Bmf Vs. Alcladii

[m408]

O.K. gang. I previously posted a thread on "how to BMF". After trying a bunch of suggested ways, I have discovered that I just plain suck at doing this. Sure I'll keep trying but, I hear that AlcladII is "chrome in a bottle". Being a real novice at air brushing, should I even bother trying this? If so, tips, thinning, cleaning, air pressures, etc. I'm not trying to build show quality cars, just trying to upgrade chrome trim from Testors silver applied with a brush.

[Zoom Zoom]

Alclad II is better for separate parts like bumpers/mirrors. Plus you have to be adept at prepping/spraying the most perfect, glass-smooth black possible if you want the Alclad to be truly reflective. If you want to go to all the trouble to mask, spray black, polish it smooth, then carefully apply Alclad to all the chrome trim on a body, and hope it didn't bleed when doing trimwork, go for it. It's not going to be easy for anyone w/o much experience.

BMF is not difficult, IF you have a fresh sheet that isn't riddled with fine wrinkles/cracks as most sheets seem to do these days; every sheet I've seen at the two LHS's I've been to in the past few months were not usable. With a fresh sheet and a good supply of new X-Acto blades, BMF is great. It takes a bit of practice, steady hands and good eyesight. But it will most certainly be a lot easier on trimwork than using Alclad.

[Harry P.]

Ditto to what Bob said.

BMF is actually very simple...all it takes is a sharp blade and a steady hand...and some practice. All the materials you need to apply it is stuff every modeler already has on hand (an X-acto and Q-tips (or whatever) to burnish it down is basically all you need).

Alclad, on the other hand, is a whole different ballgame. Like Bob said, any parts you intend to "chrome" with Alclad first have to be just about PERFECTLY finished in gloss black, otherwise the Alclad won't give you that "chrome" look. Then you have to go through the whole airbrush routine with the Alclad. It's a very labor-intensive process that takes a lot of skill (and airbrush experience) to do it right.

Stck with the foil. You may "suck" at it now, but you'll be surprised at how fast you get the hang of it. There's so much LESS hassle using foil than there is using Alclad. The biggest problem you'll have with BMF is finding a sheet that hasn't already cracked into a million little pieces!

[m408]

Thanks guys,

If there is anything that I am worse at than BMF, it's air brushing. My kids got me a paasche set for Xmas and I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

I checked my BMF sheets and they are pretty bad. Had no idea what to look for when I bought them.

I've got a couple of cars from when I first got back into building that are real "bombs". I'll use the bad sheets on them to practice.

[forthlin]

I also wonder what's happened with BMF. I have to order mine off the internet & most of them are full of cracks, making most of the sheet unusable. I've sent sheets back for replacement & get sheets back that are bad. Up to a couple or so years ago it seemed rare getting a bad sheet, now it's rare getting a good sheet. Bare Metal has been a one of the greatest products a modeler can have. I've tried Detail Master & some of the others, but Bare Metal beats them all. I just wish the quality was there once again.

[Lownslow]

i switched from bmf to tin foil because of the lack of quality bmf

[Merkur XR4Ti]

Glad to hear it's not just me having problems with sheets of BMF. I have a sheet I'm trying to use now and it's riddled with tears and cracks.

What I wouldn't give for a paint right out of a jar that would provide the correct chrome look. I get very frustrated with trying to use BMF at times, particularly around vent windows.

While I'm thinking about it, spray paint that looks like carbon fiber would be nice too. Oh, and a newly tooled kit of a 71 Mercury Cyclone, and a 66 Impala, and a pony.

[Merkur XR4Ti]

Well, reading this thread today got me motivated enough to try my first attempt at using Alclad on a rear bumper. The bumper was from an old buildup and it broke when I tore down the model for rebuilding, so I superglued the broken piece back in, stripped the whole thing in bleach and then in Bleche-White, primed and then painted it gloss black enamel (Testor's little square bottle kind). I just applied 2 light coats of Alclad and I must say I am impressed with the results. Once it's dry it really does resemble chrome a great deal.

The trick is to go light; any more than 2 coats and it starts looking like silver paint. There are a couple of spots where a little more Alclad got on the bumper and it does make a difference. But for separate pieces this is a good alternative to sending parts out to be chromed.

I still want a pony, though.

[Frank]

Another alternative.

http://www.thepartsbox.com/BB/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=317

[Merkur XR4Ti]

Well well well.

I found out something very interesting about Alclad last night: Novus #2 removes it.

I was using a touch of the #2 to remove some fingerprints off my rear bumper, and the stuff lifted the Alclad right off. It didn't touch the gloss black enamel underneath, so I'll just have to repaint the part, but I thought this stuff was supposed to be durable. It's not.

Edited April 29, 2008 by Merkur XR4Ti

[Zoom Zoom]

Well well well.

I found out something very interesting about Alclad last night: Novus #2 removes it.

I was using a touch of the #2 to remove some fingerprints off my rear bumper, and the stuff lifted the Alclad right off. It didn't touch the gloss black enamel underneath, so I'll just have to repaint the part, but I thought this stuff was supposed to be durable. It's not.

Oops...had you asked here ahead of time, you'd have found out that you can't touch Alclad II with anything but a soft cloth. Novus is way too strong for it, and over time even fingerprints will affect it. None of these new "chrome" films applied by airbrush are what I'd call durable. You have to be very careful with it. Put those parts on at the very end of the build. No polish, no clear, just a very soft cloth to dust off the overspray. Tricky stuff...

[george 53]

Bob, you can't just shoot a lil coat of clear over it to seal it?

[MR BIGGS]

Bob, you can't just shoot a lil coat of clear over it to seal it?

The clear has too much harsh chemicals in them. It will turn the chrome finish silver. You got to use a future floor wax like futura or something to seal it. If not every time you touch alclad it will come off on your hands.

Edited May 5, 2008 by MR BIGGS

[MR BIGGS]

dam server....double post.

Edited May 5, 2008 by MR BIGGS

[Steven Zimmerman]

I've cleared mine with clear acrylic;it seems to hold up well,and doesn't take away the 'chrome' look.......Steve Zimmerman aka the'Z'man

[Merkur XR4Ti]

Now on attempt THREE with the AlClad....I am not impressed at all. This stuff is very, very touchy to use. I'm frustrated with it. I'm making one more attempt, and then if that doesn't work I'm giving up and sending the parts to Chrome Tech USA.

[59 Impala]

Here are a couple of pics of what I did with Alclad II. The first one is a before pic

The second one is after I painted them with Testors gloss black in the little bottle and then I sprayed the Alclad II over them. I used two coats. This was only the second time that I've used Alclad II and I'm sold on it.

One more. This is a 63 Impala that I'm trying to restore and I think the Alclad II works fine.

Dan

[sak]

I suppose it depends on how much of a perfectinist you are. Ive been testing the alclad and I have found that polishing the black enamel isnt crucial, as long as it is fairly smooth, as it will be still be smoother than most sheets of bare metal foil which seem to always have a shimmy to them,even if they look smooth in a certain light angle. After you mask off the trim you are going to paint, brush on a thin coat of future floor polish, then black enamel then the alclad. I am testing it with a 56 chevy belair and the side trim is more complex than later cars so it will be a challenge. The alclad will rub off easy but realistically, if you are happy with the finished product, if won't be something that will be handled very often, if at all. But try a good sheet of bare metal foil first. It shouldnt take long to get good at the window moldings. Or only use the alclad around the more complex parts like the front vent windows.