I am just getting into using Alclad II, and getting good results.
On my test subject, and old P-36, I spayed Alclad black primer, polished, Alclad black gloss base coat, polished, and finally Alclad Aluminum, and polished.
So far, so good.
Now, my question is I want to spray certain features (access panels, flaps, etc) with Alclad air frame and dark aluminum for some snap.
After I mask, do I have to first spray on the gloss base coat again, and then the other shades?
Or, can I just mask and spray over the existing Alclad Aluminum?
I am thinking I should apply the gloss black base first.
There are several ways to do it. Of course, Alclad itself comes in different shades, but there are other techniques.
Varying the undercoat will make panels look different.
Different thicknesses of application affect appearance. For instance, with their polished aluminum, it only looks like polished aluminum if you put on a very thin coat. Building up an increased thickness makes it look duller and flatter. I mask off panels with post-it notes to lay down heavier applications on alternate panels.
You can also mask off and overcoat aluminum (very tricky- you must have a good airbrush and be able to put down extremely thin coats).
Thanks. I just graduated to Alclad, as I have from my POS Aztek airbrush, to my H&S Infinity.
When I tried Alclad chrome with my old airbrush, it never turned out right.
This time, I used the Aztek on the top, and the H&S on the bottom. The aluminium Aztek was really no different from any other paint. But the H&S side, WOW! That turned out really cool!
My loving wife got me the Tamiya P51D in 1/32 scale. After I get the smaller P51 and an F8 under my belt, all in bare metal, I am planning on the bigger 'Stang.
P-51 wings were painted aluminum at factory on birds with metal fuselages. Not to say no one stripped off this paint in field, but a Mustang with painted wings and bare metal fuselage is certainly not improper. And, even on natural bare metal, there was still a lot of paint- anti-glare, squadron markings, camouflage and such, so a good mix and match can be interesting.
