Clear coat over BMF

[BIGTRUCK]

Im working  some Bare Metal Foil over very thin trim and am afraid it may curl itself off from having such a thin contact surface. Im not laying down long strips along the body, Im doing the fender then the door then the next door etc. My question is has anyone used a light mist of clear coat over Bare Metal Foil or if you came across this what did you try ?

[Plowboy]

If you burnish it well, there's no need to clear coat it. I did it once and made the mistake of using enamel. It ruined it over time. Never again. The chrome strip on this '40 is only .020 thick and stuck with no problem.

[jas1957]

No need to clear over BMF,   I have builds from 20-30+ years ago with BMF & they look as good today as when it was first applied.

[cobraman]

I also never clear coat BMF.

[mr moto]

I always use laquer clear coat over my BMF. It protects it from damage over time and has no bad effects. My models tend to be transported a lot to contests and displays and it prevents future repairs.

[espo]

You could go either way on clear coating the bare metal foil, for myself I just haven't found the need. One thing to consider if you do clearcoat the foil has to do with polishing and paint imperfections in the clearcoat. Should you have to sand and polish to the point that you go thru the clearcoat enough to get to the bare metal foil and it gets damaged.

[Oldcarfan27]

How about painting a line of Future floor wax along the edge of the foil to simply seal it?

[peteski]

I don't clear coat BMF.  Never had a problem, and some of my models are over 30 years old.  Even very narrow stripes stay put.

The BMF trim on the top of "rubber" bumper pieces and side body moldings are probably less than 1/32" wide, and they stay put. That model was built over 10 years ago.  But I also do not polish or even handle my models much.