but not a big fan of some of there other products.  

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Hi Ok3, Ben and Craig.

Thank you very much for your replies. Will try out some Alclads.

 

9 hours ago, Curt B said:

Sorry to go a bitt off topic, but a question for Gwen...  Do you have a source for the K Color Metallic paints?  I have looked EVERYWHERE for well over a year trying to find these paints in the US, and have had zero luck.  If you know of a shop that has these paints, and the applicable thinner, I'd be eternally indebted!  

 

Hi Curt,

 

KColors are an Italian brand which domain (http://kcolors.com), seems to have been disabled for a while. 

I used to speak to Christian Bertolini, but since I dwell in Buenos Aires, I never knew of any distributor in the US, that's to say I've got to source all of my stuff from abroad.

The few bottles I have, I got them from an UK importer at http://www.modelinovations.co.uk

Sometimes I got lucky finding some metallics stock at https://www.weglo.it, or tried to get some advice from info.kcolorsasia@gmail.com or visit http://www.kustomerservice.com and http://fromemodelcentre.com

Their range of metallics are really worth the hassle.

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

 

1 hour ago, boom175 said:

Hi

 

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@Gwen Phoenix: Gwen, thanks for your quick and detailed reply!  I learned about K Color from Doog's videos, and I must say, I became immediately enamored with those paints after watching what Matt did with them!  I have many metal paints, Gunze, AK Xtreme Metal, Alclad, even one bottle of the Vallejo water based Aluminum, and I am inclined to use the Xtreme or the Gunze metal colors, and they are really good, however, there was just something about the K Colors that looked to be just that tiny bit 'nicer', if you will.  It seems like you feel the same way, based on your personal use.  I'm going to keep trying to get my hands on some of these paints and see if they are as good as they appear to be.  Again, many thanks for you quick response and a few leads for me to follow up on!

 

Regards,  Curt

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On 4/15/2022 at 9:02 PM, Curt B said:

I learned about K Color from Doog's videos, and I must say, I became immediately enamored with those paints after watching what Matt did with them! It seems like you feel the same way, based on your personal use. I'm going to keep trying to get my hands on some of these paints and see if they are as good as they appear to be.  Again, many thanks for you quick response and a few leads for me to follow up on!

 

Hi Curt,

Anytime! I'm both glad and surprised that I was able to be of help to someone on here, in view that I'm such an inveterate noob, honestly.

I was thinking that perhaps you could ask "Mr Shut Up, Compressor" where in the US he grabbed his KColors paints from in the comments below on YouTube? I fear the social networks, thus, I wouldn't go there, even though Matt seems to be an easy-going fella.

Having learnt about these KColors Metallics made me feel exactly the same as I felt when I switched from SnJ Spray Metal to Model Master metallic lacquers in the early '90s, and it's not that SnJ were that bad at all.   

After I checked out the shine on Fred's Scooter pictures, I thought it reflected the tone in KColors #60 Steel and #15 Aluminium (shiny but not quite as BMF and/or Gaianotes Premium Mirror Chrome).

Hope you can grab some of these paints yourself.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

  

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4 hours ago, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

Hi Curt,

Anytime! I'm both glad and surprised that I was able to be of help to someone on here, in view that I'm such an inveterate noob, honestly.

I was thinking that perhaps you could ask "Mr Shut Up, Compressor" where in the US he grabbed his KColors paints from in the comments below on YouTube? I fear the social networks, thus, I wouldn't go there, even though Matt seems to be an easy-going fella.

Having learnt about these KColors Metallics made me feel exactly the same as I felt when I switched from SnJ Spray Metal to Model Master metallic lacquers in the early '90s, and it's not that SnJ were that bad at all.   

After I checked out the shine on Fred's Scooter pictures, I thought it reflected the tone in KColors #60 Steel and #15 Aluminium (shiny but not quite as BMF and/or Gaianotes Premium Mirror Chrome).

Hope you can grab some of these paints yourself.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

  

Hi Gwen,

I've tried contacting Matt, but  he's become such a modeling icon that I'm sure he's sufficiently deluged with e-mail and requests for help with this or that, that he hasn't responded in the past on this very question.  Perhaps I should keep trying.  Then again, I'm sure he has pipelines to products that us 'ordinary' modelers probably can't access.  Guess that shouldn't stop me, though!  I appreciate your very informative responses!

My best, Curt

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On 4/17/2022 at 11:37 PM, Curt B said:

I've tried contacting Matt, but he's become such a modeling icon

 

Hi Curt,

So true! Matt's the grumpy modelling icon 😄 I still recall having been utterly flabbergasted by watching this video where he suddenly decided to put the HK 1/48 B-17 kit on the Shelf of Doom on the 11th episode because of some fitting issues. He cracks me up everytime!

I'll be looking out for some KColours replenishments, so I'm going to give you the heads-up if I come across any jars that are in stock somewhere.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

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2 hours ago, Gwen Phoenix said:

 

Hi Curt,

So true! Matt's the grumpy modelling icon 😄 I still recall having been utterly flabbergasted by watching this video where he suddenly decided to put the HK 1/48 B-17 kit on the Shelf of Doom on the 11th episode because of some fitting issues. He cracks me up everytime!

I'll be looking out for some KColours replenishments, so I'm going to give you the heads-up if I come across any jars that are in stock somewhere.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

You are very kind, Gwen.  I appreciate the offer of help, and I will do the same and let you know, if I happen to, miraculously, find a supplier!   Curt

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi @Curt B,

I was told today that K Colors are no more.

They are resurrected as Kustom Service paints, which can be purchased via https://www.kustomservice.com/it/18-modellismo

Metallics: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/103-colori-metallizzati- and https://www.kustomservice.com/it/110-colori-metallici

Military colours: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/196-colori-militari

Alitalia: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/139-colori-alitalia-

They're exactly the same formula.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

Edited by Gwen Phoenix
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On 5/11/2022 at 2:54 PM, Gwen Phoenix said:

Hi @Curt B,

I was told today that K Colors are no more.

They are resurrected as Kustom Service paints, which can be purchased via https://www.kustomservice.com/it/18-modellismo

Metallics: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/103-colori-metallizzati- and https://www.kustomservice.com/it/110-colori-metallici

Military colours: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/196-colori-militari

Alitalia: https://www.kustomservice.com/it/139-colori-alitalia-

They're exactly the same formula.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

Gwen, you are SOOOOO SUPER!!!!!  I have continued to look for those KColor paints, and obviously, with your new information, I was probably not going to find them!  I can't believe that you remembered our discussion, and followed through for me.  I am so grateful!  Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you!!

 

Curt 

Edited by Curt B
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