Author Topic: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes  (Read 160647 times)

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #90 on: October 26, 2014, 04:33:15 PM »
I think also about simple paper mask but they are good for simple shapes. Will see tomorrow when I continue work.

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #91 on: October 27, 2014, 03:18:21 PM »
My test pass great- after thin coat of gloss varnish, there was no problems with pill of paint. I have spray another coat of metallizer. A bit strange that shades does not differ too much, I expected a bit stronger shade difference.

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #92 on: August 03, 2015, 08:12:40 PM »
Bringing the kit into the natural metal finish present challenge and a problem for a many of modelers. Reasons for that are several, poor preparation of kit surface, poor adhesion of the paint (in some cases), not good look of the finish, handling and sensitivity problems. I also face some of this problems and most prominent problem is the top coat sensitivity. Airplane consist of many plates of the metal skin and not all of them are in same shade. Difference in shade could be reason of different subcontractors for the material and some little difference in production cause this different look. Also not all plates have same purposes, some are assess doors and they are made of different alloy and this mean different color, some are heat resistant, some have other properties and all of this simply mean difference in shades. Result of that is demand to do all this shades on kit and making of this mean a lot of masking. Problem is not the same problem of masking, it is just time consuming, but the fact that removing of mask film or tape leave visible trace on the surface paint. To avoid that you need to spray some kind of medium over it, it could be varnish or sealant. Problem is that any additional coat fill up panels and rivets and you loose details. What to do? Any solution?
In August issue of Flieger Revie you have a chance to see excellent work properties of AK metal wax and what we will show you right now is their Xtreme Metal paint. They come in glass bottles, 30ml each, what mean enough material for painting. Shades we show you here are:

•   AK 479 Aluminium
•   AK 480 Dark Aluminium
•   AK 481 Polished Aluminium

Paint are ready to use, no thinner required, just shake well and drop in your airbrush as much as you like. But before the start…

Preparation

Must note that preparation is mother of everything in modeling (as well for many other things in your life). Good preparation mean that your kit will be excellent base for application of any paint and in case of metal paint, it is absolute must. Metal pain, like no other, clearly show any surface problem, finger prints, bad joint, cement traces and so on. So when you start build model and you know it will be metal finish, you need to do some things. First at all- use liquid cement. Cement in tube are fine but if there is any leak (and there is always leaks), it could leave trace which will be less visible until we paint metal. Liquid does not have that problem, you simply join the parts and pour cement into join line and capillary action do the rest. No leaks and no way you can touch it and damage surface of kit. Other important thing- use best of your sanding and polishing material to achieve absolute smooth surface. Start with 800 grit for rough surface (or places where you need to apply filler) and end with 8000 grit. Take attention on join lines. When all of this is complete, spray coat of surface, it will be great base to adhere paint and for metal paints black are recommended. If you did all of this, you can continue on painting.

Xtreme in action

To perform test I have prepared one Eduard MiG-21 PF kit and for testing I use airbrush with 0,3 mm nozzle. I shake bottle and with pipette add small amount of paint. If you do kit which is entirely metal finished, first coat to do have to be AK 479 Aluminium. Spray over surfaces goes excellent, AK have develop excellent formula and this paint cover perfectly in thin coat. Do not apply tick coat at once but slide over surface and apply few thin coat to get good coverage and uniform look. Best at all- it almost instantly dry and after I have complete it, I flush some of Xtreme Cleaner (AK470), to clean up airbrush. This cleaner is formulated to clean airbrush after use of Xtreme metal paint and it have acetone similar odor. Next step is protect with masking tape some panels in order to paint in different color. I use Revell masking tape. When masking was completed, I spray darker area at the exhaust panels and some polished at the spin of kit. As well it already have coat of paint, I use even thinner coat of next paint. Result was perfect! Best satisfaction come when I have removed tape and absolute no trace that there was anything used!!! I never experienced this in my life!!!

Conclusion

AK did what all of us desired- product which is easy to use, have excellent metal shades, excellent resistance and great coverage. My personal wish is that they will expand their range of paints and add more shades such as Burnt metal, magnesium, steel, titanium and so on and make it most perfect to use and reduce need to search for other colors. I give my top recommendation to this product!

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #93 on: August 06, 2015, 04:33:46 PM »
Excellent review, and another option for NMF in our file!

I'm especially impressed that AK have figureed out how to keep the pigment on the surface after tape application, I've never experienced that with any natural metal product in my life.... :-ok

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #94 on: August 06, 2015, 04:34:46 PM »
Get it my friend, you will not regret at all :))

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #95 on: August 06, 2015, 04:49:31 PM »
I see that you are right!

One thing about my "normal" product, the Testors Metalizer, is that it is better when you apply their sealer over the pigment. At least then you can mask (still very carefully) with tape and have better success. I don't especially like the glossy sheen the sealer adds to the NMF though, so this new product looks like the answer for me, too.

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #96 on: August 06, 2015, 04:50:19 PM »
I use it before, it is good.

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #97 on: May 21, 2022, 09:14:40 PM »
It's a long time since we've added anything here. I can no longer get my favorite Testors ModelMaster paints since Rustoleum killed the whole line, so it was time to start anew with an alternative. I found some of the Vallejo line of metal finishes and decided to give it a try. The subject is an old AMT XB-35 kit that has been waiting for assembly for many years. As odd as it may seem, this is the first time I've really given acrylic paint a test as I've always had ample stocks of enamels and lacquers in the past.

My first step was to spray the extra landing gear doors with various primers to see what happened and how durable the aluminum would be. One door was bare plastic, one in grey lacquer primer, one flat black enamel and one gloss black enamel. Then I sprayed the aluminum over each door set and let it cure, then masked one half of each with Tamiya tape and sprayed another coat of the aluminum. It turns out that the Vallejo is more durable with primer under it as the unpainted doors scratched rather easily. The others all turned out pretty well, with the black primer being the best--flat or gloss didn't seem to be too different from each other.

Next, on to another test.

« Last Edit: May 21, 2022, 09:21:52 PM by Second Air Force »

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #98 on: May 21, 2022, 09:38:28 PM »
This come as nice review from your side- thank you :-razz I hear for this paints in 2016., have hold em in hands but never try and have no sample. Look strong enough and tone is nice :-ok

Welcome back!!!

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #99 on: May 21, 2022, 11:01:05 PM »
Thanks, No.1--I've been watching all the time but haven't had any contributions for so long......it's good to have something to review again!

Offline draken35

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #100 on: August 08, 2022, 06:48:47 PM »
I gived a try to those paints, I must say I'm satisfied. An advantage compared to AK Xtreme Metal is the fact that there are acrylics and don't smell at all - not the case of AK paints (but those ones are also giving excellent result !)

Offline No.1

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #101 on: August 08, 2022, 07:56:38 PM »
Good point, glad to hear that, thanks :))

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #102 on: April 13, 2023, 07:38:28 PM »
It's a long time since I started reviewing the Vallejo NMF, here are a couple of pictures of the experimental stage. I determined to start on a small area of the XB-35 as a way to learn this new paint and the cockpit area is perfect for this. I had to paint window frames as well as painting the anti-glare panel. This all went so well that I was encouraged to continue with the rest of the airplane.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2023, 07:41:20 PM by Second Air Force »

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #103 on: April 16, 2023, 06:12:59 AM »
Its wonderful look!!! Big kit as I see.

Offline draken35

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Re: HOW TO: Natural Metal Finishes
« Reply #104 on: April 16, 2023, 10:16:07 AM »
Excellent!