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Best color for magnesium wheels and aged natural finish aluminum?


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I have some wheels and some superchargers I'd love to use on some builds but they're chrome... and the chrome doesnt fit the theme I'm going for... so what is everyone's steps/processes or tips on getting that magnesium look for wheels, and the aged raw aluminum look for old superchargers/intakes/wheels?

 

thanks!

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I would suggest you look for period color shots of the parts in question.

For example, the August 1954 cover of Hot Rod shows a natural-aluminum GMC blower that's been bead-blasted (in '54, GMC blowers on hot-rods would have been taken from the original Detroit Diesel applications most likely, and would have been painted with the original engine as a unit; bead-blasting would make them look less like junkyard parts).

I've found light gray primer to make a very believable simulation of this finish...and handling it doesn't hurt either. Finger oils can make the part look more used.

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For polished aluminum or magnesium, I prefer to strip the chrome and use Testors buffing metalizers. Properly applied and buffed, they give a very realistic appearance as well...

like the front wheel and canopy on my Challenger backdate.

DSCN1150_zpsab06e8ae.jpg

Old aluminum and magnesium castings tend to get powdery oxide deposits on the surface. Again, different colors of gray primers or metalizers can get the color right, or a solid coat of primer with a light dusting of metalizer, buffed. Experiment. Maybe even an uneven dusting of flat-white to simulate the oxide.

old-mag-wheels-chevy-pattern-14x6-alumin

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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In the top pic, the blower housing looks like one of the "burnt metal" metalizer colors that guys use for jet aircraft afterburner stainless. 

In the bottom pic, the housing looks like it's been left as-cast, with a slightly rough surface, but the blower drive looks to have possibly been polished at one time, but not kept all sparkly.

Subtle differences between exposed-metal colors of the blower housing and drive can make a model appear more realistic.

If you shoot Testors metalizers 'wet', they lay down and give a nice soft sheen with a very fine grain that can be polished up to a quite realistic full-polish look, or only polished halfway, etc. If you shoot them 'dry', you can achieve a rougher as-cast effect.

Just don't try to topcoat them with clear, as it muddies and ruins the metal effect, and simply looks like metallic paint.

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Greetings,

Indeed and as others have advised, do consult period magazines to confirm what shade you'll be trying to approximate.  For my part, there was a time I tried different Metal Master coating combinations (speaking of clears to overcoat any base shade) aiming if you will to match the 1:1 period Mag. alloy Minilites in my possession.  I had a '74 BMW 2002 and purchased real Minilites from an area Improved Touring BMW 1600 road racer, hence I had something good to compare for my usual SCCA Trans Am topics and fixation. 

I too viewed the MM Magnesium metal buffing shade as too dark for my needs.  What seemed best  was to use MM Stainless Steel with a light overcoat of Tamiya's Clear Translucent Pearl.   The clear pearl overcoat gave the surface a slight metallic sheen, whereas given both the MM product and the Tamiya aerosols are both lacquers, they 'live' happily together consistent with affording us a reliable finish that will dry.  If it matters, know I don't buff the base coat MM finish at all; i.e. I simply apply the designated clear atop the otherwise delicate MM aerosol.  I've found too that Krylon Chrome can/should be handled the same as MM's lacquers in that it definitely needs a clear coat to stabilize the surface properties of whatever is captured. 

Early Indy Car and drag racing Halibrands would likely call for something darker such as the Duplicolor or MM Magnesium shades, but for other mag. alloy wheels, blowers and such, perhaps consider the MM Stainless Steel w/Tamiya Clear Translucent Pearl option.  Kind regards...

Mike K. 

Edited by swede70
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This is a question that should get 20 answers if you ask ten people...

I agree with the posts above that reference material is important - a close look will probably show that each part is different color, texture, shine, and gloss,  I haven't tried them yet, but the local hobby shop had a Humbrol paint rack with about six or eight different shades of aluminum.  Plenty to try, but not too expensive either.  Looks like my next science project.

The go to basic aluminum for me is Krylon dull aluminum - It is a good as-cast aluminum color and also works great as a good base coat under Testors Metal Master - dries fast and easy to use.

Rattle can chrome paints from hobby, craft auto and hardware stores make a good polished aluminum.  They take a bit of experimentation to find the color and shine you want/need because each brand is little different.

More tips and ideas please -

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