BMF Wrinkle Work-Around?

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by ddtham

Hey hey, I mentioned that couple of posts above! I am glad to hear about your success. I am a Spaz Stix convert also!

You sure did, ddtham. I'm sorry I forgot about your message when I made that first attempt. I could have saved some time.

As I mentioned, I'm still getting some dust bumps - just like I did with the Alclad, but maybe not as bad. (The big advantage of the SS is its uniform mirror finish.)

Normally, I use fast drying lacquers and urethanes, so dust is not a problem with my paint jobs. But the Alclad gloss black undercoat dries slowly, and seems to grab stuff out of the air. I think that might be the reason for the dust bumps.

So I'd like to find an undercoat that's just as glossy and that the Spaz Stix will stick to just as well.

Have you gotten good results putting Spaz Stix over any other undercoat?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

You can and should wetsand/polish out your basecoat just like a real paint job to get rid of the dust bumps. If you want the absolute best, most reflective finish, you have to have the absolute best, most reflective base coat. Don't skip steps. You wouldn't apply Bare Metal Foil over a painted surface that had dust bumps or orange peel...or expect it to hide them.

Spaz Stix works over TS gloss black. Or TS 13 clear. Unlike Alclad, which will not stick to Tamiya lacquers.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

If you want the absolute best, most reflective finish, you have to have the absolute best, most reflective base coat. Don't skip steps.

Hey, I enjoy de-texturizing and polishing; it's probably my favorite part of modeling.

Spaz Stix works over TS gloss black. Or TS 13 clear. Unlike Alclad, which will not stick to Tamiya lacquers.

Wow, the good news just keeps on comin'! (In this case, no sarcasm intended.)

I've been reluctant to polish Alclad undercoat because it seems so soft and gooey. I'll be much happier spraying SS over a polished lacquer finish.

I have tried Alclad over TS and even U-POL. It looked pretty good, but, like you say, it rubs off. Spaz Stix over compounded TS sounds like sheer perfection.

Thanks, ZoomZoom. Now what will I do with my half-bottle of Alclad Black "Lacquer"?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

The Alclad base is probably fine if you let it dry long enough. TS paint is pretty soft on it's own. Black enamel would work fine, enamel buffs out nice...I use a dehydrator so getting enamel dry isn't that big an issue. But TS paints are so forgiving and do dry faster. I've polished out many soft enamel paint jobs, if you know what to expect it's really no big deal.

Do a spoon test, compare the Alclad base w/Tamiya TS.

I've posted this many times before (all examples shot over gloss black; Alclad over enamel, and the Killer Chrome & Spaz Stix over TS gloss black):

http://public.fotki.com/grdeyed/mode...1/chrome-test/

I'm almost out of my bottle of Spaz Stix, ready to get a bottle of the new stuff that's even better.

[Didymus]

This may be the final test:

On one set of caps, I used Spaz Stax over polished Tamiya black spray can TS-series synthetic lacquer. After the black cured, I polished it with Tamiya Fine and their high gloss compound, Finish. So I was spraying the Spaz Stix on a smooth, high gloss surface with no paint texture.

On the other set, I used Spaz Stix over Alclad unpolished gloss black undercoat.

The Spaz Stix'd caps with the polished Tamiya undercoat came out much like the Duplicolored caps. Shiny, but not much sparkle. They looked nice, but not quite chrome-like.

The Spaz Stix'd caps with the Alclad undercoat have much more sparkle. They do have a few dust bumps. I think dust particles landed on the Alclad undercoat's surface while it was drying.

This jury finds for the Alclad undercoat in preference to the Tamiya. I'll put up with a few dust bumps to get that realistic sparkle. Next time, I'll put freshly undercoated items into a ventilated container of some kind, to minimize the chances of dust bumps.

[nicamarvin]

Originally Posted by Didymus

This may be the final test...

I am in the process of building a very inexpencive water based Spray on Chrome system for scal model builders like us with a budget....the finished product will have the finish as if it was sprayed wit the Alsa chrome FX system...I will post pics soon