What is it about Bare Metal Foil that intimidates you?

[jbwelda]

one issue I remember with bmf at one point at least is that the adhesive seemed to be lacking around the outside so much of the sheet. so if you cannot get it to stick, try cutting some out of the middle of the sheet and see if it works better. if so at least you can salvage some of the sheet and in my experience the new improved so called stuff doesn't have this problem. I also have not had a problem with bmf "expiring" or anything and I have had some sheets many years. but I am out in dry California and it well could be it is humidity that makes it go bad.

jb

[gtx6970]

My only real issue is the fear of going off track along where I am trying to cut..and the blade goes off and leaves a mark in the paint.

Otherwise it's my least favorite part of building. Yet I don't have a problem taking days or weeks detailing an engine to the ninth degree. Something about the tedious task of BMF work drags me down.

And is my least favorite part of building.

[crazyjim]

I keep an inventory of BMF in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Personally, I never used it until last year, but I love it . I have 3 sheets of ultra bright that won't stick to anything. Sadly I paid good money for them. Now the regular chrome works like a champ. When the newly purchased ultra bright didn't work I tried some half used, wrinkly looking,15+ yr old chrome that I acquired and it worked fine. I would never recommend the ultra bright but the chrome seems very nice. I did pick up some black chrome and matte aluminum but have yet to use them. Does anyone have some feedback on these?

Sorry to tell you Steve, but the black chrome & matte aluminum BMF are basically no better than the Ultra Bright! Their too thick, don't stick well & are just generally hard to work with. Keep in mind also that the black finish on the black & the gold on the gold are just a coating over the foil. Any hard rubbing or any kind of solvent will take that finish right off. Steve

[Guest]

I did pick up some black chrome and matte aluminum but have yet to use them. Does anyone have some feedback on these?

I've used the black chrome and like it pretty well. It's a touch too shiny IMO for chrome trim. I like the matte aluminum also. I use it to replicate stainless. Once applied and slightly polished, it looks the part pretty well.

[Tom Geiger]

In my experience the only issue I've had with regular BMF was when I found an ancient part sheet and tried to use it. The foil refused to come off the sheet, breaking up into small bits. That sheet went into the trash. If I can get the BMF off the sheet in one strip, it's always worked well for me. I've never had BMF peel or otherwise come off a finished model either.

Some of the issues that people have with BMF not sticking is due to handling and being too stingy with the product. BMF is like putting in wall to wall carpet or tile. Those trades can produce 25-50% waste of product. In the same way you think it's a shame to toss a brand new strip of carpet 12" wide that came off the edge, BMF will be wasted.

A few of my tips.

I always cut my pieces of BMF VERY WIDE, that is about 3 times as wide as the trim I'm covering and much longer. You want to place that piece centered over your trim so that there is waste on all four edges. Do not attempt to match up the foil with the exact edge of your body trim. Much better to cut a fresh line once burnished down.

The part of the trim on either end where you've handled it is waste. Your finger oils are on it, so figure your piece that way. Put the BMF down ONCE. You cannot lift and reposition... that compromises the glue and wrinkles the foil. Once you have it centered and placed down, burnish it and cut the edges on all four sides.

And the final FAIL is accepting results less than optimal. If you have a messy piece that's wrinkled or cut wrong, don't accept it as 'good enough' to save foil. Pull it off and try again. There's no reason not to have it done nicely.

Do upfront planning... just like you would define and scribe door lines better, look at the edges of trim where you will be cutting BMF. You will want to scribe those before painting the body to make BMFing easier later.

And as I said earlier in this thread, do not press down hard with your knife. Exert no more pressure than if you were tracing with a pencil. In fact, practice on a junk body seeing just how light you can go with the knife and still have the foil come apart. You will be amazed!

Good luck!

[ZTony8]

I wouldn't say I'm intimidated by it,it's more like often frustrated by it.I can't seem to always get the graininess out of it after burnishing it.

[Monty]

I've used the black chrome and like it pretty well. It's a touch too shiny IMO for chrome trim. I like the matte aluminum also. I use it to replicate stainless. Once applied and slightly polished, it looks the part pretty well.

