Getting an aeroplane natural aluminium finish on an RC car.

[AlexC1981]

Hi All,

I am in the middle of doing some restoration work on an old RC car and I think it would look nice painted in "aeroplane aluminium" finish. I have seen the amazing work that modellers do on plastic model kits of aeroplanes.

Is it possible to get a semi-decent finish with aerosols? I'm not after a weathered look, I just want something a bit better than metallic silver.

The shell is ABS plastic, not polycarbonate. Most guides show weathering around the panel lines, but I don't have any panel lines....



This sort of finish would be good, especially the top one which looks like it has more of a shine to it.

[dr_gn]

I've tried most of the metallic paints from Halfords Chrome to Alclad II. None of them worked particularly well for me in terms of a polished finish. Even if you achieved this, it's not very robust, and decent repairs would be hopeless. There are metal paints you can polish, which might be an option, but I've not used them for decades.

The other option is Bare Metal Foil, which I used with some success on one of my latest aircraft builds - the forward fuselage here is foil:







This is a small scale aircraft, and the grain on the foil is a bit exaggerated (and if the undersurface is less than perfect it will casue a similar effect). On a 1:10 scale car body it would look better, and of course because it's real metal, you can polish it, and patch it if you need to.

[AlexC1981]

Thanks dr_gn you must have the hands and eyes for micro-surgery and the patience of a saint to build that!

Is that the matt aluminium foil like this you have there? This one:

https://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Cosplay-Body-FX/Item/...

How tough is it? If I scuff up against a rock will it tear off? Or scratch?

I see you did a dark wash. Is that just a thinned acrylic paint brushed on? I could do the same along the grooves perhaps. I have loads of old Humbrol enamels and acrylics, but they are 20+ years old.

My original plan was to use a metallic silver aerosol over grey primer with a tough gloss lacquer over the top. I liked the finish on the car on the below thread, but that particular car is painted onto the inside of a clear polycarbonate shell and then a layer of black paint over (under) the silver. I thought the lacquer over silver might look similar, but I was worried the lacquer might crack when the plastic flexes in the inevitable crash.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[dr_gn]

AlexC1981 said:

Thanks dr_gn you must have the hands and eyes for micro-surgery and the patience of a saint to build that!

Is that the matt aluminium foil like this you have there? This one:

https://modelshop.co.uk/Shop/Cosplay-Body-FX/Item/...

How tough is it? If I scuff up against a rock will it tear off? Or scratch?

I see you did a dark wash. Is that just a thinned acrylic paint brushed on? I could do the same along the grooves perhaps. I have loads of old Humbrol enamels and acrylics, but they are 20+ years old.

My original plan was to use a metallic silver aerosol over grey primer with a tough gloss lacquer over the top. I liked the finish on the car on the below thread, but that particular car is painted onto the inside of a clear polycarbonate shell and then a layer of black paint over (under) the silver. I thought the lacquer over silver might look similar, but I was worried the lacquer might crack when the plastic flexes in the inevitable crash.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I can't rememebr what finish it was - I think it might have been chrome. I used a Tamiya dark wash, which is enamel. So long as it a dissimilar/unreactive solvent type to thebase layer you should be OK.

The foil will tear if you scuff it. It would undoubtedly be easier to paint your body silver, but I've never managed to get it right. You need a very smooth gloss black base coat ideally. I wouldn't have thought lacquer could crack off through flexing - it's just another coat of paint really. You might have more luck than me, so I'd try paint, and if it doesn't work, strip it and try something else.

[The_Jackal]

IF you plan to use the buggy, forget any of these modelling based solutions, they are not durable enough.
Just get a shiny metallic spray can and go from there. You can always weather it after for a change in panel shades etc.
Oh, and scribe some realistic panel lines in before oyu paint it. It will add a touch of originality when it is painted.

[AlexC1981]

Yes, lets go with a paint option for durability. I think I will try a chrome paint since a lot of reviews for chrome paint say it looks like aluminium.

I'm intrigued by the idea of panel lines, but scared I'll ruin a vintage body shell! I've sketched some on one side as an exercise, what do you think?

