Kustom Service metallics

[okthree]

Does anyone have experience with Kustom Service metallic paints? I was thinking of giving them a try.  My biggest question is are they as durable as Alclad and can they be masked over without lifting?  I understand they are alcohol based. Can they be cleaned up with water?  
 

[Curt B]

They are essentially the K Color paints that are re-branded, if you have knowledge of or experience with those.  I have several of the metallic colors, but honestly, I've not tried them yet.  I am planning to do some spraying later this week, and I'll try to give you an update if no one else has responded.

 

I have found a few video reviews of these paints on YouTube, one by Barbatos Rex, and one by TJM Studio, and I thought they both did a good job.  The Barbatos Rex video shows airbrush cleanup using only alcohol, some back flushing and spraying through the brush, and appears easy.  The paints do look great over gloss black and over matte black.  Neither video shows how well the metallic paints hold up when subjected to masking after drying, so I'll try to give you my impressions on this aspect of them.  

 

I'm obviously not sure what piqued your interest in these paints, but I really like the AK Xtreme Metal colors for all aspects of metal color paints, including ease of application, resistance to masking, and cleanup.  If you've not considered or tried those, you may want to give some thought to them, or looks t some video reviews of them.  I think the AK metal colors are superior to Alclad, though they are enamel based. 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Curt B
Additional thoughts

[okthree]

Curt thanks for the reply.  I will look for your impressions of the Kustom Service once you use them. 
 

I became interested in Kustom Service after watching Doog’s Midels F-4 build. He used them on his F-4 and really likes them but I was looking for more opinions.  I’m not convinced they are as great as Matt says they are and wanted other’s impressions.  I have been a long time user of Alclad and really like them but one shade that is missing from their range of finishes is titanium. I noticed Kustom Service had a titanium in their line so that’s why I considered giving them a try. 
 

Thank you for mentioning AK Xtreme Metal. I will look into them. I see they also have titanium and Scalehobbyist, a retailer I use often, stocks them.  They merit a try.  

[Gwen Phoenix]

Hi okthree,

Never used the Alclad II range of metallics, but I learnt that they were not easy to spray. I learnt of these Kcolor paints through Matt McDougall as well, and still wish I had learnt about these paints a lot earlier.

I purchased the whole range of their metallics when they still went by their former brand name of Kcolor. Both Kcolor and these Kustom Service ones are alcohol based paints from Italy; it's quite the very same formula.

The only shade that I didn't like (I only build 1/48 aircraft kits) was their XF444 Aluminata, which is of a too dull, too dark shade. Someone once told me that this sort of paint is meant for dioramas depicting derelict craft specifically. This shade is no longer available with their new brand name of Kustom Service. Mine I guess I'll come round to using it the time I make a derelict A6M3 Zero out of the 1/48 Tamiya kit. 

Chrome 15 Aluminum (now Natural Aluminum Chrome 15) is of a nice, dull shade, very suiting for BMF tonal variations on WWII or Cold War era aircraft. 

Chrome 61 Shine is superb. It's a lot forgiving; I'm such a noob and the finish on these paints is even, quite awesome.  

Chrome 63 Dark (now Black Chrome 11) I like to use this colour as a base on exhaust cans, with a couple drops of their Copper Chrome 07.

then it's Super Chrome 01

Ghost Chrome 02

Polished Steel Chrome 03

Polished Aluminum 04

Titanium Chrome 05

Magnesium Chrome 06

Polished Gunmetal Chrome 09

Natural Steel Chrome 14 (I think this might as well be the very same shade as their former XF444 Aluminata) 

Natural Gunmetal Chrome 16

 

Very nice metallics overall. They don't stink as MRPs. I get the best results when applied over a gloss primer coat of Mr Color GX2 Ueno Black.

Hope it helps.

Cheers,

 

Gwen

 

P.S: Hi Curt 

[Curt B]

First off...Hi Gwen!!

