NMF-I can't get the hang of it.

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I wanted to do a P-51D in 1/72nd scale in a NMF and originally attempted first with an Academy kit and Bare Metal Foil. It turned out it was just to much for my huge fingers and that small kit. I stripped it all off and went with Testors Metalizers. Though it looked great, it was impossible to finish as there were still stripes to paint on the wings and the landing gear bays. Masking with this product is difficult at best. So it went to a back shelf as I moved on.

Now I picked of a Tamiya kit with the same NMF designs and wanted to try Alclad. I tested first on an old kit, painting first a gloss black. One area with enamel and the opposite with Acryl (Both MM). After waiting several days, I started spraying the Alclad, building up with light coats. The results were not what I had hoped for. Though it produced a silver metallic looking surface, it wasn’t shiney aluminum like I had hoped. I even tried to buff it a bit with an old t-shirt and still it wasn’t what I had hoped for. Plus, I thought that the undercoat of the gloss paint made the surface details look thick and out of scale, once they became coated with the Alclad.

I want to try perhaps Hawkeye’s SnJ’s paints or someone once mentioned a product called Rub N, Buff. I want to have at least one kit as a NMF someday. I know some of you have better luck with the products I tried, but just wanted an alternative so maybe I can find what works best for me.

2

I’m yet to try metal foils and alclad (though I have purchased some alclad to try). Only NMF I have I used Humbrol metalizers which didnt do a crap job. something else to consider?

Andrew

3

jimbot- there’s a NMF group build going on right now. If you go to the Group Builds category on the forums homepage you should be able to find it. Many aircraft involved, several finished. If you’ve got time to wade through it, you should be able to get some ideas on what works for different builders. You’ve probably noticed folks here are also willing to give specifics about their techniques if asked. Hope this helps…

4

You didn’t say which “shade” of aluminum you used. Alclad has several types of aluminum. The polished aluminum is really shiny if put down on a good gloss black, sort of like the squadron commander’s plane which was always polished :slight_smile: Natural aluminum is less shiny, and their white aluminum is more matt still, very weathered looking.

5

Someone in FSM was talking about this, and said it was important for him to do the stripes and markings first, which he could then mask off and do the metal. Said it got around the problem of putting tape on metallic finishes.

6

Seconding Stage_Left’s suggestion of checking out the NMF Group Build. Lots of different approaches going on there.

Personally, I’ve used MM Metalizer, Talon, SnJ, and Alclad, and of the four, I like Alclad the best.

MM Metalizer is pretty fragile and vulnerable to tape lift-off.

SnJ and Talon will both give you plenty of high shine if you invest in the polishing powders and buff them in good with a dremel and a cotton wheel. Just my personal experience, but I have a heck of a time airbrushing these. Neither seems to spray well in the light, misting coats recommended, and don’t really flow consistently until I pull the trigger back to about 3/4 throttle, at which point they come in a torrent. This is with an Iwata HP-C Plus and an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS with the .35mm nozzle. Haven’t tried it yet with the .5mm setup, which may work better.

The cowl rings on this La-5 were done with Talon Aluminum and aluminum polishing powder:

And the bottom of this P-47 is SnJ aluminum, before and after polishing powder:

My biggest problem with both - aside from the spray issues I seem to keep having - is the mess that the polishing powders and the dremel make. Not only getting the powder everywhere, but little fibers coming off the wheel. But maybe my wheel just isn’t properly “broken in”.

Alclad definitely requires the most prep work up front. A smooth, high-gloss base is critical, and if you’re using one of the high-shine shades (polished and airframe aluminum, chrome, stainless steel, etc), you’ll need a gloss black base. I’ve had great luck with Tamiya X-1. I’ve tried the decanted Krylon technique and just don’t like it as much. But to each their own.

This prop hub was painted with Alclad Airframe Aluminum. And the exhaust plates on the La-5 above were done with Dark Aluminum (I tried steel at first, but it was almost black it was so dark)…

I highly recommend experimenting…do a build or three with each technique and find the one that works for you. So much of this hobby is preference, and there’s usually never one right way to do anything.

