Thanks Nige.

Just about ready for Paint.

Hi all!

Tamiya gloss black is good as an undercoat/primer for Alclad, as long as it is the ENAMEL that comes in a spraycan!

I would NEVER use any form of acrylic paints with Alclad, which is lacquer-based!
It might work, or not, but probably the Alclad paint will "eat" into the acrylic, and even into the plastic over time.

If the plastic surface is fine and smooth, I use "regular" Alclad shades (White/dark aluminium, burnt metal, jet exhaust etc.) directly, without any primer.
Works well If you work slowly with many light(!) coats and not let the paint go on wet, It should dry as soon as It lands on the model.

If the plastic is scratched, or you have used several different materials (plastic, resin, etch) that varies in color, you can use any preferred high gloss ENAMEL.
I have used Humbrol gloss white, black grey and red for different effects, for a more deep metallic shade, black is the best.

For the "high shine" shades (polished aluminium/chrome or prismatic colors), you MUST have a high gloss black as Humbrol 21 / Tamiya black in spraycan/automobile paint (requires primer!) to get the desired effect.
Those shades are cellouluse(?)-thinner based, so they are very aggressive against the plastic.

Alclad is a fantastic paint, but It´s also totally unforgiving on a bad undercoat, EVERY little scratch will show up, so be careful here!

Just my thoughts on this matter!

Cheers!

Stefan E