I was ready to decal my Mig-21 F-12 that had the chrome paint on it, but I finally did something smart and ran some tests first. The first picture shows 4 items that I had sprayed with the chrome several days ago. It is Testors brand and enamel. The 1st tank on the left is just the chrome paint. The 2nd tank has Future sprayed on it. There is little if any detectable difference. Tanks 3 & 4 had Testors clear gloss enamel sprayed on them after the decals were on #4 for 2 days. The bright chrome dulled down considerably and took on a much more natural aluminum color. The problem is that where the decals kept the clear from reaching the chrome, it stayed bright. Look carefully at the clear carrier film between the A & F in the middle and the edge around the Uganda national emblem. This would be totally unacceptable on a finished model.
Since I realized what happens, I sprayed the clear gloss on my Mig-21 before putting any decals on it and look at the difference between pictures 3 and 4. The bright chrome has turned into normal looking aluminum! I put Egyptian decals on it this evening and I plan to put clear flat enamel over the whole thing tomorrow. I am hoping that this turns out to be a good NMF finish, even though it will be all one shade. Also look at the recessed panel lines on the plain #3 tank. The clear highlighted them very nicely. You could barely see them with just the chrome paint. The raised panel lines on the Mig, or at least the edges of them, reacted in a similar manner.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
