Any tips for working with white metal parts?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Techniques
1

Hi all,

I’m about to order the Aeroclub 1/72 Scarff ring and Lewis Gun set. I understand the set is white metal, and from the photos I’ve seen, they look pretty good.

So, do you folks have some general tips on working with white metal parts? How do I glue them (super glue?), how do I paint them (prime with an enamel?), etc?

Thanks in advance,

2

MY experience with white metal parts is pretty limited, in fact limited to the landing gear on my F-105, but they turned out pretty well.

I used a wire brush in a Dremel tool to polish them up, then sprayed them with Krylon primer. That primer is pretty thick and takes forever to dry, but it filled in a lot of the pores in the metal very well. If you use something else make sure it will adhere to metal. Once you have a good coat of primer you can use pretty much any kind of model paint to finish them up.

For glueing you will need to use cyanoacrylate glue (super glue). Regular model glues for styrene won’t touch it at all.

One thing to keep in mind is that the metal is very soft and bends easily. It is also somewhat brittle and will break easily. A small needle file comes in handy for removing the flashing.

3

My experience is with white metal figures, but the basic technigues would be the same. Clean up any flash or mold parting lines with needle files. I usually scrub the parts with very fine steel wool to remove any file marks, just don’t over do it and remove detail. Assembly can be done with CA, but I prefer to use 5min. Epoxy. Before priming, clean the parts with denatured alcohol. I prime with either Floquil grey primer, using an AB, or with Citadel white primer from a spray can. After primer, any paint, enamel or acrylic, can be used.

Regards, Rick

4

What exactly is “white metal”? What’s the scientific name? like copper, steel, platinum… (if there is one). or is it just some kind of alloy?

5

I asked Google and it gave this as one definition:

“An alloy usually containing two or more of the following elements: tin, copper, lead, antimony and bismuth. The color depends on whether lead or tin predominates. The more tin the whiter the color.”

Mike

6

Thanks guys!

What kind of primer are Floquil grey primer, Citadel white primer, or Krylon primer? Are they enamel, lacquer, or acrylic?

Also, where can I find them? At the hobby store, auto store, K-mart?

I don’t want the primer to be too thick because I don’t want to lose a lot of detail at 1/72 scale.

Thanks again for the help! [:D]

Regards,

7

Drew,

Floquil primer is an enamel I believe and you can get it at most hobby shops.
It is in the Floquil railroad colors line of paints.

Mike

8

Thanks, Mike. [:)]

Regards,

9

Citadel primer is made by Games Workshop and is designed for undercoating their range of miniature figures in plastic and white metal, it comes as a spray or in pots - marketed as ‘Smelly Primer’ here in the UK! - and I’ve found it very good at preserving fine detail if applied carefully. The paint range it comes from are water based acrylics, I’m not sure if the primer is strictly ‘acrylic’ but normal water is used for brush cleaning. As far as availability in the US, Games Workshop are notorious for sudden product discontinuing and supply irregularity, the best bet is a GW store or the US web site,
http://us.games-workshop.com/

Neil.

10

The Citadel white primer is an acrylic. I get it at the LHS, but they also stock Games Workshop figures. It works very well on both white metal & resin figures. Just spray it in a few light coats & it won’t obscure detail. It also comes in a light grey, but I prefer the white for figures.

Regards, Rick

11

And, again, thank you very much, guys!

Warm regards,

12

Drew, because white metal contains lead, do not forget to clean up your hands after you work!