I got a Testors Lysander 1/48, but was surprised to see little dots of the early stages of corrosion all over the super shiney ans dulled chromed parts. I could live with it, maybe even paint some sections to help the chrome pop and not look like a big silver blob. But I’d like to give cleaning it a shot. I need to be gentle with chemicals and cleaners and esp with any cloths or sponges. I’d be gld to test any workable ideas on a small, less visible section. help!
That Chrome plate is very very thin. I don’t think cleaning is an option if as you suggest it’s corrosion. If they are something like water spots then maybe so but don’t use any solvents. Certainly give it a try but be prepared to remove it all if your cleaning doesn’t work. (Or wet sand it all out and respray with AlClad system but that Testor’s kit is all raised rivets and panels if memory serves. My biggest question is why would you want a chrome Lysander anyway? British Camo is the way to go with a Lysander with Black on the bottom of course.
Five pages of Yahoo images of the Lysander. Not a chrome one in the bunch.
I noticed that too. Hey they made it not me. I think it looks cool. I’ve also gotten over exact replicas and I try to see the artistic value of a plane’s design and ways to enhance it. I hope youre sitting down ( [;)] ) but I got some copper BMF to strip onto the chrome in pattern of some sort, then highlight spot areas with matte black. I like to think outside OOB.
I’d hit it with Krylon’s Silver Foil Metalic… Rattle-can of it costs about 5-6 bucks for a 6 oz can, and it’s the closet thing to chrome I’ve ever seen come outta a can… I haven’t got anything for ya in the way of cleaning it, except for actual metal polish, and I think the coating of aluminum is way too thin to risk losing…
But it could certainly bear up to a complete coating with the Krylon… The stuff is fantasic, and can be found at Hobby Lobby, usually back in the back where the doll-house area is, along with the other Krylon rattle cans of the 3 oz size…
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Sounds doable. How close to AlClad Chrome is the Krylon? I guess with practice and ideal conditions it could get close. As a kid I remember buying spray silver expecting it to look like the chrome lid but it always came out boring silver. False advertising.
Hey Hans,
Can that Krylon be decanted for airbrush use?
–Chris
Krylon Silver Foil is about the top of the heap for rattle-can metalics… It’s most definitely NOT “spray silver”, although you can’t put a sealer over it… But if you let alone to cure for at least 72 hours without handling it much, it won’t NEED a sealer…
As for it compared to AlClad, I have no Idea… I’ve never used it…
But maybe you can tell from this pic of PZ’s Fort with the Krylon… I turned him on to the Krylon Silver Foil…
Be advised thouigh, that it can’t be masked until it’s absolutely cured, minimum of five days (I’d wait a week or more) and then only with extremely low-tack tape… Even Tamiya tape is too sticky if used too early…
As Hans said the krylon premium silver foil paint does wonders!! Follow his directions, you must be patient with the drying time but the reward will pay off!
Here is a shot outside:
I’d love to see that gal in the Sun, PZ… Am I lyin’ if i said you probably could spray the stuff on a flat piece of metal or plastic, let it cure, and use it as a (little blurry) shaving mirror?
Anything can be decanted for an airbrush, Chris… But I won’t say you wouldn’t lose some of its reflectivity… I simply don’t know, because I’ve never tried to do that… I’m not sure if decanting would change the mix-ratio of the carrier to aluminum too much or not…
Let me know how your tests turn out… LOL…
Its really reflective, I only sprayed one coat though but you could almost use it like that if you prep and paint in right. I tried taking picture of it in the sun and the results of that picture had me take it in the shade… Too shiny! lol
I just picked up some of this 1/2 hr ago. I’m gonna try it on a test kit this week and see what happens. That -17 sure looks good!
–Chris
The trick to using this stuff is to practice geting an even coat on… It also has to be applied light enough not to run, yet heavy enough to remain liquid long enough for the aluminum dust-particles to settle… Strat with a mist-coat to get a “base” and to cover some of the plastic…
Then give it another one aftter that one has “flashed”, meaning that it’s dry to the touch… Barely…
Then go for the color coat…
Once that’s done, leave it alone for three-five days to cure completely or you’ll be leaving fingerprints on it and will have silver dust on your hands…
One last note from me with that paint is you cannot use enamel on top of that paint, acrylic only!!!
I hit a bunch of parts on my Kenworth truck model today with the Krylon Premium Silver Foil Metallic. It’s a helluva step up from the rattlecan MM chrome silver that I have used before, although to be honest I haven’t painted anything NMF in probably 15 years.
These are parts that were stripped of their kit chrome finish with bleach, and then re-primed. I decanted the stuff into a bottle and ran it through an airbrush at 15psi with no thinner required. Hans has it right-you need to mist it on at first, and build up the finish with a bit heavier coat, but I only had about 30 seconds between coats, so it’s a one shot deal. We will see how the stuff dries, but I’m pretty happy with it so far. I’m very encouraged to try an NMF model again now. Here’s some pics:
