I’ve always hated doing NMF and this Buffalo I’m working on was no exception. IN this case I’m trying to simulate the Aluminum lacquer finish for a yellowwings I’m building. I always have trouble with the airbrush clogging (I use an Iwata with a side feed). This time I mixed Testor’s Metallizer Aluminum 50/50 with Clear Semigloss Lacquer. I thinned it to account for the semigloss.
This is the best surface finish I’ve ever achieved and I thought you all might like to try it for yourself. I’ll post photos as soon as it’s dry and I can shoot them.
If that’s the Model Master metallizer, you will have to seal it with their metallizer sealer. Or else, some of it will lift with masking tape. Happened to me BEFORE I found out it had to be sealed. There seems to be some residue after drying even though it claims it’s a non-buffing paint.
I just tried my first NMF… used MM Acryl silver. Reckon I’ll need to try something else. It looks like an overweight, middle-aged modeler painted a kit silver… LOL
I think I may give that stuff you are partial to a try, Gerald. [;)]
I just picked up a bottle of Alclad Polished Aluminum myself because everyone has raved about it before but I didn’t want the Buffalo to come out looking too shiny since it’s not really exposed metal but aluminum colored paint on the real aircraft.
To those who are using AlClad have you had any trouble with clogging in the airbrush. Do you thin the Alclad or use it straight? I’m always looking for ways to get more realistic NMF finishes as I’m needing to build an F-101C conversion next and I wasn’t totally happy with the NMF on the F-100 I built last year.
According to the manufacturer, never thin Alclad 2. My own experience confirms this. It is very thin out of the bottle and I have never had clogging problems.
Check the Alclad Website at http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html for detailed instructions. Last time I looked, they haven’t updated their list of high-shine finishes, but they include Chrome, Polished Aluminum, Stainless Steel and Airframe Aluminum. For only those four, us a gloss black undercoat. For all the rest, any good primer will do (I use Mr. Surfacer 1200).
It looks like Habu12 used Chrome on his Sabre Dog. Looks nice! This TF-104G is mostly polshed aluminum, with other colors at the aft end.
As long as the surface is well prepared, it isn’t that hard. After all, I can do it.
Dcap… straight out of the bottle. And it should be stirred again when you refill the cup. If you use the polished AL you have to put a gloss black base coat. I used MM gloss black enamel that was VERY well cured and buffed out to get any bits of dust out. The surface need to pretty much dead on perfect as any imperfect stands out like a sore thumb. Chrome needs the gloss black too but any other Alclad only needs a good primer coat. Alclad can be real hard on the plastic and you can get some crazing. Again, after the primer coat cures real well, buff it out with 4000 micro mesh or, if you don’t have that, a coffee filter.
Thanks for the tips guys. I still can’t get past just how shiny all these planes look. I don’t recall seeing such shine when visiting my uncle at the various AFB’s he was stationed at. F-101, F-102, and F-106’s. My memory may be clouded by age and the fact that it’s possible that I’m remembering ADC Grey instead of NMF.
Good job sir! I usually use chrome for the oleo pistons on landing gear. You must have used less Polished Aluminum on yours…I tend to put too much paint down and lose some of the undercoat reflectivity. I’m going to try the high shine Airframe Aluminum on my current build, if I can ever lay down a decent gloss black undercoat.
I use Alclad. Never had a problem with it. Its great as you can spray it straight from the bottle. The primer is the critical part as well as getting the surface sweet as Marc says. Swanny has written a really good piece on using the stuff in his website give it a look. Loads of good stuff
It’s a beautiful piece of work to be sure but it’s also another example of these NMF finishes being just to bright and shiny. They wouldn’t even come off the factory floor that shiny.
Of course don’t forget that yellow wings fuselages were painted with an aluminum lacquer paint and were not NMF.
I wouldn’t count out MM acryl silver. It’s what I used on my MiG I-270. Sure she ain’t the eye-busting glare-job than some other planes that have been shown here, but (IMO) it represents the laqured aluminum of the original well enough.
Foil is good for high-polished aluminum- just be aware what is shiny and what isn’t:
Most important thing to learn about NMF:
Know what is shiny and know what isn’t, and paint/foil accordingly.