 

okthree:  I did do some testing this past weekend with the Kustom Service paints.  I actually used the Titanium color, as I'd planned to use that anyway for the stuff I was painting.  As Gwen pointed out, one big advantage of the Kustom Color paints is the lack of 'stink'.  I was kind surprised at that particular benefit, which, unfortunately, the AK Xtreme Metal colors do not share.  The AK colors, being enamel based, smell very strongly.  However, that is just one facet of the performance, right?  I found the Kustom Color paint to be similar to lacquer paint, in the sense that they spray wonderfully, fully diluted out of the bottle, so no messing with additional thinner (both a positive and negative, I guess, similar to MRP paints, in that being 'pre-thinned' is a nice convenience, but you also use more paint out of the bottle.  However, the coverage was quite good.  Like Gwen, I 'primed' the plastic with Mr Color GX2 Ueno Black, an AMAZINGLY glossy paint without any fuss.  I don't believe it is required to use a gloss finish under the Kustom Color metallic paints, unless you are using their Chrome or Polished Aluminum colors, but the titanium came out great over the gloss black base.  I found the paint to be dry to the touch almost immediately, and I was able to use masking tape without 'de-tacking' the tape, within 5 minutes, and with no metal color removal.  Pretty impressive, and, as I understand it, far better than the performance of the touchy Alclad paints.  I'm basing the 'touchy' comment on numerous discussions about Alclad...while I have several Alclad II paints, I've never tried them and don't have any personal experience with them.  I didn't get a chance to spray over any other color or surface besides gloss black (or over bare plastic), and I'm sure you'd be interested in knowing results from testing that.  I'll try to do that for you soon.  

 

I've found one advantage of the AK Xtreme Metal colors is that, again, except for their Chrome or Polished Aluminum, you can spray them over bare plastic and get great results!  I know you'd been asking about the Kustom Color, though, and from my admittedly limited testing, they are very promising!  Hope this helped a little.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Curt B

[okthree]

Hi Curt, sorry to not reply sooner life has been a little busy for me lately. Thank you very much for taking the time to post about your experience with the Kustom Service metallics.  From your write up it appears that they perform very well.   One thing Matt McDougell commented on was that the application of the paint is not “linear” but more “exponential”, ie the finish is barely perceptible at first but as you apply more and more of the paint the depth of the finish will build up rapidly.  In your experience, did you find that to be the case also?  Overall from what you wrote the finishes seem to be a quality product.  I guess I now have more options for metallic finishes over Alclad. The AK Xtreme seems like a good option too and is more readily available than the KS line. Your post and input has been very helpful. Thank you again for taking the time. 

[Curt B]

2 hours ago, okthree said:

Hi Curt, sorry to not reply sooner life has been a little busy for me lately. Thank you very much for taking the time to post about your experience with the Kustom Service metallics.  From your write up it appears that they perform very well.   One thing Matt McDougell commented on was that the application of the paint is not “linear” but more “exponential”, ie the finish is barely perceptible at first but as you apply more and more of the paint the depth of the finish will build up rapidly.  In your experience, did you find that to be the case also?  Overall from what you wrote the finishes seem to be a quality product.  I guess I now have more options for metallic finishes over Alclad. The AK Xtreme seems like a good option too and is more readily available than the KS line. Your post and input has been very helpful. Thank you again for taking the time. 

Hey, bud, happy to help!  No worries on response time 🙂  Yes, I would agree that a buildup of layers is/was needed to get to the final color density.  It is truly wonderful to be able to get a legitimate metal looking finish without the difficulties (smell, cleanup) of lacquer or enamel based metallics.  Unfortunately, the AK Xreme Metals have that issue (enamel based), and the only OTHER non-lacquer or enamel based metal paints i've found are the Vallejo Metal Colors, which are water based and readily available.  However, unlike the Kustom Service or AK Xtreme Metals, the Vallejo, while convenient, don't have a real metal look to them, in my VERY limited experience and personal opinion.  However, I'm happy to use the Vallejo colors if I need a metal-like color where its exposure to the eye is limited, such as a turbine fan buried in a jet intake.  I know, all this more than you were asking for, but since I'm trying to help, thought I'd passs on some of my other thoughts.  Feel free to ask about anything else, and good luck!

[Murph]

Here is a YouTube video which raves about them.  LINK

 

Regards,

Murph