Hi,
As you know, I an obsessed with finding the most realistic NMF. I am considering using Rud ‘n’ Buff on my HASEGAWA 07219 1/48 F-104C Starfighter. This guy was had great results: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234944554-b29a-pacifique-1945-148-monogram/
Has anyone here recently used Rub ‘n’ Buff with great results? There are some older posts on the board, but nothing real recent.
JohnnyK
I used it forty or fifty years ago. One limitation is that all other non-bare metal painting must be done first. Paint does not go over R&B very well. But then, that is the way I do Alclad also- I don’t like to mask over Alclad- it can leave marks.
Do decals stick to Rub ‘n’ Buff?
Do they still ,ale the stuff? I haven’t seen any since I got back to the states in the late 80s.
The store brand of aluminium foil at my local supermarket is real thin. I glued it to a model once and it had a nice finish for about 2 years.
Yeah, they stick, but not very well. Let the R & B outgas for a few days before decaling.
I feel like I am reaching back a thousand years or so… (Well it was another millenia [:D]).
I used to use R&B back in the late 60’s - early 70’s.
Rather than rub and buff it, I used to thin it and brush it on. Got good results for the time. My “secret” was to paint in manageable sections and gently blow. It would “flash” over and even out nicely. Did a Monogram B-52 using that technique. I wish I could remember what I used as a thinner, but I doubt if it was anything overly exotic - pretty sure nothing more than a generic hardware store thinner. Might even have been turpentine. (Trying to shut my eyes here and remember the smell.)
The finish was reasonably durable and did take decals well.
Now, rather than blow, I’d suggest that if you find the right thinner it should airbrush nicely.
I’ll have to see if I can dig around in some deep dark storage and find one that might have survived the ravages of the decades. It WAS a long time ago.
Thanks for the info. I think that I will try my next NMF using Rub n Buff instead of Bare Metal Foil. There is nothing to lose.
Just be patient in experimenting with thinners and explore techniques.
I’ve been digging in the back of my memory since I posted this to try and draw out what I can.
I do recall that I did thin it very heavily, agitating it frequently. And that was for brushing. When my mixing bottle settled, it was mostly thinner. More than 10 to 1 if you can trust 50 year old memories. (God, I feel OLD.)
Rub ‘n’ Buff also had a sealer back in the day, but I left the finish as it was, not really handling the finished product.
I wish you luck and look forward to following your progress.
TEST it and PRACTICE. Don’t give up if the first results aren’t perfect. Think of yourself as the mad scientist and you will get there. I know once I hit a balance, I stuck with it for a few years until life and work took me further and further away from modeling. 
Now, I wish I could go back to the old days of turning out a kit or two a week. Wanting perfection and lacking time has left me a lurker here instead of a modeler who enjoyed every moment.
I keep looking at my stash and saying “One day…”
I only hope I live to see it.
Carry on my friend!
There was an FSM article where RB was used on an F-104. I believe it mentioned being careful handling after application and a couple of other issues. I have 2 tubes of the product and use it on armor tracks to show wear points and use it on any other object that will have a shiny metallic look like blades, etc.
That stuff is like a wax so I don’t know how well decals or paint will adhere, if it’s even paintable.
The most realistic metallic finish I have found is Alclad. The trick to Alclad is getting a mirror smooth surface to go on in order to make it look like metal and not just a metallic paint. I have not had any issues taping or decaling over any of the Alclad finishes.
Here’s my 1/72 Fujimi Cutlass done in high shine Alclad Polished Aluminum with Testors black gloss enamel as a base.
