Car Modelers - A Cars Finish - AlClad I'm th Noob !

[panzerace007]

Hey Guys,

I'm calling on the Car builders. I'm in the middle of a Review Build for AMPS ( I normally build Armor & the like & haven't built a Car in a Very Long time). It's the ICM kit of the Opel Admiral. Now while they try to sway you into building it as a War Time car ( as They were built from '38-'39. When th War started they were pressed into service & given to Officers of the Wehrmacht & Luftwaffe.) I wanna do it as a Pre-War Sports Car. I decided to use AlClad for a series of the colors. I was talking recently to a fellow I.P.M.S. Car Guy. He's locally know for his Awesome Car finishes. I was giving him th run down on My Idea & because of how you have to construct the car ( No chrome parts, it's a Flat Kit) He thought I was on th right track to painting it with AlClad.

Here is what I was thinking.
1) Shoot th car with AlClad Black Primer
2) Gloss Black Base
3) Chrome (for plastic)
4) Aqua Gloss Clear - A rep from AlClad suggested that I use it as a protective coat between colors
5) After taping off the Chrome pieces ( or Liquid Mask, I haven't decided ? Suggestions ?) - Shoot it with Transparent Red

I know I'll have to build up th layers of AlClad. I was planning on misting these on in light coats. Are there any warnings against too many layers ? Is there a Danger of the AlClad cracking ? So Car Builders & AlClad Gurus .... Let me know what your thoughts are .....

Thanx in Advance

Here is a shot of the Box Art & it's in 1/35th scale .

 

[noname]

I'm not quite clear on the tranparent red. Not sure what ya mean.

I would suggest practice with the Alclad chrome. It is great stuff but tricky compared to the other colours. I've never been able to get it right but that is probably becuase I have no way to regulate my airgun pressure. I'm sure their website has suggestions for that. You need a really good gloss black finish before the chrome is applied. But it is probably your best bet for the chrome. If it just needed side trim you could use Bare metal Foil. But that stuff would not be good for bumpers and grill.

There are lots of ways to paint the body to get nice results including buffing, waxing etc. But cars back then didn't have that high gloss mirror shine so this would be unrealistic technically speaking.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[TRM]

I agree Erik, the Chrome is fickle! Too much and it looks like "butt" to little and the black shows to much. Know your skills buddy, shoot some practice splats and I think you'll be fine. 10-12 psi is all you need. Feather it in like painting with a brush.

Good luck!!!! ;D

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Nah...Alclad Chrome is easy to use. As long as you have the right base down (Gloss black Enamel, Alclad, Humbrol or Testors work great), make sure the black enamel is cured, spray on the chrome in 2-3 light coats. You will know when it is good, the first coat will look aluminum and black, 2nd or 3rd coat and it will just pop with the chrome. I assume you are using the Hot Metal Red from Alclad?

 

[panzerace007]

I'm not quite clear on the tranparent red. Not sure what ya mean.
I would suggest practice with the Alclad chrome. It is great stuff but tricky compared to the other colours.

NoName - The Transparent Red , I think ,will give me th red I'm looking for. I've recently used the Transparent Green over a Black Chrome base ( I mixed Model Master Gloss Black + M.M Chrome) & It really looks cool - granted it's for a Visor on a Mech figure, but still I like th effect that I got. I can take that a step further to get th look for th Car ?. ?

I was planning on putting the Trans. Red over the Chrome, but thought of maybe taping off the Chrome, after th Aqua Gloss Clear, shooting the Gloss Black & cover with th trans red.


Here's a product shot from AlClad's web site. As you can tell th Fenders are "backed" with what appears to be Black.


Here is a Real Admiral, it's not a Period shot (i.e. not circa '38-'39)

NoName - I do hear what you mean by th Older cars not having such a Super High Gloss. But hey ... This car is going to belong to a High Ranking Wehrmacht Officer (in My head) so perhaps He had some lower ranks Waxing th Heck out of it ????

TRM - I hear what both of you are saying about th Chrome. Practice Splats will be in Order ( Hey have you ever seen a Chromed out Tiger I ;D ) . As mentioned above , I shot th Trans. Green with 15 psi . I might cut it back a touch as per your suggestion. I'll just "Tap dance" with th Chrome. Feathering it !! Gotcha' !

I'll post th pix .... perhaps I'll need some pointers .. I'm waiting on th ALClad to show up. I ordered it today. Perhaps th 1st of Next Week ?

Now .. from what I've Herd this stuff dries fast ? Like a matter of an Hour I could shoot another coat ?

Do either of you guys have a suggestion for any type of mask for the Chrome body pieces , Grill etc. I thought of using the Blue Painters tape , Then I thought of a Liquid Mask. Do any hold up to th Lacquer Paints ?

Know your skills buddy, shoot some practice splats

Hehehe :-\ That's what I'm scared of ! I know how to get things Flat & Dirty .... I'm gonna need th Midas Touch on this one.

 

[panzerace007]

Nah...Alclad Chrome is easy to use. As long as you have the right base down (Gloss black Enamel, Alclad, Humbrol or Testors work great), make sure the black enamel is cured, spray on the chrome in 2-3 light coats. You will know when it is good, the first coat will look aluminum and black, 2nd or 3rd coat and it will just pop with the chrome. I assume you are using the Hot Metal Red from Alclad?

O.K. notes taken on th Chrome. Should I let th AlClad Gloss Black cure for 3-4 days ? To protect against Shrinkage ( I hate saying that word ;D ) & th AlClad Chrome or Trans. Red from cracking. I've herd that can happen when th Gloss Black dries it shrinks a touch & when th AlClad is on it , it causes it (AlClad) to crack ?

