More testing on Alclad

[djway3474]

Hi All,
I tried 4 more colors under Alclad. I did a medium blue, a light blue, an ice blue and a silver metallic.
Well the silver came out the brightest. One thing I did discover is that the one that had the best gloss had the best finish by far. The two darker blues looked like crap but I had not coated them with a gloss clear first.
All had good brightness to them. The silver was very bright and shinny so if you need bright chrome that should be a consideration.
If you need shadowing in the piece to create depth go with the dark blue. It gives you deep blue shadows.
I would rule out black as a base coat.
Of course if you need show quality chrome use Chrome Tech. The part must be perfectly smooth though. I sent in some bumpers that I had sanded off the mold lines. I thought I had it very smooth but they were awful. You should contact Chrome Tech to discuss the needs. I did have several parts come back melted once. So that is a consideration if the parts are very rare.

[82k5]

The first post for alclad is no longer available, but love to see your results. I my self didn't have much luck with alclad, by the way has anyone worked with the aluminum alclad ?

[Fuelish Spectator]

Hey 82k5....
I have tested with the exact Alclad aluminium. I got real good results from my hands on tutor... He ask of me to shoot gloss black enamel over the part wait a few day for the paint to gas out then he applied the spray type or rattle can Alclad to the part. The object is to cover the part in one pass and that's it. Another key point is once you have painted the part with alclad avoid handling the part because the finish can rub off. If you clear coated it will dull down big time....
I hope this would help somewhat....
Fuelish

[djway3474]

The key is a glossy base coat. If the black is not glossy apply a glossy clear coat to the part. And I agree about not handeling the part. I was working on a motor today that I could not avoid touching the blower hat a lot and it dulled way down. I remembered I had cotton gloves after it was too late but I am not sure that would have helped either. Just don't touch the parts. As far as spraying the Alclad I keep the gun quite far from the part and I very lightly mist the parts. This method uses a lot of Alclad so I try to really have a lot of parts laid out very close to each other so I get as much out of the paint as possible.

[82k5]

Both replies helped, I'll have to try the one pass theory. I was told to do a couple of light misting coats and all in the same direction. I also learned the hard way it had to be a gloss base. I didn't try it on any model parts for the same reason and was pretty bumbed because as we all know, it's not the cheepest stuff around ! I think I'll try it now with the new info but I think I'm still going to invest in chrome plating kit. I have heard that handeling the parts makes them dull and lets face it, that's not always an option !

[sumner]

I ried future after waiting a few days ( over alclad). It did not affect the shine at all. And it protects the finish.

[56150]

Good tip. This sounds like it is worth trying. Has anyone else heard of this?