…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the order’s in. Thanks again Steve. Looking forward to more here.
Hey Joe… I think you will like it. I also ordered their clear that seals the chrome. I will test that too and report back.
I was thinking that this black would be awesome for a car body. For a straight up black, the gloss is so good one might not need to polish it out. But aside from that… you could make the body chrome, or Alclad offers a series of clear candy colors. I can imagine some awesome paint finishes.
Glad I was of help to you.
Awesome!
For sure. I will post images tomorrow how it comes out.
Just because it’s keeping with our tendency to cross-over between sci-fy projects…
Here’s a bit of a coincidence…
Wow, Tim. That is really interesting! Quite the coincidence indeed.
The Alclad II metalics are the cat’s meow–but you are pretty much limited to airbrushing them.
Agreed.
Okay, so here is the scoop.
Based on videos I watched, you need to apply the chrome in light layers. My testing falls in line with that school of thought. There is a very fine line between going too far, or not enough. Too much paint wipes out the black base, too little, and you get a sort of black chrome.
Below: From left to right is more to less paint. You can see the difference.
Below: The light housings.
My verdict? I will say that I am not totally blown away. It looks decent, but in real life, you can see that something is just a little off. However, I am pleased with the light housings and how they came out. I have no complaints, and I guess that is what counts. They are as good as I hoped. About my thoughts on doing a car body. I think, it would be harder to pull off. The bigger the piece, the more room for fluctuations in coverage. Just my guess though.
I should note that I did not prep the spoons. They do not have a primer and in yesterdays image, I think I see evidence of crazing. You can see some bumpiness, particularly around the edges of light reflection. How much that affects the final look, I do not know.
Joe, it sounds like you have been using this system. What can you share with us? Or anyone else too.
I have not recieved the sealer yet, so that test is TBD.
Before going to the Alclad system I started my testing using Molotow Liquid Chrome. That stuff produces an eye popping chrome. I have used it before. The problem? It is super delicate. Just touching it makes the deep shine turn into a sort of aluminum. And that is a bummer. Mounting the lights will require some handling and it would surely destroy the finish. I don’t know if anyone has found a good sealer for it. I tried a few things and it destroys the magic.
Anyhow… I will wait for the Alclad sealer to arrive and then test. If it alters the chrome too much, I won’t use it. The paint as is is able to take some handling.Then, I will mount the glass and move into the next phase. That will probably be the curtains.
Thus, my report for the day.
Lol, I like it Cap!!!
And yeah the Alclad Chrome is kinda finicky. As you say too little and it looks like black chrome and too much and it dulls out the shine. It’s just a matter of fiddling with the stuff till you get it right.
I use the Testor’s Metallizer sealer on Alclad but it’s been out of production for years. I’ve got a bottle or two but when it’s gone it’s gone. Looking forward to how the Alclad product works out for you.
Alclad II Airframe Aluminum (ALC 119) is more shiney like chrome. I did this little DC3 with it.
Hey John, that does look good! Looks like i need to order some of that for future testing and use. Did you use a black base as well?
If Alclad has a flaw, it’s in that you wind up with like a dozen different metalic colors, often with only the slightest of differences between the hues.
But, the metal-specific hues do tend to be spot-on, and in a way that is more specific than in just suspending those metals in a clear carrier.
What ever voodoo it is that the they do, they do it well.
That is so well said, Capn. And when you look at the paint, they often look the same… as in this case. The chrome looks like aluminum and I am willing to bet the aircraft flavor John mentioned looks the same and until sprayed. Which at times, I question, is it the same and they just relabeled? Consensus seems to say not the same.
Okay… so… the clear arrived and I tested. As I feared, it knocked down the shine, and depth. Basically, it turned any sort of chrome to a polished aluminum. So… I will not clear the lamp housings. The paint seems durable enough to leave as is.
Btw, John. I went and ordered a bottle of aircraft aluminum. I probably won’t use it on this project, I am moving on, but for future. Unless, that is, I find something else to chrome. Looking forward to seeing what that does for me.
Next step is to install the lenses. Those should go on relatively easy since they rest inside a recess. The main lights on the bumper will be trickier. It is flush on flush with nothing to grab onto. And btw… after taking another look at those lenses, I am again, leaning towards casting new ones. That center mounting pin detracts from the overall look and it is bugging me. I will deal with that at, or near, completion of the charriot. I need to move past the lights! Already, too much time spent on them.
Looks great John!!!
I’ve used Alcald II aircraft aluminum but never compared it directly to chrome. I’d guess they were pretty close though.
BTW: I found out that Amazon Prime has ‘Lost in Space’ and sat down over the last few days and watched the first four episodes. It’s fun, I still can’t say I’m crazy about the show but it’s entertaining. The last two episodes had the Chariot on them and it is pretty friggin’ cool!
Although in the third episode Dr. Smith sabotages John Robinson’s jetpack causing him to crash land on a desolate planet and then used the robot to threaten Major West and Mrs. Robinson to abandon John to head back to Earth. And then at the end of the episode he reprograms the robot and it almost kills Will. Honest to God I think I’d have tossed Smith out the airlock and went John Henry on the robot with a maul hammer…
Hey Gam, i think my job is done here. I inspired someone… to watch LIS… YOU. I am free to leave on a high note. My mission is accomplished! [Y]
[:)]
Too funny, Gam. Yeah. Smith should have been vaporized early on.
Yes, I’ve used Alclad gloss black and Tamiya gloss black both with great results.
Hey John, very good sir. It is something more for me to try. Thanks for advising.
Hey Gam, when I had Netflix I watched some of a Lost in Space series they released. I say, I watched some of, because it was just too dark for my taste. I stopped watching it. A woman with mental illness played the part of Smith. The role she played was downright evil. Add in some of the surrounding evil aliens and such… it was too cold for my taste. The effects were pretty good though.
“Next step is to install the lenses. Those should go on relatively easy since they rest inside a recess.”
Famous last words. Last night, I found out that this was not true. None of them sit inside a recess. In fact, some seem oversized. Kind of weird how they did it, but it is what it is.
In the scheme of things it is neither here nor there, but I had to correct the record for anyone interested in this model.
I blame my error on old eyes and not removing the pieces for test fitting. I thought, “I will leave them on the sprue as long as possible for risk of losing them. A few are tiny.” Smart… right?
Last night, while removing them, the very last one and one of the tiny ones… ping! There it goes! I watched it fall past my leg where I lost sight of it. Checking my pants, pockets, cuffs, and then on hands and knees… it was not looking good. I found a lot of other garbage, but not the missing piece. I had resolved myself to that I am not gonna find it. I began thinking, now what. Stubborn that I am, I tried again. Cellphone light in hand, on hands and knees, I look. In short order I spot something. Sure enough, that was it. How I missed it the first time, I do not know. It was found in an area that I searched thoroughly, and exactly where I would have expected it to be. Bizarre.
Thus ends another chapter in, The Bakster Chariot Build.