Alclad II Question.

[Geek44]

G'day all.
I've been experimenting with Alclad II a little lately being a latecomer to it. I've seen plenty of evidence to suggest that it's a very good metalizer and is capable of some amazing effects...however I don't seem to be able to achieve any success with it.
My first attempt was with a cheap kit bought on eBay for the express purpose of testing Alclad. It was the old Matchbox 1/72 Hawker Fury. I used the Alclad gloss black undercoat (and I think this is where my problem lay) with limited coverage...I should have known better. I had some success with a 'metallic' finish on some areas but the rest looked like sparkly sandpaper. Almost dusty. On my current kit, I had a similar result but I used a white undercoats after seeing what Iwik achieved with his Spowith Baby. Silly twit I am, didn't even occur to me that I should have used GLOSS white until the Alclad started to look dusty and sandpapery again.
I'm 99% sure this is a user error thing but I'll mention that I've had my bottles for almost five years unused...I don't know if age deteriorates them.
I shook the living tar out of the bottles before use too.
Any suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated.
Peace.

[Mouppe]

I used alclad lacquers on my Sopwith Camel a year or so ago over a Tamiya base primer. I airbrushed them at a low 15 psi as per the instructions. It was quite a dry cold autumn day when I painted and I think this helped. I obtained a great finish on the rotary engine but a year later, I noticed that the paint is slightly cracked on the fuel tank.

I do not think they are particularly difficult to apply but perhaps a good airbrush helps.

Mouppe.

[Geek44]

Thanks Mouppe. I used an Iwata Eclipse which I think qualifies as a 'good airbrush'. I sprayed at about 20psi...maybe too high. Y'know what hurts is that I know a young guy who's built maybe fifteen models in his life and his Alclad finishes are just beautiful .
Peace.

[NickT]

I used Alclad on a recent Nieuport build and never really had a problem with it. I spray at about 15 psi and where it is an overall coat and the plastic is finished properly (smooth and polished) I'll spray directly over the plastic.
If the plastic has filler showing and needs a primer coat then I'll use Alclad Grey Primer, which is fine as long as you're not using chrome or polished aluminium.

Nick

[Mouppe]

I use an Iwata Eclipse too so clearly we can't blame the airbrush this time!

[Geek44]

No Mouppe, it was always going to be 'user error' .
Everybody seems to just use this stuff with good results but I can't manage it so far . Perhaps I need to experiment a little on some scrap styrene. I actually sprayed my excess onto some glass last time I used it and it looked great on that...might be my pressure and undercoats.
Well aware of the prep needed for metal finishes...my results wre something quite different...looked like glitter. Thanks for the help guys.
Peace.

[skeeterbuck]

I would first try lowering your pressure. Alclad is watery thin so it doesn't need much pressure to spray. I spray it on slightly wet and in seconds it will flash over and dry.
It has no thickness per se, so if you spray it over flat paint which has a rough texture, the Alclad finish will look rough.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Chuck

[Dave Brewer]

I love them-haven't touched Alclad since I tried Talon.
Cheers,
Dave.

[MoeLDERS]

Hi gentleman,

Alclad Rule #1:
I if you think you have polished the basecoat enough, go ahead and do it again.

Micromesh polishing sets might be great for that.












I just love this stuff! Thanks for the hint to talon colors.
Gotta try it!

Best

Alex

[THE GREAT WALDO]

Originally Posted by Geek44

Thanks Mouppe. I used an Iwata Eclipse which I think qualifies as a 'good airbrush'. I sprayed at about 20psi...maybe too high. Y'know what hurts is that I know a young guy who's built maybe fifteen models in his life and his Alclad finishes are just beautiful .
Peace.

A high gloss finish under alclad is is most important as the Alcad is very thin, also don´t get to close with the airbrush and don´t pull back too far on the flow control. The best thing is to practice on some scrap plastic. Any cracking with Alclad could be down to the Cellulose/laquer solvents reacting with Acrylic laquer, just ask an older car sprayer !

Cheers

Andrw