I've always wondered this - how do you burnish matte aluminum while retaining the "matte' aspect. Seems like it would end up shinier than most would want.

I was going to try and replicate the inset part of this tailgate, but thought I'd ask first.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I've always wondered this - how do you burnish matte aluminum while retaining the "matte' aspect. Seems like it would end up shinier than most would want.

I was going to try and replicate the inset part of this tailgate, but thought I'd ask first.

I've had much better luck using Alclad aluminum paint for this sort of application. To me there's not enough difference in appearance between the matte aluminum BMF & the regular. Steve

[Snake45]

I've always wondered this - how do you burnish matte aluminum while retaining the "matte' aspect. Seems like it would end up shinier than most would want.

I was going to try and replicate the inset part of this tailgate, but thought I'd ask first.

I'd use the dull side of household kitchen foil for that, with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive.

[Guest]

I've always wondered this - how do you burnish matte aluminum while retaining the "matte' aspect. Seems like it would end up shinier than most would want.

I was going to try and replicate the inset part of this tailgate, but thought I'd ask first.

For that effect, I would lightly sand the foil with 1000 or 2000 grit before applying it. Sand in one direction (not back and forth) to get the sanding lines straight. Burnishing it should then have no effect on the finish. If it does, you can sand it again. I did that with chrome foil a long time ago to get a brushed aluminum look for interior panels on a drag car build.

[Snake45]

For that effect, I would lightly sand the foil with 1000 or 2000 grit before applying it. Sand in one direction (not back and forth) to get the sanding lines straight. Burnishing it should then have no effect on the finish. If it does, you can sand it again. I did that with chrome foil a long time ago to get a brushed aluminum look for interior panels on a drag car build.

Fabulous idea. In fact, I always rough up the backside of household foil with Scotchbrite when I use the Micro Metal Foil Adhesive because it eliminates the tendency of the stuff to bead up. I get an effect I think might be similar to what he's looking for. The Scotchbrite might work for him on this, too.

[Mike_G]

I would probably use stainless steel metalizer and not buff it out all the way

[StevenGuthmiller]

I would probably use stainless steel metalizer and not buff it out all the way

I used to use Testors Metalizers for this sort of thing & I always liked the look of it. My only problem is, the Metalizer sealer destroys the "metal" affect IMO & if you don't seal it, don't even try to mask over it for any reason. The tape will pull half of the surface finish off leaving a mottled look that can't be rubbed back out. Steve

[Snake45]

I used to use Testors Metalizers for this sort of thing & I always liked the look of it. My only problem is, the Metalizer sealer destroys the "metal" affect IMO & if you don't seal it, don't even try to mask over it for any reason. The tape will pull half of the surface finish off leaving a mottled look that can't be rubbed back out. Steve

The trick to using the Metalizers is to do all your other paint first, mask everything off, and then shoot the Metalizer. (Learned this doing model airplanes.)

[Art Anderson]

For that effect, I would lightly sand the foil with 1000 or 2000 grit before applying it. Sand in one direction (not back and forth) to get the sanding lines straight. Burnishing it should then have no effect on the finish. If it does, you can sand it again. I did that with chrome foil a long time ago to get a brushed aluminum look for interior panels on a drag car build.

Another method is to use cheap aluminum foil, with the dull side out. To make this work, get some Micro-Scale metal foil adhesive (this stuff also works to conteract the often rough paint overspray on vent wing framing which keeps BMF from adhering well there too!) and carefully paint the adhesive on the trim spear where one needs the dull finish. Be careful about buffing this foil down though, as the friction of a piece of cotton knit is enough to polish it to a chrome like shine.

I've used this method a few times in years past, and it does work.

Art

[StevenGuthmiller]

The trick to using the Metalizers is to do all your other paint first, mask everything off, and then shoot the Metalizer. (Learned this doing model airplanes.)

