my model was done in three shades of alclad . the polished aluminum turned black well tarnished very badly after i sprayed it with model master gloss clearcoat what caused this any help i dont want to repeat this mistake thanks
Was there a gloss black base coat? It sounds like the Model Master Gloss may have “bitten” into the Alclad II and disolved it.
Alclad II is very tricky stuff. I have had some successes, and many failures with it. I don’t use it anymore.
what are the other choices ? before this on the same model ( it is the huge monogram B 36 peacemaker ) i had painted it with an assortment of model master bare metal shades and when i tried to mask sections the sheen pulled off now this i’m not having much luck with bare metal finishes i sprayed the clear coat to set the decals what a dissapointment ! ! this was not a difficult build but quite a bit of spraying and masking
I built that beast and had similar problems with paint. If you can get another set of decals, I would say start over by spraying it with primer (Tamiya Fine Surface Primer) works great, and then finish it off with a silver colored paint and forget the different shadings of metal. I find Tamiya synthetic lacquer in a rattle can is great stuff. Then apply new decals and overcoat with dull or semi-gloss clear, Testor’s Model Master in a rattle can will work nicely.
Tom - that’s weird. What kind of base did you have under the Polished Aluminum? I’m guessing since you’re dealing with multiple lacquers one softened the other up.
If I were you, I’d use a different clear coat. Alclad’s various clears are pretty good and are made to be sprayed over their metalizers. There’s also Testors Metalizer sealer, etc.
Personally, don’t stop using Alclad. I feel like I’ve been using it constantly lately, but I’m starting to understand its quirks and turn them to my advantage. It and Gunze Mr. Color are quickly becoming my two main paint brands.
Though I don’t use Alclad, it’ s possible that if you applied a gloss black primer coat as the instructions recommend for the high sheen finishes, perhaps you didn’t apply a full coat of the polished aluminum.
Against a contrasting black background, even a light coat shows up very strongly, even if in reality it is little more than a mist coat. Then, when you apply a clear coat on top, particularly if the clear coat is also lacquer based, it disperses the metallic coat somewhat, rendering it translucent, causing “show-through”.
Topcoating Alclad can be tricky, as others said. I prefer not to topcoat if I can avoid it. Also, make sure your gluing is done, or if you have to glue anything to completed aircraft do NOT use CA accelerator. That stuff is hell on an Alclad finish!
Alclad specs recommend that you do not use any kind of clear coat on top of it, as it will dull the finish. I have had success using black Alclad primer with a light coat of Alcad metallic on top, and no clear coat.
I just noticed the plane type! I have never seen a B-36 really polished. I assume it is so big it would be a super manpower task to do so. Most I remember were pretty well weathered. For weathered aluminum I have seen folks do a very nice job with aluminum paint, tinting it a bit for a few panels. Once they weather, however, most of the plane takes on a fairly uniform color and patina.
thank you all for your help . it was a beast. and alot of expensive alclad thank,s