Looking at doing Kennedy’s VC-118A “Air Force One” sometime soon and thought I would check out the new Vallejo Acrylic Metal Color “Chrome.” Nice paint, goes on nice and is water based. But “chrome”? Not so much. More like bright aluminum. I tested it on a Heller DC-6 cowl alongside one similarly finished with Alclad Chrome. Both have a Tamiya spray-can (decanted and airbrushed) gloss black substrate as recommended. Alclad on the left, Vallejo on the right.
Always glad to see a side by side. =] That Alclad stuff is in a league of its own!!
I’m about ready to Alclad my ROG B-17, curious if you have input about Vallejo durability, does it take clear coat, decals and masking OK, or have you seen any lifting/pull away yet?
Thanks, if you find time.
Patrick
I dont like v[sml…]o . Alclad is so much easier to work with
Alaclad hands down.
Alclad recommends sealing the high shine metal paints when using decal setting solutions but I have not done so, specially when using Solvaset which is stronger that Set and Sol. I have not had any problems using the decal solutions over the unsealed finish. One thing I don’t like about sealing Alclad is that the clear coat will kill some of the metal tone unless you want a slightly weathered finish.
I agree I don’t use clear coat either
I have found that using Alclad’s Klear Kote lacquer does take down the shine some, but using their aqua gloss leaves a nice, shiny surface. It also takes Micro Set and Micro Sol well.
FYI here is some Alclad duraluminum on the wings and airframe aluminum on the fuselage. They are sprayed over a coat of aqua gloss that was applied directly to the plastic without any primer or anything.
It’s toned down slightly when Aqua Gloss is applied, but in my opinion it is not nearly as much as when Klear Kote is applied.
Note the area on top behind the canopy is a different color (polished aluminum), as is the area behind the exhaust pipes that have yet to be installed (magnesium).
I would seal all decals, because I’ve seen decals that haven’t been sealed after 20 years and ugh.
The other thing I’ve noticed with Alclad is that the Klear Kote can eat into the metal coat if you don’t let it dry long enough. It’s not humidwhere I live, and it’s hot, so it dries quickly here, but I still would wait at least a week. I found out the hard way when I built a Buchon in polished aluminum that the decal film became noticeable because I applied decals directly on the finish, and the Klear Kote toned down the shine, leaving all the areas covered by carrier film (that had initially been invisible) very apparent.
With Aqua Gloss, Alclad recommends waiting six hours. On the P-51 above, I sprayed Aqua Gloss, then applied decals, then sealed again with Aqua Gloss.
-BD-
The two photos above were taken in vastly different lighting conditions with a cellphone. The difference isn’t that stark. It’s barely noticeable in my opinion.
-BD-
Bobbly Waldron like the new Vallejo Metal Color, but i’m not sure myself. I will have to give it a try sometime. I’m just so happy with my Alclad II
BD
If you sprayed Alaclad over Aquagloss then it acted as a primer. I have heard of modelers using Future as a primer so I used it on this clear plastic Airfix stand then shot Alclad Aluminum.
When using gloss black as a primer, you can actually control the tone of the Alclad to give it additional depth and shine as in my 1/72 Cutlass
I used Solvaset on the decals and no clear coat.
I have had no trouble with decal SETTING solutions over unsealed Alclad. Decal solvents are another bag. And, do not let CA accelerator get on Alclad- it will really do a job on the finish 
This alclad stuff looks great! Def’ going to have to pick some up on the next LHS visit. What do you guys use to thin this stuff for the AB?
It requires nothing except lots of shaking to mix the metal pigments so no thinning is necessary. Clean the AB with lacquer thinner and make sure you use a mask cause you don’t want to have metallic colored lungs.
the day’s of SnJ spray metal .
Sounds good! Will def pick some up for a p51 build I have planned in the future.
Alcladd is the only NMF I use, i love the stuff. When spraying , make sure you use VERY light coats with low p.s.i. i use 8 to10 p.s.i.