7

Most NMF aircraft were NOT highly polished. Those were for special aircraft. In combat crews didn’t have time to spend hours polishing their aircraft, time was spent servicing the aircraft to keep it armed, fueled and mechanically sound. The cosmetic aspects were of last concern.

You don’t need to use the Polishing Powders we offer, that is just another tool to get a higher luster and change tonal effects. You can also get what I call stick tones as well. Simply using a polishing stick to lightly induce a change in the panels coloration or sheen.

The other benefit either of my paint lines offer…the ability to tint to create your own colors using paints you already have in your supplies. One basic color mixed with others give you a wider palette selection. Modeling on a budget!

Try a felt wheel instead of a cotton one. [;)] Those little cotton shards come from the wheel spinning against a sharp edge, such as the trailing edge of a wing.

8

I’ll try the felt wheel next time. Any idea what’s going on with my not getting consistent spray until I’m so heavy on the throttle? I’ve been using similar psi that I use for everything else, from MM enamel to Future to Tamiya to clear coats. None of them have that hesitating thing going on.

You know, I’m curious about NMF aircraft not being polished. I’ve heard that ground crews could coax an extra 10 mph out of a P-47 with a good wax job. Given aerodynamics, it makes sense. Time, resources, etc probably often conspired against anything of the sort, especially at forward bases like Y-29, but 10 mph is a legitimate combat advantage, so it would make sense that some effort would be expended.

I think there needs to be a distinction between high, chrome-like shine and an authentic metal sheen. To me the latter is the goal of NMF - to make the kit look like it’s metal, not silver paint. Varying degrees of shine depend on the aircraft and environment, but that metal sheen remains the goal, right?

9

You heard a lotta bull… The advantage of leaving the aircraft unpainted was from removing weight, not decreasing drag… At 9-10 lbs. per gallon and three or four gallons per aircraft of paint and primer, that means something overall… Although you could gain a little bit by polishing, there was no way you’d get even close to ten MPH simply by polishing it… Maybe one or two, at best…

The same thing was tried by some by polishing painted aircraft with boot polish to smooth out the rough texture… However, that had the obvious DISadvantage of making your aircraft easier to see from sunlight reflecting off it and attracting the bad guy’s eye… And it didn’t add any real, measurable speed either… That said, it was still done and some pilots felt better about it…

As you know, Dad was a fighter pilot, and he and I were watching an episode of Baa Baa Blacksheep togther one night and one of the pilots in the show was doing that to his Corsair… Dad “Harr-umphed” and muttered, “Bullsh*t”, lol… That’s when the subject came up between us, lol…

10

I have only used Alclad, but a couple of things come to mind;

Alclad separates very quickly, as most metallics do, so make sure & give it a stir immediately before spraying & either give it a swirl or stir if you pause for any length of time to admire your NMF.

I usually spray at about 20-30 PSI, but dial down somewhere between 10 -20 PSI when using Alclad for best results.

11

I have no problems spraying Alclad or MM Metalizers. Or properly thinned MM enamel, Gunze Mr. Color, Tamiya, and Vallejo Model Color. All shoot fine around 15-20 psi for me. Talon and SnJ are the only ones that seem to give me a problem.

12

What I used was the Alclad that is “Aluminum”. Looking at the photos over in the group build section, what I achieved was about how it was supposed to come out. I understand that a shiney “I can see myself in it” type finish would be unrealistic, but I wanted a bit more sheen for my 'stang. I see there is Polished Aluminum and Airframe Aluminum available. I also want to experiment with Aluminum foil (Dull side up). I am ordering some Microscale foil adhesive from Squadron (and maybe a kit or two…) as I type.

13

Waxing and polishing do different things. In a waxed coating there is a new, smooth coating, transparent, covering the rougher metal (or paint). The color comes from the base layer, a sheen or reflection from the top layer surface. Waxed metal (without polishing the metal first) is more like very glossy aluminum paint. Works fine for aerodyamic purposes, but does not give the same sheen as polished metal. But, it is easier to do- less work.