Alclad

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Gidday

I am about to use Alclad II laquers for the first time and just wanted to know if anyone has any tips on its application. I need to know about surface prep, application and clean up. I know the bottle has directions on the side but they’re a bit vague. Also how long does it take to fully cure?

2

first, you need to get mentally prepared!! then, the surface has to be ultra smooth because the slightest scratch will be screaming when the light hits that metalizer. i would prime with maybe floquil gray and find your defects and wet sand them out. then, prime with gloss black (krylon works well) but i have the alclad brand. look it over good for scratches and i usually apply a good 3 coats of gloss black. then, you’re ready for the metalizer application which i “dust” on slowly from about 2 inches at 12 psi. about 3 coats of the metalizer should do. you need to wait atleast 24 hrs between each coat of anything just to be safe. later.

3

Do like Saltydog says and you will be OK.
Also take a look at Alclad’s homepage, they have a couple of hints http://www.alclad2.com/index2.html

Here is a link for the application instructions http://www.alclad2.com/directions.html

4

i got a lot of experience with Alclad Chrome. i used up a whole bottle just with experimentation.
if you want the best “Chrome” Alclad, with the best reflection, then i will go with Enamel Black Gloss. but if you use acrylic black gloss like tamiya, you will have to apply “Future” after the Black Gloss is cured. This should make it as glossy and reflective as Enamel Black Gloss.
But i usually apply Future over black gloss no matter what. just to give it a more shiny surface. and in my experience, if you apply the Future smoothly, it will even out the surface more.

then i would apply Alclad Chrome. after the Future is cured for about 2-3 days.

if you want additional shininess, apply Future over Alclad Chrome. this will make the surface more shiny. but it will take away from the reflectiveness from Alclad. since Future will somewhat damage the Alclad Chrome. So you will have to Re-Chrome the part. and in the end, you should have a very shiny Chrome. i’m not sure with other Alclad Paints.
In my experience, Alclad paints are weak as hell. if you touch it, there is a big chance that your finger prints will stick to it. and you can easily rub it off. so be careful with handeling this stuff.

I am very tempted to use Alclad Transparent colors but i have very little info on those. does anyone has experience with these?

5

[quote]
Originally posted by lonerbboy

.
In my experience, Alclad paints are weak as hell. if you touch it, there is a big chance that your finger prints will stick to it. and you can easily rub it off. so be careful with handeling this stuff.

I don’t find this to be the case at all. I think the Alclad is the best wearing/handling metalizer around and is generally very hardwearing if applied correctly

6

I would also stress that you should wait between coats. I’ve had the adcad surface crack when I’ve been impatient.

7

I think Alclad2 Chrome is a special animal that requires TLC when handling, similar to ModelMaster Buffables. However, Alclad2 Aluminum is the most durable aluminum paint that I have ever used.

8

What is a TLC?

i def. need help with handeling Alclad II Chrome. that thing is really sensitive. i mean, the entire chrome might not come off, but if i touch it for a split second, the reflectiveness and shine goes away slightly. and it tends to fog up real quick.

9

That is Tender Loving Care (TLC). [:D] [;)]

Mike

10

If anyone has the november 2001 fsm, theres a good article on it…

anyhow, if your using chrome, use gloss black acryl that works almost all the time. or enamal.

11

That article is in the FSM Bach Issue Archive for viewing, check it out at…

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/default.aspx?c=a&id=227

12

Thanks for the help everyone. One last question, do you need to prime with gloss black if using Aluminium #101? or can you just spray it straight over the primer? (like it says on the Alclad site). I’ve heard some people say that you still need a gloss black undercoat.

Thanks again

13

The bottle says to use Alclad airbrush cleaner…does anyone have experience with using other products to clean an airbrush after pushing Alclad through it, in particular Chrome? Also, do you folks dedicate one airbrush to enamels and one to acrylics or just clean the heck out of them in between?

Thanks,

Rich E.

14

I use lacquer thinner for clean up. Alclad metal finishes dry very quickly. If you’re using black enamel as a basecoat then choose one that will dry, sometimes Testors doesn’t. Alclad recommends black enamel for chrome and black lacquer for other metal finishes. Other paints and colors will work. They will wear with handling but are tougher than Metallizers. Low pressure and build up very light coats. If you can still see the base color, shoot another coat. Too much and it’s just another silver paint.

Tony

15

Hi, Daniel,

This came up excactly two weeks ago, so I’ll edit and repost my replys from then:

For Aluminum #101, spray right onto the primer. This seems to be one of the most prevalent bits of misinformation in this hobby at present. I’ve been trying off and on to get the word out with limited success. Use a gloss black undercoat for the High Shine finishes only: Chrome, Polished Aluminum, Stainless Steel and Airframe Aluminum. It says that on the Alclad II Website, though they haven’t added the newer Hi-Shine colors to the list on their online instructions:

http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html

Chris “saltydog” is absolutely correct about everything else. Surface prep is the most important part.

Remember that Alcald II is a fairly hot lacquer, and prime accordingly. Note the difference on this test shot between the gloss black undercoat on the right and the Mr Surfacer undercoat on the left:

[and from a later post in the same thread…]

Typically I primer with Mr Surfacer 1200, and if necessary, shoot the gloss black on top of that. My favorite so far is the ModelMaster automotive black lacquer, though I’ve used Scalecoat II, Alclad Gloss Black Base, and even ModelMaster gloss black enamel. As long as they’re cured, they all seem to work fine.

The last time I did a high shine finish I used Tamiya polishing compound to rub out the MM Lacquer gloss black base before shooting Alclad Polished Aluminum. I thought it was worth the extra work:

Here’s a demo shot of four successive coats of chrome (right to left) over polished gloss black. With the final coat I applied a bit too much and went past the peak reflectivity produced by the black underneath.

I also did a test shot over several undercoat colors to see if there was much difference. The idea was to get variantions in adjacent aircraft panels to look more realistic. The differences between colors was rather subtle, which is good, and varied with the metallic on top. I haven’t decided yet if it’s worth all that masking.

Regards,
Bruce