I was planning on using th Trans. Red over a Chrome or Gloss Black base ? I'm not sure as I'm just spit ballin & have not conducted Field Tests. I looked at th Hot Metal Red & I didn't like th Shade. But All I saw was the Color Chip on AlClad's website.

 

[TRM]

It certainly can't hurt to let it cure for a day or two. Found it does dry pretty fast. As for gettin' "Dirty"...just make sure there is a good clear coat on it unless your just dunsting! Alclad does NOT like spirts/thinner, at least what I found out. : Need some Micro-Mesh too. Prob. up to 12000. Polish this girls up!!! ;D

 

[noname]

I've never used the Alclad colours so I have no idea how your idea will work' You'll have to let us know. I usually use auto body spray cans myself.

The Alclad metal colours such as aluminum and magnesium etc. are easy to use. A pure breeze. But the chrome is a bit different. They all dry really fast. You should be able to do the chrome in one go by applying it in thin coats at one sitting. I remember a guy on one of the car model sites claiming he had the best luck spraying the chrome before the underlying black was completely dry. Others will say different. Some will say enamel works best, some may say laquer. I've even heard of someone using a satin black and then spraying it with a gloss coat. you know how it is right? : Practice this I would.

I would think Tamiya tape would work fine around the chrome if you have it. I say that because it is easy to work with. Then use a cheaper tape for the rest. But the painters tape may do the trick if that's all ya have.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

When you are spraying the chrome, in light coats, they will dry in a few minutes, so you can put your 2nd and/or 3rd coat on fairly quickly....I usually don't bother unloading the airbrush, just sit it down and wait 5-10 min. between coats.

However, of course, dry and cured are 2 different things. Your gloss black layer you want it to be cured, so I would say 3-4 days min. before putting your chrome on, Gloss black is enamel and will take longer to cure, chrome is lacquer, 24-48hrs to cure. Then your Aqua gloss, which is acrylic, again 24-48hrs to cure, then your red.

Looking at the kit, alot of the actual chrome trim is probably separate in the kit. Having not see the kit yet, I can't say for sure, but if it is laid out like a normal car kit, that is usually the norm. Other than the chrome trim down the side of the car, as that is likely molded on.

Honestly looking at the pictures of the car and kit, for the chrome trim I would paint the grill, bumpers and wheel covers, door handles (but they are going to be tiny to paint) separately, then paint the body separately with the chrome (if that is the path you are going down), then your red, and then for the trim down the side, around the windows etc. I would do with Bare Metal Foil. I think BMF on those parts would be much easier than trying to paint and mask off all those fine lines.

 

[panzerace007]

SCOTT,

The kit 1st. is a Flat Kit. There are no Chrome pieces. The Grill & Front "face" of the car are one piece. The Body strips are molded on .


Here's a Sprue shot. You can see that th sides of the car , front inner & outer fenders & the "face" of th car. Unconventional. maybe not for the Eastern Europeans, but I don't know of another Company that does Flat Kit cars. I was a little disappointed with this. I really hope there aren't a ton of seams to fix on th body. & I REALLY hope that it goes together Squarely !!

Another trick with th BMF that a Car Guy in th local I.P.M.S. mentioned was to put th BMF down after I paint th Chrome. Then WITHOUT masking it. Paint th Trans Red & BUFFF off the Trans Red from th BMF .... He said that Car Guys do that all th time ... I'm not sure how well that would work considering that th Car is smaller than 1/24th. Plus being a Flat Kit, I would think that th body might be a little fragile. ??

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Being that it is a military kit and not really an automotive kit in the traditional sense, it doesn't surprise me that there is no chrome in it. As a vehicle in military service, it wouldn't have any chrome anyway, however for what you are doing, it will have to be painted on.

Ok...laid out a bit different. Bumpers are separate, that is good. The only real masking I can see is the grill, if I was doing it, I would build the kit to the point where you are going to paint it, but leave off the grill piece and bumpers. Paint them separately. Mainly because it will be easier to paint the bumpers that way, and with the grill assembly as a separate piece, will be easier to mask. Once you have the chrome for the grill masked, glue the part into the rest of the kit, and go to town.

Chrome trim down the sides being molded in, no surprise there, most car kits are like that, I wouldn't waste my time BMF and then paint over and then buff off...good chance to either buff through the BMF in the process, and/or buff off paint where you don't want to. I would leave that chrome trim to the last thing you do, and just use BMF, same for the window frames. Be much easier in the long run.

 

[panzerace007]

All good things to consider !! My only concern with the Grill is that it also carries the front end of the Fenders. I would Hate Like Hell to think that it my have a gap, if I saved it towards the end of the Build. If I ended up with a nasty Gap ... Where would I go from there ? It seems like it would be a Loss !?

I will consider th BMF, My concern with that is when I cut it for the Body trim, that I have a chance of scratching the Car's finish ?? I do agree with ya on keeping the Bumpers off & painting them off of th Car.


Take a look at this Factory photo I found .... is it Me or are the Tires over sprayed with Gloss Black - They painted th Rims on th tires ?? Is this a normal practice ?

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Nah, you won't scratch the paint. BMF is very thin, just the weight of the knife is enough to cut it (New blade is a must when doing it thought). Just cut a piece slightly bigger than you need, place it where you want, burnish with a q-tip and trim the rest.

For the grill, I would paint that part separately, mask, then add it to the completed front of the car, fill any gaps needed, and then paint the rest of the car. Only reason I say to paint the grill section separately, is it will be easier to mask off that way, instead of having to handle the whole car.

Its possible, they painted the wheels on the tires, but I think that chassis has been driven around a bit, as the tires look dusty, that and it being a B&W photo provides more contrast.

 

[panzerace007]

SCOTT,

The AlClad should be here today or tomorrow & I'll keep ya' posted !! Thanx for th Help !!