Strange metal paint behavior

[49thStateRT]

An wondering if anybody knows cause of the metal paint issue in the attached photo. I thought I was doing everything right, in fact this is 2nd try after getting to this step once and trying to clean up a wing, which led to me wiping it back to bare plastic.
I air brush primed with a decently thick coat of AK Xtreme Metal gloss black base. Waited around 20 hours then air brushed with AK Xtreme Metal Aluminum, slightly thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner. Sprayed at 15psi
My guesses are this happens where I applied too much paint, because most of it looks fine, just certain areas show this issue. And/or the thinner is eating into the base black coat ? Am hoping after 36 hours of drying a light 2nd coat will Fix these areas.

 

[49thStateRT]

Oh and you will see all the dust my air brush booth is sucking onto my models. Garage is just not a "clean" room. Kind of sucks.

 

[urumomo]

That AK is an enamel ,
it says it is pre-thinned for airbrushing .
min spirits if you need it thinner : https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catag...u=1&pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber_a&so=d&man=AKI

The leveling thinner is for solvent acrylics , lacquers ,
bunch of alcohol :
https://www.zinnfigur.com/securityf...17uCseFOjbNHaMyXFCqwSg4lQAsUxnnfsLzGX4n6OXWut

 

[49thStateRT]

That AK is an enamel ,
it says it is pre-thinned for airbrushing .
min spirits if you need it thinner : https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catag...u=1&pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber_a&so=d&man=AKI

The leveling thinner is for solvent acrylics , lacquers ,
bunch of alcohol :
https://www.zinnfigur.com/securityf...17uCseFOjbNHaMyXFCqwSg4lQAsUxnnfsLzGX4n6OXWut

That is frustrating since it says on Xtreme metal label "lacquer based" and nowhere does it say enamel on the label. So silly me figured that using what I was told at LHS was a good laquer thinner like Mr color leveling thinner would be fine to use with it. The leveling thinner product label says it contains 2-pentagons, 4-methyl, and 4-hydroxy. Vs Mr Color regular thinner that says contains 2-proponal, isobutyl alcohol, ethanol, and 2-btoxy. Need a chemical

 

[urumomo]

" Need a chemical "
?

 

[urumomo]

That is frustrating since it says on Xtreme metal label "lacquer based" and nowhere does it say enamel on the label.

I have 2 of them , white aluminum and brass , and the label says enamel .

 

[49thStateRT]

I will take photos of the bottle. I need a chemical degree LOL

 

[49thStateRT]

I have 2 of them , white aluminum and brass , and the label says enamel .

To try and salvage it would you do 2nd coat of same or maybe a coat of Vallejo metal which I read was pretty good stuff?

 

[urumomo]

we're talking about this stuff ?

 

[urumomo]

To try and salvage it would you do 2nd coat of same or maybe a coat of Vallejo metal which I read was pretty good stuff?

I can't tell from the photo the exact surface texture it produced , you might need to sponge sand out anything prior to recoat .

I think the best , by far , metallics are all lacquers -- true nitrocellulose lacquers .
Alclad II is my favorite .

 

[49thStateRT]

we're talking about this stuff ?

See photos yep we are. Not to argue with you, because I know you know your stuff, but I see no "enamel" anywhere on my bottle. To me AK Interactive should know better. Will never use them again.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I think that AK is enamel based. That should be compatible with Mr color leveling thinner. I use it all the time with my testers paints and model master. Something about that leveling thinner when I use my tester paints it comes out excellent

 

[urumomo]

Those images are too small for me to make out the text ,
but I'll certainly take your word on it

This is the label I have :

They make good paint .
I wouldn't give up on their products .
Their website sucks and forget about finding an SDS on anything , though

 

[49thStateRT]

Those images are too small for me to make out the text ,
but I'll certainly take your word on it

This is the label I have :

View attachment 140148

They make good paint .
I wouldn't give up on their products .
Their website sucks and forget about finding an SDS on anything , though

 

[urumomo]

Well then that's a different paint .
Where are you located ?

