1hobby1 Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Hey everyone, I have a project I started (1962 Pontiac Catalina) and the car is painted Testors silver and cleared with Testors wet look. I tried using a Molotow Chrome Pen for the trim pieces, however, it blends right into the silver and you can't tell it was applied. The reason I ask about brush painting, is because the car has a decent amount of chrome trim that needs to be addressed and it would simply be easier for me. I do have bare metal foil however, I'd like to use that as an absolute last resort along with masking off the entire car and spraying the chrome bits. Does anyone have any chrome products they have brushed on with great results? If not, I'll have to bite the bullet, mask it off, and hope that it doesn't bleed onto a paint job I am quite proud of. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Brian Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 I brush Molotow from the refill on small areas but it doesn't lay down smooth over large areas. Bare metal foil is your best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) Use the foil. You're never going to find a better option. Chrome on silver is always a bit hard to distinguish, but if you use the right materials, you'll get a pretty good distinction between the two. Learn how to use BMF and you'll never look back. Steve Edited February 21 by StevenGuthmiller 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 I agree, foil is absolutely the best. And it’s not as hard to apply as you might think. The trick is to use a brand new blade and a very light, touch when trimming it. The Revell chrom paint is the best I have found, but still cannot be touched or polished after spraying. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 Looks like I’ll have to give the foil a shot. I’ve used it before with success but this car has got some intricate areas I was a bit intimated on using the foil for. thank you for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 27 minutes ago, 1hobby1 said: Looks like I’ll have to give the foil a shot. I’ve used it before with success but this car has got some intricate areas I was a bit intimated on using the foil for. thank you for the advice! Get some tiny pointed cotton swabs (like Tamiya?) for setting the foil into the creases and corners. I also have one of the Wife’s old eyeliner brushes that has a really soft rubber tip on it that I use to set the foil down over script and emblems…a soft eraser may work too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Thibodeau Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Hi! I had good results applying Molotow's chrome, from the refill bottle, not the pens. Pour some in a small container, use a number two brush, and apply VERY WET on the part, only once, with minimal overlap. It works fine (see front suspension on roadster below). Do NOT retouch what you just applied, or it will show streaks and dull sections. If you absolutely have to apply a second coat, wait at least a week, and make it LESS WET than the first, to avoid too thick a chrome surface. Good luck! CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Whatever you do, man, don't try to lift the excess foil with the Xacto blade........ Use a sharpened toothpick or something kinda soft. One of my first foil jobs was a '61 Impala that like you I had painted silver. I was on the last piece of foil, and thought I could lift what was trimmed away with the blade...... I chipped the paint (of course...) and had to repaint.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, NOBLNG said: Get some tiny pointed cotton swabs (like Tamiya?) for setting the foil into the creases and corners. I also have one of the Wife’s old eyeliner brushes that has a really soft rubber tip on it that I use to set the foil down over script and emblems…a soft eraser may work too? I do have the Tamiya swabs in both the large and small size. I’ll have to buy my wife for the old eyeliner brush as well. That’s a good idea. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 2 hours ago, JollySipper said: Whatever you do, man, don't try to lift the excess foil with the Xacto blade........ Use a sharpened toothpick or something kinda soft. One of my first foil jobs was a '61 Impala that like you I had painted silver. I was on the last piece of foil, and thought I could lift what was trimmed away with the blade...... I chipped the paint (of course...) and had to repaint.... Good to know! I hate bringing a blade around a finished paint job but looks like I’ll give the BMF a go here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 3 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said: Hi! I had good results applying Molotow's chrome, from the refill bottle, not the pens. Pour some in a small container, use a number two brush, and apply VERY WET on the part, only once, with minimal overlap. It works fine (see front suspension on roadster below). Do NOT retouch what you just applied, or it will show streaks and dull sections. If you absolutely have to apply a second coat, wait at least a week, and make it LESS WET than the first, to avoid too thick a chrome surface. Good luck! CT That’s a sweet looking build… it does look great brushed on. I think I’m convinced to try the BMF first. This way if it’s not to my liking I can always peel it off as well. I appreciate you sharing this. I may end up going this route depending how the BMF goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Thorne Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 (edited) Well, I’m kinda partial to the GreenStuffWorld (non air brush version). Daubed this on with a micro brush. Edited February 22 by R. Thorne Non air brush 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 21 hours ago, 1hobby1 said: Good to know! I hate bringing a blade around a finished paint job but looks like I’ll give the BMF a go here. If you do decide to use foil, you can cut the long straight pieces right on the sheet...... Just use a straight edge ruler of some sort, and just use it to make long thin strips. That way there's very minimal cutting on your beautiful fresh paint! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Try using this technique. It works for all of the moldings, not just wheel openings, and will not only help give you perfectly straight moldings, but will guard against any slippage of your blade and prevent any paint damage. Steve 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 Thank you 👍🏼 that’s great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldriginal86 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 At 63yo. my hands aren’t as steady as they once were so painting small details is not in the cards. BMF gives me a chance. I use a single edge razor blade to trim the foil. The trim on the inner edge of the dash pictured was done with foil. I could have never painted that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Thank you all for the advice. Although, I probably wasted more than needed, and possibly thought about throwing the car out the window lol… I do agree this does give the separation in color I was looking for. One side down! Thank you again model friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JollySipper Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 That looks really good! Foil is actual metal, so nothing else is gonna look as realistic as it does......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenGuthmiller Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Looks like you have it down. As the saying goes, “anything worth doing is worth doing well”. There’s easy, and then there’s good. Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Very nice! That's good foil application there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1hobby1 Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 She’s all done. Thank you everyone for the input and advice. Almost time to wrap up the build. Remind me to never do chrome on silver ever again… my eyes got tortured LOL 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldriginal86 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 That is going to be really sharp when completed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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