I'm building a F-86 Sabre for the Show your teeth campaign and i was wondering should i gloss coat the aircraft before and after i apply the decals. The plane has been sprayed with Alclad 2 polished aluminium, so is pretty shiny to start with. Will i lose the sheen you get with the Alclad by putting future on it?
Andy (++)

Gloss coating over any Metalizer finish will change the shine and color slightly.

You do not have to Gloss coat over Alclad to place the decals but clean up any water/ decal solvent spots, with paper towel.

Thanks Chuck.
Andy (++)

This post answers half my question so for continuity I thought Id bump it up.Im doing my P47 in Alclad 2 and intend to use polished aluminium as well.
My question is,,if I dont need to apply Klear before the decals,(and so preserve the "mirror" effect),will I get problems with silvering or do I need to add Klear over the decals?
Apart from protecting against oil washes and giving a smooth base to add decals to,I thought Klear was used to remove any silvering effects.
To summarise.Do I need to use Klear at all on Alclad 2 polished aluminium?
I want this P47 to shine!
Would it be an idea to Klear before and after decalling and then gloss varnish the whole aircraft afterwards?
Thoughts and advice appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Nige

Nigel,
If you want it to "REALLY" shine, don't clear coat it at all. Deacl "silvering" is most oft caused by uneven surface under to decal, or bad decals. On a NMF "silvering" isn't very noticable should it happen.

P.S. - I assume your decals are glossy ?

P.S.P.S. - Your NMF will "tarnish" over time (a long time) with no protective coating.

Hi Chuck.
Yes the decals have a gloss sheen to them.
Ive had a close look at my photos of the P51 at Hendon and the invasion stripes have a glossy look to them and relect the nmf in places so I guess that would be ok.
Its cool that I dont have to "Klear" the kit when using Alclad as that solves the problem of masking off and spraying the matt olive drab anti glare panel so it looks like my job has just become that little bit easier.
Heres how I intend to proceed.
Prime with Tamiya Gloss Black,then after checking for any blemishes,
Brush coat x2 of Klear?
Alclad 2 Polished Aluminium.
Odd panels in Alclad white or dark aluminium.
Mask off and paint anti glare panel
Decal
No oil wash as the black primer will act as a preshade with carefull spraying.
Does this sequence sound feasable?

You say the nmf will tarnish over a long period of time.Are we talking months or years? If its a few months I will gloss varnish and then paint the anti glare panel in matt olive drab.Again,does this sound feasable?
Thanks very much for your help Chuck

Nigel - DON'T PUT THAT KLEAR UNDER THE ALCAD II, you'll be sorry. check out application recommendations here http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html

The "tarnish" takes place over years.

Make sure your black undercoat is smooth, everything shows. Be sure to give it plenty of drying time (overnite).

I hear you Chuck.
Thanks for that heads up.



One thing that has just come to light after reading that link.



The plot thickens!
Do I take Alclad at their word and just use water for applying decals over polished aluminium?
I use Microsol and Microset if this helps.

Nigel - Water is best, but only because the MicroSol MicroSet can stain the Alcad finish. I have used MicroSet on Alcald, but you must be careful to blot up any excess right away, same with water spots.

P.S. - I've bought white cotton gloves to handle my NMF models, just to avoid oil from my skin getting on them.

Thanks Chuck.
This is all a great help!
So I will use water for the decals and tiny drops of microset directly onto any decals that need to snuggle home over detail.
I'll be cleaning the whole model with alcohol before I prime it and the white gloves are in the washing machine ready to go,,(unlike the kit which is a couple of weeks away from Alclad )

When I built my P-47N I applied the decals direct to the allclad surface, washed off the excess water and decal solutions, as Chuck has said (setting solutions will tarnish the Allclad but you can use this for a weathering effect) . I then applied 2 brushed on coats of Klear (Future). The Klear coats were there more to "level off" the decals and the model surface, to illiminate the edge of the decals. This thing was shiny but way too shiny, but the grey wash toned things down to a more realistic shine.





Mal

I'm thinking of trying a NMF on an F-84 Thunderstreak using Bare Metal Foil. How is decaling, weathering and sealing the same/ different than Alclad paint? Should I just scrap the idea of using foil and paint it instead?...thanks Nigel

bottlerocket - Use the same precautions with the Microsol MicroSet and Water as you would with Alclad, to avoid spots. As with any surface applying Clear Coat will reduce the sheen, but like you see on Mal's plane, not always a bad thing. I prefer the sheen reduction as it does look more realistic.