Only Krylon under Alclad?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

Hi everyone!

I was wondering if Krylon is the only thing I can use as a base coat for Alclad II Aluminum. I know that Alclad is pretty “hot” but would I be able to use something like Testor’s gloss black as an undercoat rather than Krylon?

Thanks for the advice! You guys are great.

Eric

2

have you considered Alclad Gloss Black Base? wooooooooonderful stuff!! well worth the money. if not, you could probably get away with gloss black, but i’d add a couple of coats of future in with it before i added the metalizer. the glossier, the better. later.

3

The Krylon I have used (of any color) has always done some degree of wrinkling model plastic. Krylon Fusion did it too, but not as much as other breeds. It does polish out, but that’s work. We don’t want no wrinkly natural metal finish :slight_smile:

4

i just use beuty tone enamel black for alcad chrome

5

I have had great results using Future under the regular shades of Alclad. I like it because it is far less toxic than Krylon lacquer based products and is easier to clean up. It is also cheep if that is a consideration. Future should cure for at least 48hrs so I guess you could consider this as a downside. IMHO, Future is the way to go. Try it. You will like it[:D]

Mike M

6

Salty,

I saw that Alclad’s base coat for sale next to their metalic offerings but I thought I read somewhere that you could only use certain Alclad topcoats over certain Alclad base coats. (Did that make sense?) I didn’t want to pick up a bottle of something that wasn’t entirely compatable.

In general I just wasn’t sure if it could be anything as long as it was an enamel or a lacquer or an acrylic, etc. Does anyone know which one it is?

Thanks!

Eric

7

To the best of my knowledge, lacquer based paints are the only ones to use.

I could be wrong, but really haven’t looked much more into it.
I bought the Alclad black, and have decided to stick with it, rather than ruin a paint job through experimentation.

8

i have used Alclad Gloss Black Base under all of my NMF. it works very well. my advice would be to avoid decanted krylon gloss black at all costs. the alclad product is $7 a pop, but it is enough primer to cover many 1/48 kits several times. i’ve never tried it, but i’ve heard to avoid acrylic gloss black primers as well, stick with enamels or lacquers. just ensure atleast 24 hours before you begin to apply the metalizer over the gloss black base.

9

[#ditto]

10

I have used Tamiya’s TS sprays under Alclad II and also their fine surface primers,with no problems at all.

11

Salty,

Thanks for the warning! Guess what I was about to do tonight. Yup. You guessed it. I was about to decant the Krylon so I could run it through my airbrush. This chat string has convinced me to pick up a container of the Alclad gloss black on my way home tonight.

Thanks to everyone for the superb info. You may have just saved my model!

Eric

12

you want be sorry Eric, you’ll love the ease of application and silky smooth properties of Alclad Gloss Black Base!! it’ll make you want to just decal the thing after you get that sweet looking gloss black on you’re subject!!LOL later.