Hello,
Have any of u painted arcrafts in bare metal colours? How do u do the weathering on aircraft like F-104C, Mirage 3 and F-5E? Do u have any comments or techniques that i could use? thanks
(:-) (:-)
Ken

You could use ALCLAD II airbrush paints in different shades to vary the panels. Weathering is simply a case of using oil/enamel black or very dark grey to simulate oil streaks. Graphite rubbed on with a finger tip produces realistic vortex seams.
If you vary the gloss black primer under the ALCLAD II, you will achieve suble variety in the finish also.......

Does this means that i should prime the model black with varying tone before i paint the model silver?

thanks
ken :-)

Yes!
Before using ALCLAD II airbrush paints you MUST first use a gloss black primer, or the ALCLAD II will not have the correct effect.
The ALCLAD system is the BEST way to replicate bare metal.
If you want a tutorial via e-mail, send me your e-mail address via this site private message and I will write in far more detail.

For all bare metal modellers:

1,Must you use a primer?
Yes, for the regular shades use an acrylic primer (*). For Highly Polished Aluminium use gloss black ACRYLIC. For Chrome use gloss black ENAMEL. (*) Grey or white auto primer is fine, or Aeromaster, Floquil acrylic or Tamiya spray primer.
2,Why do you need primer?

Regular shades;
The acrylic primer protects the plastic from the solvents- frequently there are microscopic weaknesses in injected plastic-the solvents will ‘craze’ these areas.

Chrome/Highly Polished Aluminium;
High shine finishes work best over black as this traps most of the light falling on it. The Chrome shade will only produce a robust chrome finish when applied over a dark gloss enamel base coat.

Highly Polished Aluminium will produce best results when applied over gloss black acrylic-auto paint or model acrylics e.g Tamiya gloss black.

3,Can you hand paint Alclad II?
No.
4,How do you spray it?
Low pressure 12-15 psi, use a fairly narrow spray width, get in close 2-3".
5,What do you clean up with?
Lacquer thinners or aerosol airbrush cleaner.
6,Do you need to thin Alclad II?
No, if you try to you will spoil the balance of the ingredients.
7,How soon is it dry?
Almost instantly.
8,Can you mask over it?
Yes,about 10 minutes after spraying.
9,Do you need to varnish/seal before or after putting decals on?
No.
10,Setting solutions?
Chrome and Highly Polished Aluminum NO
Regular shades yes.
11,Do you need to buff/polish Chrome and Highly Polished Aluminium?
No-get your undercoat smooth and shiny, the lacquer will do the rest.
11,Can you polish it?
The regular shades can be made shinier using Micromesh or Blue Magic polishing paste.
12,Can you paint over it?
Chrome/Highly Polished Aluminium-not advisable. All the regular shades yes-you can use acrylics or enamels.
13,Will the Chrome come off in your hands?
No.
14,Can you mix the shades together?
Yes, except Chrome and Highly Polished Aluminum.
15,Can you tint the shades?
The regular shades can be tinted with small amounts of enamels or auto acrylics-only tint enough for immediate use.
16,How long is Alclad II’s shelf life?
4-6 years-DO THE LID UP PROPERLY.
17,Is Alclad II Lacquer connected with the old stuff?
No.
18,How well does it cover?
1 bottle will be more than enough for a 1/48th B-17.
19,Can you use aluminum polishing powder on it?
Not really.
20,What is the secret to getting a good finish?

Do a good job with the primer. Now is the time to look for filling marks or errors in building examine the quality of the primed surfaces- if you need to give a light rub down with 1000 Grade wet and dry paper. If there are sinks or other blemishes on the model you can mask off the affected panel, build up a couple of coats of primer and sand this level. When you prime for the Chrome shade make sure, that when dry, you wipe the gloss black enamel to remove any finger marks-these will show up in chrome.

(Written by Tony HIPP of ALCLAD) used with thanks.

thanks you very much for the details. I'll tryout first on a cheap model, then move on to the tamiys f-5e 1/72.

:-) Martin is correct, Alclad II is probably the way to go, but I wouldn't dismiss other techniques. SNJ is very good, it is applied to bare plastic, to achieve the differing panel tones simply mask and polish different panels more or less, using the supplied polishing powder. I have even managed a mirror finish. I'm just begining to get to grips with bare metal foil and aluminium foil with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive, which if done correctly gives better results than Alclad II. The main thing with any bare metal finish is to have a flawless surface prior to the application. One other thing, in my humble opinion, if you don't weather a bare metal finish it looks toy like, a bit like cromed plastic.
Give it a go, I just love those bare metal finishes :-)
Mal

Hey Mal, thats right.
You DO need a flawless gloss finish before applying ALCLAD II, but where do you get your SnJ powders from in the UK?
C Ya.
Best wishes from Reading

I use Model Master Metalizer Lacquers, Aluminum plate makes a great finish, you need to seal this paint tho, or it rubs off...

Sorry for taking so long to reply Martin but I've just spotted this.
The SNJ powder that I have I bought some time ago, at the IPMS Nationals, along with the SNJ. I haven't had cause to buy any more. I think it's alot harder to come by now, most people seem to prefer Alclad. I personally think SNJ is easier to apply, because it goes straight on to bare plastic you don't have the problem of dust in a layer of paint. Since reading an article in Fine Scale Modeller on using aluminium foil and bare metal foil adhesive and having tried it, I'm beginning to think that that is the way to go.
To answer your question, If Hannants don't do it ED Models, of Birmingham might.
Mal
PS I have, today, posted some pics on the MSN site (Mal's Models), they include a bare metal P47N. The different panel affects were achieved by polishing with SNJ powder.

I guess u guys are right, without weathering, it does looks like a toy. The problem is, there ain't any ALCLAD II here..and i can't find any SNJ powder here too. I hope i can find some soon!
thanks a lot guys!