I have used graphite from a pencil in the past to metallize engine parts etc and was wondering if this could be used as a natural metal finish on a plane. The method I use is to basecoat a flat grey and then colour in with a pencil. On hard to reach areas, grind up some graphite and rub it in with a brush. Then rub the whole surface to even out the finish and seal with future.
Has anyone had any success with something like this?
thats certainly a new idea, but since they manufacture Alclad, i’m hooked. the graphite seems like it’d be too dark for a NMF such as aluminum IMO. try it on some scrap styrene and give us a report!! later.
Never tried graphite for a large area, but I have experimented with the same idea on smaller areas and it seemed to work OK. SNJ makes an aluminum powder that’s used almost exactly as you’ve described. You rub it into the dried paint and polish it up to a nice shiny finish. There’s a similar product sold in better art stores that works well too. It’s a metalic pigment that comes in about a bezillion different shades and colors. It would work very similar to what you’re describing.
I think the trick with these types of techniques is always how you seal them. Putting some sort of sealant overtop usually changes the color/texture of the NMF. That’s where Alclad2 seems to have an advantage because they’re quite resilient.
Murray