Can someone please help? I recently dove into the world of alclad II and I am not having any success. To make a long story short, I have used krylon black as a primer and when I spray’ed on the alclad I got these fuzzy spots (some big some not so big but they are there and ther is no way that I know of to get rid of them), I then waited about 30-45 ninutes and attempted to put on anouther coat, anouther coat and anouther coat and it stays the same. It’s obvious that I’m doing something wrong, I just don’t know what. Anyone got any suggestions.
Hmm…I think I sorta know to what you are refering. When I used Krylon as the base coat I got areas that looked mirror smooth and patches of areas that sort of looked a bit rough. I didn’t know what or why that happened. What I ended up doing was using a series of polishing cloths to provide a universal sheen to the whole plane. After I got done using the finest polishing cloth I could still SEE the different patches but the whole thing FELT smooth and uniform. I held my breath, closed my eyes and then started to apply the Alclad not knowing if those various patches would show through. Much to my relief they did not! It might be something you want to try.
Hope this helps!
Eric
It sounds to me that the krylon was not fully cured, and the alclad started to dissolve your primer coat. Make sure to let the primer cure completely, at least 48 hours. I like to wait a week(seriously), then I’m convinced it’s dry, cured, and hard. I’ve heard of guys using Krylon for a base coat with good sucess, however I’ve never tried it. I like to use MM gloss black enamel as a base coat, and have had virtually no problems.
Make sure your base coat is totally cured, turn down the pressure to about 10/15 psi. and spray several light, thin passes with the alclad. Hope this helps.
BTW… this question probably should have been posted over in the painting/air brush forum.[:)][:D] [;)]
Jerry
After my disaster with my Sabre, in which I had to throw away two months work and peel off thirty dollars worth of color PE parts as best I could, I am very gunshy about Alcald now. That disaster with the Sabre was a result of uncured Alclad black primer, which had been allowed to dry for one full week! I had every right to expect that it was cured. Now, I only use Alcald for small areas, using MM semi-gloss black acrylic for the base coat, with excellent results. Now it’s getting close to time for the new Sabre to be painted, and I’m getting very nervous. I’m thinking of trying no base coat, a la SNJ, or trying Swanny’s Krylon method. Has anyone had good success without any base coast. I’ve read a few accounts of people who have, but the result lacks depth.
TOM
If you don’t use a base coat, the Alclad will probably craze the plastic. It’s the laquer thinner that attacks the surface. Krylon is also a laquer. I’ve never had a problem with Alclad when I used MM black gloss enamel as a base coat. I can spray alclad on it with complete confidence and know it will look great as long as I let the enamel cure completely. Also, thin coats of Alclad is a must. You can’t spray it on heavy. Laquer thinner is very agressive, and a heavy build up only increases the risk of it eating thru your base coat. Multiple thin coats is the secret!!!
Jerry
I’ve also applied it on Tamiya primer with no problems.
I’ve had best results by painting the model with Floquil Engine black, then a Future top coat & finally the AlcladII. I wait at least a day between steps. I’ve also tried Krylon with poor results. It seems to work OK for some guys, but not for me & others who have posted similar problems.
Regards, Rick
Dunno if this helps, but maybe it’s the fact you’re using an enamel primer. All I’ve read indicates you should use an acrylic primer, unless you use chrome (and only chrome), which is to be used over enamels.
I’m about to try my first Alclad II myself, but I’m not testing it on my (very cheap, but nonetheless a shame to waste it) model. I just shot some Tamiya black on some old parts, and let’s see what happens.
Wow 2 posts in 2 1/2 years. Wonder how many people can top that 
I’ve been using Alclad a good bit recently and have run across the same problems. I don’t care for the Alclad black primer because it seems to never cure no matter how long you wait (I sprayed some on a little 1/144 Phantom about 6 months ago and can still make finger prints in it). I’ve also had the problem of “Dusty” looking areas in the final Alclad coat and I tend to think it’s because the base primer wasn’t fully cured.
I haven’t tried decanting Krylon and airbrushing it, but I do tend to trust Swanny’s methods. He knows what he’s talking about, I consider him to be a good friend, and if he says something works I’m willing to give it a try. I’ve got a Saber waiting in the wings and my intent is to use Krylon on it when I get to that point.
The Alclad Chrome and Polished Aluminum colors need a good, hard, solid black base to work right from what I understand, and in my limited experience with them. It just appears that the trick is finding a black base that does truly cure hard and smooth.
According to Alclad for the regular NMF paints (all but the prismatic and chrome and polished aluminum) Tamiya plastic primer, auto primer or Future should be used. I tried the Alclad black primer with the same results as Scott. Months after spraying it, it still would leave fingerprints and feel sticky. I might try Future on my next one.
Here’s the link:
I actually think the problem is that you’re spraying too much Alclad on at once. I sprayed it on in two coats, and got some of the fuzzy spots. I think next time I’ll use three or possibly four very light coats and see what happens.
I’m not using alclad primer, just Tamiya black. I’ll let you know how it turns out. First I gotta give it a few days to dry.
I’ll stick with SnJ - thank you