Silver paint on a polished F-86H

[Joev259A]

This could be a follow up to John Maene's question on the same topic.  I have a 1/48 scale F-86H that I painted with Alcad Chrome (1 coat so far).  This was painted over a base coat of Tamiya gloss black, and the flaps painted with gloss white for contrast.  I've attached the (Commander's) airplane as a reference, and photos of the model.  I think the Chrome makes this look like a toy,  so I need some suggestions to make it look closer to the real aircraft.  For the second (or more) coats, should I maybe mix Chrome and Aluminum,   or maybe Chrome and white,  or a light spray of Aluminum?  this is the first time I'm using Alcad.  A really interesting experience!  Thanks for any help.

[VMF211]

Alclad Airframe Aluminum might be a better choice at first. I have no idea what would look like over that though.

[Joev259A]

ok.  Thanks for the input.  Stay tuned . . . . 

[steev]

I build cars and sometimes I'll mix a TINY amount of alum or some other alclad with chrome to tone it down to more of a polished metal look but I don't know what it would do over the existing chrome. 

[PatV]

I use Alclad White Aluminum. Next, Future coat for decaling prep. After that, Vallejo Clear Satin to protect the decals. Do some subtle weathering and then spray AK Ultra Matt Clear to seal in it all.

Picture is a 1/48th scale Revell F-86D Sabre Dog.

 

[Joev259A]

Thanks all.  I may try a light over spray of Aluminum to tone it down.

 PatV- what did you use for panel lines?

[PatV]

After Vallejo Clear Satin has dried, I ground up artist black charcoal over fine sand paper. Then using a flat thin brush, I picked up a small amount and lightly brushed it over the panel lines. The residue from the charcoal fills into the cracks and panel edges. Apply lightly and repeat application for darker shaded results. You may lose some of this panel shading with applying the final flat coat. If so, just reapply the charcoal.

Good Luck.

[ghodges]

I've found that Alclad Aluminum, White Aluminum, and Aircraft Aluminum are quite bright enough by themselves when applied over gloss black. Using gloss white or gloss gray as the undercoat will cut their brightness some and provide varying contrast. I use the Chrome ONLY for props, some intake leading edges, and car parts, as it is too bright for anything else. Polished Aluminum is useful for a VERY bright "museum" type of finish.

For your Saberjet, I'd start by using White Aluminum for the wing center panels, which always look duller than the rest of the plane. If you're looking to tone down the entire finish, a misting overall of Aluminum might do the trick.

I almost never gloss coat Alclad. It's already smooth enough and doesn't need it. I do trim as much of the clear away from the decals as possible. You can certainly apply a clear coat if you want to, but in my experience it takes away from the metallic look and makes it look like painted silver.

Lastly, for panel lines, I suggest a benign wash like Flory makes (clay based) that doesn't attack any sort of paint and is entirely removeable with water. You can make your own with crushed pastel chalks, water, and a drop or two of liquid dish soap. 

Attached are some pics of some Alclad finishes, including the 1/48 Clear Prop F-86A I'm finishing up now....

Hope this helps!

 

Gil 

[TheRealMrEd]

I like to start with the Alclad II Gloss Black Primer, then a coat of Alclad II Polished Aluminum to start, then apply various other shades of ALC2 metallic finishes, as needed.  Then a topcoat of ALC2 Aqua Gloss water base topcoat before applying decals.  Afterwards, another coat of Aqua Gloss to seal the decals, then finish off with various clear coats of ACL2 Gloss coat, Light Sheen (used most often), Semi-Matte, Matte or Flat, as desired.  I use Parfilm "M" to mask at all stages, and never get a paint pull-up.

 

Ed

 

 

[Joev259A]

Whoa Ed!  Great finishes!!  What I did was re-paint the model with Tamiya gloss black, then hit it with Alcad polished aluminum.  It doesn't look die-cast anymore . .  .

 

Joe V.

[Kranman]

    Love this thread!  Metal finishes are something of a draw for me as I have quite a few unbuilt models which will require them.  I just completed a Monogram 1/48 F-100 and tried some old-school products on it.  Firstly, the whole model received Rustoleum Aluminum from the big rattle can, as the forward fuselages of these aircraft were painted aluminum lacquer and do not show a lot of dissimilar panels.  Don't discount this product as a viable metallic finish!  I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  But, it needs several days to cure.  After Glosscoating (Model Master) the entire model, I then used Model Master Metalizers to depict the rear, burnt and distressed natural metal portions.

    I have a lot invested in Alclad, Floquil, Model Master, and AK metallic paints.  I was surprised to find this Rustoleum paint worked as well as it did.  I'll post a pic or two of the Super Sabre tomorrow..  Kudos to the models depicted - they're great examples of our craft!

[Kranman]

Here's my Monogram Hun, OOB, with Aeromaster decals.  This was painted with the aforementioned Rustoleum Aluminum from the hardware store, the big cans.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2024 by Kranman
wrong forum

[ghodges]

Good looking Hun indeed!

If I may suggest.... put these pics into a NEW topic here in the aircraft area (except for perhaps one, and caption that one here as an example of the NMF topic) and delete the rest of these pics so we can comment on your build there and not divert attention from the original post topic here.

 

Gil 

Edited October 29, 2024 by ghodges

[Joev259A]

DONE!!!!   Another adventure in scale modelling!  This sure looks better than chrome finish!   (see first thread).

Joe Vattilana

 

 

[VMF211]

THAT came out nice!!!

[ghodges]

Sweet! Love that orange and black striping. Makes for a very eye catching scheme! Congrats!

 

Gil 

[Joev259A]

Thanks.  Now I'm thinking-- F-104?  F-100?  Maybe a silver Huey or Cobra?    😃

[Kranman]

The Hasegawa F-104 is still available and is inexpensive.  It's a good kit and lends itself well to the NMF.  I have one in paint now (Alclad) and am picking out different colors for differing panels.  I can recommend the kit for ease of assembly.  And yes, your F-86 looks much better than the earlier application!  Well done.

 

Frank