I found out that Alclad now offers a new Aluminum variant called High Gloss Aluminum. I am an Alclad fan and decided to try it. I used it on the compressor blades and case of my Allison 501. It is quite different from the other aluminums I have used.
It is more opaque than their other aluminum tints, which means that you do not need to get a perfect undercoat. I used it directly on the kit plastic. These parts were blue, and I thought maybe a slight bluish tint would look good. However, the blue did not show through. It is not as polished looking as their polished aluminum, which is good because I did not want to the surface to look polished. But it is bright! That is what I wanted. I will now keep this version on my bench for when I desire that kind of finish.
Looks great Don !! Any feel for it’s durability compared with other Alclad products or compared with MM Metalizer ( my old metal paint was MMM, looking around now for it’s replacement).
Very impressive. I’ve never used Alclad but have notice the positive comments regarding it. I’m building Eduard’s MiG-21 and want to do a NMF. What type or colour would you recommend from their line?
Well that’s good news ! I use aluminum plate buffing in the bottle. Supposedly it’s going away or gone. Mostly what I do with it are all small parts, spray cans are a bit overkill for me… I just kind of figured I might as well look into other products now before I run out. Alclad is always an option but am curious how fragile it might be.
I’ve seen some wonderful work done with bmf to simulate chrome. Not with me doing it by the way, mine is passable maybe at best. I will say I thought it would be more difficult to do. But for chrome I’ve settled on Molotow pens. No the silver plate is for things like engine manifolds and such or well,metal plates lol. But I really like that buffing aspect because it brings in those specular metal like highlights and tones.
That is what this new stuff is so good for. Shiny metal look without needing perfect undercoat.
One thing I have found in using it. I had been putting it on pretty thick, and using the stuff up faster than with other Alclads. Turns out this stuff takes a minute or so of drying before it really turns opaque and shiny. Put it on slowly to give it time to gloss up.
I agree with you on the spraycans. Not being able to control the amount is a big drawback for me.I’ve used the Model Master metalizers in my airbrush and always liked the results. Never used Alclad but would like to see how that works.