The only problem is, if you have any trim around your aluminum panel that requires foiling, the foil will do the same thing as the tape. I used metallizer on a '61 Plymouth & it turned out fine, but I had to cut my foil with a straight edge & carefully lay it on so as not to have any overlap onto the metallizer. Luckily it was all straight pieces of trim! Steve

[Snake45]

The only problem is, if you have any trim around your aluminum panel that requires foiling, the foil will do the same thing as the tape. I used metallizer on a '61 Plymouth & it turned out fine, but I had to cut my foil with a straight edge & carefully lay it on so as not to have any overlap onto the metallizer. Luckily it was all straight pieces of trim! Steve

Interesting modeling problem! I think for that I'd have done the paint, then the foil, then masked the foil with liquid mask (and the paint in the area with tape or whatever) and then shot the Metalizer.

Another way would have been to shoot the Metalizer, mask it with liquid mask, and then foil the trim. If the foil pulls up anything that way, it will just be the liquid mask "skin," which could be reapplied if necessary till the job was done.

It's all about thinking about what has to be accomplished, and then working the process backward to figger out how you need to get there.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Another way would have been to shoot the Metalizer, mask it with liquid mask, and then foil the trim. If the foil pulls up anything that way, it will just be the liquid mask "skin," which could be reapplied if necessary till the job was done.

So....ummm...how do you get a straight line with the liquid mask without using masking tape to get it? My fine-line painting skills certainly are not up to that task, and probably never will be.

[Snake45]

So....ummm...how do you get a straight line with the liquid mask without using masking tape to get it? My fine-line painting skills certainly are not up to that task, and probably never will be.

It looked to me like there were some sort of natural "break" there, where the trim starts. I could hand-brush right up to that no problem. Now as far as laying the liquid mask down in a straight line on a flat panel, that's a WHOLE 'nother problem.

[StevenGuthmiller]

But, would the liquid mask act in the same way as the tape or foil & pull up the Metallizer? It takes very little "tackiness" to mess it up. If I would have been using Alclad at the time, I surely would have used that instead. Problem solved! Steve

[Snake45]

But, would the liquid mask act in the same way as the tape or foil & pull up the Metallizer? It takes very little "tackiness" to mess it up. If I would have been using Alclad at the time, I surely would have used that instead. Problem solved! Steve

Not the homemade stuff that I use. It has very little tackiness to it at all. And if necessary, it can be removed under warm running water.

[Sixties Sam]

When I returned to car modeling after a 30 year absence, I used silver paint for trim. I tried BMF in 2011, and I use it on all my models now. It's often tedious work, but gives superior results! I still use some silver paint (marker) on some small items like door handles, locks, scripts, and tiny vent window posts. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be!

Sam

[Snake45]

My "forumula" for liquid mask can be found in this thread:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=97763

Here's a '56 Chev I built using the stuff. I first airbrushed the gloss white roof and rubbed it out, then masked it off. Then I airbrushed good old Testor Chrome Silver on all the chrome trim, and masked that off using the liquid and a brush. Yes, this took some time. Then I airbrushed the whole body Black Chrome Trim for semigloss black primer. Ten minutes after the black was dry, I had all the liquid mask off and the body was DONE.

[FASTBACK340]

If I may offer some suggestions for applying BMF without ruining your paint?

What I do is run the risk of making a mistake when it doesn't matter. I re-scribe all my panel lines, PLUS I scribe around my trim too. This way there's a neat little channel for your blade to follow after paint. Here you can see the deepened window trim and trunk/tail light trim looking down on the L/R quarter of my Barracuda

I also do the vent windows and rocker trim…..

After airbrushing on color, you can see how deep the trim separation is, as it should be. After all, it IS a separate piece!

Pre-scribing has the advantage that if you DO slip-up, it's much easier to fix before paint. Once that pre-scribe groove is in place, the foiling is actually pretty easy…...

Great topic Rich, and hopefully less intimidating for some.

________________________________________________________________________________________

BTW: I use Marco Cruz's panel highlight method on my panel lines AND BMF areas. There should be a slight shadow visible in there too. These are the details that are barely recognizable on their own, but add to the finished product.

Edited February 15, 2015 by FASTBACK340