 

[urumomo]

What is the product # ?

 

[urumomo]

Did you try spraying it without thinning it ?

 

[49thStateRT]

The first try I did 1:2 thinner to paint. Today I tried using one dropper of thinner in the half bottle i had left. Unfortunately I did that in the bottle directly so can't try it completely without thinner without buying a new bottle,

 

[49thStateRT]

What is the product # ?

AK 479 just like yours. Label otherwise looks the same. I am in Anchorage Alaska.

 

[urumomo]

That's weird , man .

Obviously lacquer and oil base are completely different .
Why would they bottle completely different coatings using the same product number ?

 

[urumomo]

AK doesn't tell you anything . So not shocking .
" It's Extreme Metal , Bro ! "
https://ak-interactive.com/product/xtreme-metal-aluminium/

 

[plastickjunkie]

I checked all the ones I have and all are enamels. That is really odd about labeling it as a lacquer. I have used this product straight from the bottle over bare plastic and produced the same effect as Alclad so no need for a black undercoat. You can try to lightly sand the bad areas using xtra fine sandpaper then shoot alight coat straight from the bottle otherwise strip to bare plastic.
I had some masking to do here so I shot the Gauzy over the Alclad and did not affect the metallic effect.

 

[MJY65]

In general, I wouldn't use leveling thinner on any metallic. It slows down the initial drying time and allows the metal particles to settle. You want light misting coats with it drying almost on contact to get the most realistic look.

 

[49thStateRT]

From a Reddit post on it:
"The pigment is enamel the media is lacquer."
Does that even make sense ? If so, then that would be like saying for Tamiya Acrylics the pigment is acrylic while the media is alcohol?

 

[the Baron]

Regardless of whether it's a lacquer or enamel, I don't think that surface is going to fix itself. Personally, I would strip it and try again. Or at least using a very fine grit to sand, or really more, polish, that texture out. As was noted in a previous post, I would try to go lighter on the coats, misting, basically.

 

[urumomo]

From a Reddit post on it:
"The pigment is enamel the media is lacquer."
Does that even make sense ? If so, then that would be like saying for Tamiya Acrylics the pigment is acrylic while the media is alcohol?

LOL

no

 

[BattleScale Collectica]

From a Reddit post on it:
"The pigment is enamel the media is lacquer."
Does that even make sense ? If so, then that would be like saying for Tamiya Acrylics the pigment is acrylic while the media is alcohol?

um that's news to me.

 

[49thStateRT]

Thanks for the advice. This was my first attempt at a metallic finish. I am going to lightly apply two more coats with lots of drying time (I started a new model to fill my down time). Next time I am trying Vallejo metal, then next one after that will maybe try All-Clad true lacquer when wife and kids are next out of town. Or just do heavily weathered ww2 us olive drab armour lol.

 

[BattleScale Collectica]

Thanks for the advice. This was my first attempt at a metallic finish. I am going to lightly apply two more coats with lots of drying time (I started a new model to fill my down time). Next time I am trying Vallejo metal, then next one after that will maybe try All-Clad true lacquer when wife and kids are next out of town. Or just do heavily weathered ww2 us olive drab armour lol.

I've had good luck with Vallejo but it's a finicky paint. I'd also consider Alclad II as well.

 

[Deleted member 11187]

I checked all the ones I have and all are enamels. That is really odd about labeling it as a lacquer. I have used this product straight from the bottle over bare plastic and produced the same effect as Alclad so no need for a black undercoat. You can try to lightly sand the bad areas using xtra fine sandpaper then shoot alight coat straight from the bottle otherwise strip to bare plastic.
I had some masking to do here so I shot the Gauzy over the Alclad and did not affect the metallic effect.
View attachment 140167View attachment 140168View attachment 140169

This is gorgeous. Nice