I need to alclad my 1/48 F-51 . I have used alclad 2 pollished and airframe allu with good success over gloss black but not used duraluminium yet.
What color basecoat do I need for it? I assume it is also like the other alclads that start out very dark and goes lightere and shinier the more you put on?
I want a non airsow Mustang one that is weatherd, but still retain the “real” metal look of alclad.
Thanx
Theuns
The 2 you used before are from the high shine range. The duraluminium is from the regular range and according to the Alclad site you should use a regular primer under those.
On my previous use of Alclad regular I used a gloss black as I had read that but may have misunderstood what was being said at the time. There didn’t seem to be any issues, but since then I have checked the Alclad site and will follow there suggestions next time.
Bish is correct, for the regular Alclad you do no need a gloss black primer. There are so many people that say you do you might start to believe it’s true. But it just isn’t so. Fur duraluminum my personal choice is Mr. Surfacer 1200 hat I buff with some 4000 micromesh before the Alclad. Here a the results…
.jpg)
Cool thanx, that is about the shine level I think would be on a Korea F-51.
What final clearcoat did you use over the duraluminium? I usually use alclad’s clears depending on the level of gloss I need.Does the dura also go lighter with more coats?
Can you decal directly over it like I do with the high shine alclads?
Theuns
I have had no issues decaling over the Alclad regular. I have only recently started using Alcla clears and really like them, but have yet to try on an NMF finish.
Alclad clear is the only clearcoat I have found that does not take away from the look of alclad.
Ye, I heard that and is one reason I thought I would try it. But even though I haven’t done an NMF in a while, I switched to it a couple of months ago as I finally had enough of my previous clear. between that and the Alclad primer and the NMF finishes, I am becoming a bit of a fan.
I’ll chime in here too Theuns. Bish is right. According to the people at Alclad, only the High-Shine paints require the Gloss Black base underneath. Having said that…I’ve noticed that my NMFs come out better when I’ve used the GBlack with something like an Aluminum or Duraluminum. Some people out there completely coat the surface they’re painting–which sort of makes the GBlack coat irrelevant. I like to leave just the slightest bit of the GBlack show through. I think it goes a long way to convince the eye of what it’s seeing. Just throwing that out there for whoever needs it. =]
The Alclad site recommends the use of a sealer over high shine colors but I have used Solvaset which is pretty strong over Alclad Polished Alum. without any issues. I did wait 3-4 days before decaling.
Alclad regular non hi shine paints like the one you are using requires no sealer and a grey or white primer.
Mr. Surfacer 1200 is great but it somehow messed up the needle bearing in my brand new Badger.
Haven’t tried Alclad but seeing the results I’d sure like to. Question: when you begin using Alclad does it have a tendency to dominate your bench? Say for the first time user, how much outside of the norm of the usual paint job are you going to invest in getting the reasonable outcome in the look of your aircraft? Upgrade to a new airbrush necessary if you are on the cheap in that department? I know the Alclad cost more.
A bottle of Alclad goes a long way cause it covers very well in very light thin coats. It’s not the cost but the prep time it takes to get a nice finish. Every little imperfection will be magnified under the Alclad so you have to make certain that the primer is glass smooth.
I use only lclad for any NMF subject. It doe cost more but you could do aboout 3 or so 1/48 size models if you work carefully.
Spray at only 12-15 psi
I use my normal AB, just clean it out weill after use.
Use Tamiya tape for masking.
I use airframe and pollished allu over tamiya gloss enamel and as you spray it on it starts out very dark then the more you put on the lighter it gets.
I will mask off some of the darker pannels and spray some more, this way I do not need to buy different colors of alclad and save a little $
Theuns
VN,
I used it for the first time recently and it’s great. Goes down nicely and doesn’t really take much at all. I used the gravity cup in my Badger 200 and just poured the excess back in the bottle. I generally use generic hardware store lacquer thinner to clean my airbrush when using enamels anyway so I already had all that set up and ready to go. The viscosity on the alclad is very low, it looks and feel very similar to highly thinned acrylic paint. It’s worth giving it a go.
Groot
I find the prep for a good Alclad job is significant. But on the other hand, I have done regular gloss black finishes before, and it is always a significant job. In fact, a gloss finish is always a lot harder than a flat one, but a black gloss is probably the hardest, though a good gloss white or yellow comes close.
The application of the Alclad itself can be a lot of work, or easy, depending on what you are trying to achieve, and which Alclad color.
I have found that over gloss black enamel, 3 coats lightly sprayed on gives a nice dark look to it, like on the rear fuse of my 104, then I mask those pannels off and shoot 2-3 more light coats on to bting it to a nice light color.
Not sure if that would work for duraluminium…
I have to use airframe allu over gloss black for mu mustang as my local Alclad supplier doesn’t have any duraluminium 
cs.finescale.com/…/160670.aspx
scroll down a bit
Theuns
Is Alclad sensitive to a cheap airbrush?
VN, I get your meaning but it’s really…
Is a cheap airbrush sensitive to Alclad?
Depending how cheap… maybe. It’s pretty hot stuff and if there are cheap plastic parts or bushings I think there could be some issues.
I was thinking more about the precision of the metal parts, the nozzle, the needle, etc. Out of the box would a $30.00 double action airbrush be capable of spraying a coat of Alclad as well as a $200.00 airbrush? I don’t know what the range of control one needs when spraying Alclad.
I bought my 25 USD one from a tool supplier here in South Africa (Chinese made) and it works just fine with Alclad.
Just make sure the tip assembly does not make a buildup and then splutters like it sometimes does…this will mess up your paintwork.
Theuns
For duraluminum, I just use regular grey primer. Mr surfacer 1200, as previously mentioned, or Tamiya primer works well. It’s not shiny, like airframe aluminum, so no need to go with black (though nothing says you can’t).
For that weathered look on a P-51, etc…, I have read various suggestions. Some guys will go black primer, then airframe aluminum, misted with duraluminum. Or, grey primer with duraluminum misted with a regular (non alclad) silver, such as floquil old silver or MM. I’ve tried this on a styrene sheet and it gives a good weathered tone.