How do you keep the Silver Leaf paint shiny?

Has anyone got any expeirence working with the color Silver Leaf by Tamiya? Everytime I use the color on its own, it has a kind of chrome/glossiness to it but it notoriously prone to smudges and damage. Any attempt at trying to cut/polish would result in the loss of shine. So I thought it would be a good idea to clear coat it but it seems to react with the clear coat. I seem to have quite bad luck with silver paint. Anyone know how I can keep that special shine and have it protected so that it doesn't come off?

yeah its really finicky like that the best way to do it is clear it, you dont cut metallics its a bad idea. also it helps if you clear it in light coats

Yep, you can't polish metallics afik, so you need to clear it. And clearing it with a lacquer, eg TS13, will grey it down a bit. Did you try water-based clear like X22 or Future? That might work better, but you will still lose some shine probably. If you really want shine under clear you might try a chrome paint (which will also dull down to some extent probably). I know one guy who cleared chrome with dazzling results, but it seemed a bit pointless. Btw, I think you'll get more shine out of it from an airbrush than from the can.

Anyone know how I can keep that special shine and have it protected so that it doesn't come off?

Don't handle it with bare hands! Get some nursing/medical gloves and use them when handling the parts. The oils from your skin will wear the metallic paints very quickly. Plus, you can use them while painting to keep your hands from turning all those pretty colors...:nono:

Daniel

Yep, you can't polish metallics afik, so you need to clear it. And clearing it with a lacquer, eg TS13, will grey it down a bit. Did you try water-based clear like X22 or Future? That might work better, but you will still lose some shine probably. If you really want shine under clear you might try a chrome paint (which will also dull down to some extent probably). I know one guy who cleared chrome with dazzling results, but it seemed a bit pointless. Btw, I think you'll get more shine out of it from an airbrush than from the can.

yeah i did use the TS13 clear......and it went kinda grayish. I'll give the X22 a try next time around.

I thought about leaving it as is but not exactly doable since I still gotta paint the window frame.

Try Alclad II metallics. They require an airbrush and a gloss black base to cater to metals reflective nature, but the end result is far superior to run of the mill spray can metallics. They are also far more durable.

Try Alclad II metallics. They require an airbrush and a gloss black base to cater to metals reflective nature, but the end result is far superior to run of the mill spray can metallics. They are also far more durable.

I should note that only Polished Aluminum and Chrome require gloss black bases, though it has been debated whether enamel or lacquer is appropriate. The other Alclad metallics can be airbrushed directly over primer, or other colors to achieve different effects.

Yes...I used this once with the same results & then tried Gunze's Shine Silver on my 2nd 206 WRC & have never looked back

I haven't had any problems with my silver leaf paints. This one was with Silver Leaf and clear coated with TS-13 out of the cans. I was really careful in giving it a even layer of spray and made sure the paint had settled and dried before applying the clear coat. I was going to polish it as well, but since there's not much fault to it, I just left it the way it was.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a48/xspeed/KPGC-03.jpg

I agree with putting a clear coat over the top. I find that even Alclad needs it too - maybe I'm doing something incorrectly. Not sure.

Anyway, I've tried polishing metalics before (see the link below for pics). I find it still gives a nice mirrored look to the paint but can dull it somewhat - having said that the results I got were still fantastic, especially viewed in good sunlight.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=716448

just a bit of update.....I clear coated it with the normal Tamiya clear coat and polished it. Even though that smooth satin look reacted to the clear coat, the end result was more like the metalic silver. It was actually looked pretty nice.