BMF ??

[nascarfan]

Has anyone shot clear over BMF? If so what was the results?? I have been trying to come up with a way to seal the BMF.

Thanks in advance!!!

[Brendan]

I shoot clear over BMF all the time when I use it. It does dull it a little bit but not a lot. I've used lacquer, acrylic, and enamel clearcoats. They all seem to work fine. The acrylics and the lacquers seem to work better though.

[nascarfan]

I shoot clear over BMF all the time when I use it. It does dull it a little bit but not a lot. I've used lacquer, acrylic, and enamel clearcoats. They all seem to work fine. The acrylics and the lacquers seem to work better though.

Thanks Brendan,

I will give it a shot on the nova I'm building now!!

[Guest]

You shouldnt need to clear it at all. I never have. Keep it in the refridgerator to lengthen the glue's shelf life.

[mountaindewd]

You shouldnt need to clear it at all. I never have. Keep it in the refridgerator to lengthen the glue's shelf life.

Clearing it helps keep it in place in case of a bump or similar when handling it. The clear(I use enamel) will fog it up quite a bit at first but will be fine once the clear cures.

Shelf life? I am still using a sheet of BMF I purchased before I went on a 10 year hiatus about 12 years ago. Still as sticky as the day I bought it after being stored in a small storage tub packed in a box.

Edited June 19, 2009 by mountaindewd

[59 Impala]

Good ideas. I use Future to seal the BMF. I haven't seen it dull the BMF at all. Just me 2 cents.

Dan

[Harry P.]

I've been using BMF for over 20 years, probably more, and I have never "sealed" it under clear. There's no reason to do so. Normal handling of a model will have absolutely no effect on properly applied BMF. It's aluminum foil! A little handling isn't going to rub it off... and besides, spraying clear over the top of it does absolutely nothing to make the foil stick any better to whatever it's been applied to. The clear topcoat isn't having any affect whatsoever on the foil's bond with what's underneath it.

[MrObsessive]

Gotta agree with Harry here. I've been using BMF since the late '80's and have never had to seal it either.

The model you see in my sig. was built in 1998-99, and the BMF is still as bright as when I finished it up 10 years ago.

If the foil is not sticking, it's more than likely a problem with the surface (excessive handling before applying, over bare plastic, etc.) or the sheet is simply bad in which BMF Co. has been addressing that very well lately.

I've not had to keep the BMF in the fridge either............I can remember using a sheet in the mid '90's that I had bought in the late '80's, and the adhesive was as strong as ever.

[nascarfan]

Yes it would seal it better, the edge that is!! I build in sperts like most here I suppose and the handling of the body is where I run into issue's.

[MrObsessive]

Yes it would seal it better, the edge that is!! I build in spurts like most here I suppose and the handling of the body is where I run into issues.

Some may disagree with this method of building, but one way to minimize that is to build all of your assemblies-----test fit everything on the body to a T-----and then paint and BMF the body. It'll also give you a good handle on how to handle the body in final assembly.

I do this especially where there's any opening of panels involved, or any big body mods.

Handling is minimized as you're making sure the body will fit over the interior and chassis with no issues, and you don't run into any hiccups after everything's all painted, polished, and BMF'd.

[BigGary]

I've only put BMF on one car, but I learned that the BMF must have an absolutely clean surface to stick to. If not, problems, guaranteed.

Gary