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Bare Metal Foil


Narampa

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After a long absence to modeling I am now going to get back as I am retired and will have the time.

I just purchased a model of the first car I owned when I was 16. Seems like a long time ago. I thought it would be nice too have a model of it. But the problem I have is the chrome. There is lots of chrome on this car and I have never worked with Bare Metal Foil.

My question is would it be to much for a person for the first project?

Also are there other alternatives to BMC. I am not up on the new products out there.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

This is a picture of the exact car except mine never had the fender skirts. Man do I miss those days!

post-2666-0-54618100-1399120130_thumb.jpg

Edited by Narampa
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Welcome back to the hobby...

 

You may want to consider this product for covering large areas that need to be chrome.

 

http://alclad2.com/

 

BMF is best to use on window molding or other smaller areas. Not saying that you can't use BMF on a bumper, Alclad might be the better choice.

 

You'll need to remove the chrome plating first. You can use products like Castrol Super Clean or Wesley's Bleach White. Soak the product until it removes the chrome and the undercoating and leaves only the bare plastic. Then wash with warm, soapy water and air dry.

 

Good luck and I'm sure others may chime in...

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If you are just back in the hobby, the question is, do you have an airbrush? If not then Alclad is out of the question. You just can't bush it on. It needs to be applied with an airbrush. You can get a good finish with BMF but you have to prep the surface just like Kevin suggested. Get rid of all the mold seams and marks and clean it up and then cut a piece of BMF over sized start in the middle of the bumper and work your way out. Make small cuts at really tight curves. You can overlap BMF and the seam will be difficult see after you burnish it down. Too work it down, I like to use a Qtip that is just dampened with a little water. Just enough to make the cotton tight. No drips when you press on it. Then roll tip over the BMF to get it down. When you have it all down, burnish(rub it lightly) with the edge of a round toothpick. Don't press too hard or you will tear the BMF. You want the good quality toothpicks that have very smooth sides. I have some special tools I made from 1/8" maple dowel that I got at the hobby shore to burnish it with, but that is something you can figure out after you have worked with the material a while. A good idea would be to get a scrap bumper or two and play with it. It will take a few tries before you figure out how to get it down, but it is pretty forgiving and works well with practice.

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Thanks for the replies. However I am not worried about the large areas. Such as bumpers and grilles .If you look at the picture that I posted it is the small areas around the windows and the long body moldings that I am worried about.

 

Yes Pete I own an airbrush, I am very proficient with air brushes. Have had many years of experience with them.

So do you think BMF would work for the long moldings?

Or should I try it out on something that is easier to work with before I attempt the Mercury Marauder?

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Welcome back to the hobby...

 

You may want to consider this product for covering large areas that need to be chrome.

 

http://alclad2.com/

 

BMF is best to use on window molding or other smaller areas. Not saying that you can't use BMF on a bumper, Alclad might be the better choice.

 

You'll need to remove the chrome plating first. You can use products like Castrol Super Clean or Wesley's Bleach White. Soak the product until it removes the chrome and the undercoating and leaves only the bare plastic. Then wash with warm, soapy water and air dry.

 

Good luck and I'm sure others may chime in...

 

Thanks for your input I will look into the Alcad Paint.

I may go this way but masking the car would be a nightmare for me. I guess I would have to paint the black first. I really have no idea what I would use for masking as I would not want it to pull the black off when removing it.

I might look at using an industrial plastic paint.

As long as it is compatible with the plastic.

What happened to the days of only one type of paint and a small brush and a 49 cent model?

Times have sure changed and I am feeling older by the minute.

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the replies. However I am not worried about the large areas. Such as bumpers and grilles .If you look at the picture that I posted it is the small areas around the windows and the long body moldings that I am worried about.

 

Yes Pete I own an airbrush, I am very proficient with air brushes. Have had many years of experience with them.

So do you think BMF would work for the long moldings?

Or should I try it out on something that is easier to work with before I attempt the Mercury Marauder?

In my mind it would be a 50/50 proposition. BMF is good for such things. You can cut thin strips. I wouldn't try to do it all in one strip. BMF burnishes down nicely and the seams are only noticeable under magnification if you are careful. The down side is that trimming, if you are too wide, is a skill all in its self. A sharp knife and steady hand are a must as is more than a little practice and good eyesight. It is also much more durable than Alcad. The down side is that it would not be any more difficult to mask up for alclad and the same skills would be necessary to trim your masking. As a skill set goes, it is good to have both and worth learning for down the road. Either way a practice body would be a nice thing to have. If you are planning on the black of your photo car, doing this part right is going to be important to how the finished product looks.

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Bare Metal Foil drives me nuts! First, it's VERY hard to get an edge up so you can peel any off of the sheet! Next, good luck getting the entire piece off without tearing, leaving you with a jagged edge piece that's too small! The there's the chance that you bought an older sheet that's been laying on the shelf at the shop for years and the adhesive is mostly gone. And last of all, IF you overcome all of those obstacles, you STILL have to burnish it in place without wrinkles, or lumps trapped under it! SHEESH!

 

If you own an airbrush, ALCLAD Chrome IS the way to go! You do NOT have to remove the chrome from the parts, but you DO need to sand off any mold marks or ridges and then sand/polish the parts so that they are smooth (600grit is fine enough). Use GLOSS BLACK ENAMEL for the primer! Do NOT use an acrylic! The Alclad Chrome reacts with enamel paints to plate out. Spray the Chrome on in thin layers, misting it on. Do NOT spray it on in a "wet" coat! You'll be amazed at how it suddenly plates out after about the 3rd pass. Not only is it a great way to chrome cars and props, it also has a much better scale appearance compared to the plated chrome in a kit.

 

For what it's worth, I also mask off and paint the chrome trim anymore; as I view THAT as no more tedious than trying to wrestle with the foil AND thin trim it over a finished paint job!

 

One last warning about the foil....I know people who like to use it to mask canopies, and it can work well. BUT, do NOT apply it to a canopy that has been already Futured! In my experience, the adhesive for the foil reacts to the acrylic Future and leaves a residue when you peel it off.

 

Your mileage may vary, but that's been my experiences thus far....Cheers!

 

GIL :smiley16:

Edited by ghodges
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One additional observation on BMF from many years of experience with it: The adhesive will stick much better to your skin than it will initially to the model when you are trying to jockey the loose piece into position to press it down. I did all the chrome repairs on an AMT Peterbilt truck tractor with BMF and was very pleased with the results.

 

Ed

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Thanks Edward and Gil

Your comments are much appreciated. I will probably go with the paint,but for the experience I will try some Bare Metal Foil. At least I can say I tried.

I am making a PDF file of this thread to keep as a future reference.

 

Lar

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These are all very informative posts as I too have recently returned to our hobby. Never used BMF before, but Squadron had a sale recently on BMF so I purchased ultra bright chrome, new improved chrome, matte aluminum, and gold. I have yet to use any BMF yet, but I do have some build candidates for it. I have a Kenworth W900, a Peterbilt 359 flat-top, a '62 Impala, and an AMT Opel GT. All could be good candidates for BMF I imagine. I also have some 1/48 scale aircraft that could be foiled like I have seen in Finescale Modeler..... but not for a while. For those, I think I will give my Paasche H or VL the nod. :smiley2:

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I use Alclad for large areas....but smaller areas I use the foil....I always use more than I need and trim...the key is burnish, and then trim, and ALWAYS use a brand new #11 blade to trim....I just use the weight of the knife handle and it cuts like butter as long as the blade is new.

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