Brushed Aluminum

[Scott Girvan]

Hi,
Trying to find a method to simulate brushed aluminum...ala R2D2.

Any ideas??? I have Vallejo Model Air Metallics and Model Color Metallics....

[Elm City Hobbies]

The Vallejo Model Air Aluminum looks great for Aluminum....but obviously won't give you that "brushed" look.....but neither will most other aluminum paints.

What you could try is paint the aluminum, and then use their black glaze to give you the lines. Put it on, let it dry for a bit and use a brush to take it back off, leaving you the streaks. Hard part will be making sure the lines left are all going in the same direction and fairly parallel to each other.

Try it on a scrap to see if it works....don't know of any other way to give you that brushed look.

[Scott Girvan]

Good idea Scott. Gonna try that out.

So...airbrush the aluminum, and then airbrush the black???then quickly take a brush to it?? or seal the layers and use a thinner to wipe the black off?

Should make for an interesting speriment.

[Chris S]

If you dont mind spending a few dollars , you can get a fantastic result with some of the Alclads ,just a bit expensive !!

http://alclad2.com/

Take a look through the gallery ,theres also a how to section .

Chris.

[m1ks]

For that, Alclad, definitely.
As per the above post, it kinda is expensive but isn't at the same time.
I have a chrome and stainless steel and because you mist it on so fine over a few coats you barely use any so a bottle really does last a while which means it's not really as expensive as it looks, the main reason being that it's about 3x the cost of basic enamel or acrylic paint.
You need a gloss black for the base, I use Enamel.

[Elm City Hobbies]

I agree with using the Alclad, but that really doesn't solve the problem of the "brushed" look.

The Alclad Aluminum will put down a great Aluminum finish, but it is just that...an aluminum finish. How do you go about getting that brushed look to it? You only need the gloss black base for Alclad if you are using the Chrome, Stainless Steel, Polished Brass, or Polished Aluminum. The other colors don't need any other prep than you would with any other color or kind of paint (smooth surface of course, since the Alclad is so thin it will show everything underneath)

Scott....I don't think you need to put a varnish coat in between, just make sure your aluminum coat is cured first. The glaze you can either brush it on, or AB it on....you shouldn't need much. Put it on with either method, and let it set up and then use a brush to take most of it back off.

But yet...try it out on something you don't care about to try and get a method down. If you don't have a Vallejo Black Glaze (other color of glazes as well...maybe a grey one would work as well, not as stark?) I have lots here.

[Chris S]

Just another thought for you Scott G ,

If you nip over to Rob's site you'll find a friend of mine called Eth Middelton (Nemisis) the guy produces some fantastic natural metal finishes. In my opinion the brushed finish in Aluminium is very fine in 1:1 scale and when scaled down the scratchmarks wouldnt really be visible,so its more about creating an effect that looks right rather than trying to create the scratches which will probably look very overscale . ...Just my thoughts 

One of Eths Aircraft 


This one was done using various Alclads, and just gives you an idea of the tonal variations you can produce using them ,nothing comes close in my opinion 

Chris.

[Scott Girvan]

WOW! That jet is amazing!

Thanks guys. I might have some time today to try this out a bit. As for Alclad...man it looks awesome.

What would be the correct color for R2? Just plain aluminum?

[FlipFlop]

Maybe you could try this

Bare Metal Foil - Basic Application

I never tried it because i never found the place to buy it in my country but it looks interesting.

Cheers.

[Chris S]

Scott ,

Im far from an expert on Starwars ,but going by the pic you posted I reckon ALC-119 Airframe Aluminium will produce something very similar to what you are after . ....Take a look at this .....

http://alclad2.com/how-to/alclad-in-action/alclad-in-action-top-tail/


Chris.

[fumblethumbs]

I'm way over my head on this, but I know some metalizers are buffable.  If you used one that was Scott, maybe you could buff in the "round and round" direction to help to create the effect you're after.  Could even go so far as to chuck R2's head in a drill or similar and let it spin on the buffer.  This "turning the model" technique would also lend itself very well to Scotts idea. Good luck with it!!

[Elm City Hobbies]

If you do decide to go the Alclad route.....I have most of the color here at the shop.

[Scott Girvan]

COol. Cool.

Scott, I'm just gonna stick with the Model Air for this one. I do have Red and Gold Alclad that I bought from you waaay back. That's waiting on Iron Man.

[Little Cutie]

Late to the party again. I keep forgetting that this site exists.    Try www.alsacorp.com I know that they're expensive, but the results are phenomenal! More realistic than all the other paint brands put together. www.sprayonchrome.com also sells paint, but that's for industrial applications. Still interesting though, but for my money I'd use Alsacorps' paint. I'm sure that you can get in in trial size that may be cheaper. This is definately worth a try to contact them to find out if nothing else. For no more than what it costs, and for what I'd use it for it would definately be a great return on my investment.

~ Chris