I'm not sure if I'll run with this. Are they easy to do? When I'm doing a layer of primer, 2/3 layers of paint + 2/3 layers of of lacquer, won't they just disappear?

[dr_gn]

AlexC1981 said:

Yes, lets go with a paint option for durability. I think I will try a chrome paint since a lot of reviews for chrome paint say it looks like aluminium.

I'm intrigued by the idea of panel lines, but scared I'll ruin a vintage body shell! I've sketched some on one side as an exercise, what do you think?

I'm not sure if I'll run with this. Are they easy to do? When I'm doing a layer of primer, 2/3 layers of paint + 2/3 layers of of lacquer, won't they just disappear?

Personal preference, but I think there are too many.

Another option for panel lines is to draw, rather than scribe them on. You'd need to experiment with compatibility with clear coats, but some kind of very fine marker pen could work. You can use Dymo tape as a guide.

[lufbramatt]

What about a vinyl wrap? same as what they use on full size cars? can get them in all sorts of chrome colours

Takes a bit of practice with a hot air gun but would give a durable finish.

[anonymous-user]

Looking for something along the same lines myself and came across this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV9a1QxEw0A
Using a chrome pen refill in an air brush

[Stussy]

I’d spray it with whatever colour you wish, the use some panel gap tape similar to this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153904925524

Then you can get the panels exactly how you wish, and then lacquer over the top for protection

[Alex@POD]

You could try and build the shell out of thin aluminium plate, then you'd be able to get the finish you want. I wonder how much heavier it would be?

[AlexC1981]

OK lets not get carried away! Learning lots thanks to this thread, certainly some ideas put forward that I would never have thought of.

Fewer lines sounds a lot less scary! I think I can do that.

I think the tape perhaps looks a little too clean. I really like the Thunderbolt you see in the top picture. Subtle lines, not really weathered, just adds a bit of realism to the model. It will get plenty dirty enough when I take it outside!

This is the plan so far. Let me know if I'm doing something stupid!

Scribe in the lines using the back of a craft knife using Dyno tape as a guide.

A coat of plastic grey primer

A coat of metallic black (I'd use black gloss, but I already have metallic black).

Mask the body and apply a coat of blue on the vertical fins to match the shock absorbers or a little darker probably.

Mask the fins and apply a light coat of chrome paint to the body. The idea being the black shows through a little to give depth to the finish.

Lightly go over the panel lines with the craft knife to show the black paint in the gaps.

Perhaps do a black wash in the panel lines afterwards?

Test some lacquer on the inside to see how it looks. If good, then apply everywhere.

[dr_gn]

If you're going to engrave panel lines, you're better off with a proper scriber - it's profiled to cut a thin v in the plastic. A knife won't make a clean trough - it will partially deform the plastic and you'll end up with a raised edges, which will then need sanding down. Then the line probably won't be uniformy wide...then you'll have to go over it again to get it clean. You can get away with a blade cut or even a needle at small scales for locally repairing sanded lines, but I wouldn't do it at this scale.



Don't try to make a deep line at once, go over the surface very lightly until you're sure you're not wandering off the edge of the plastic tape, then gradually increase pressure. It's very easy to undersetimate how deep a line looks on a model without paint. I've spent countless hours filling and re-scribing models through rushing the job. There are a lot of models out there featuring ploughed fields and double panel lines.

[AlexC1981]

Oh alright then - ordered! In for a penny in for a pound. I'm sure I'll find something else to scribe at some point with it. Maybe that De Havilland Vampire that's been sitting half built in my cupboard for the last six or so years.

I've tweaked my panel lines and ordered some chequered flag decals to cover the lowest flanks near the back.

DSC04055

A bit of inspiration for the colour scheme, only no chequer up front and the tail fin in blue.

[AlexC1981]

Actually, I probably will put the chequered patten or some other decal on the nose as well. It depends on how well my filling and sanding job with Squadron Putty looks after it's painted and how well it stands up to use without cracking.

The previous owner made a robust if not the most elegant repair job and managed to drip the hardest glue known to man all over the place.

[cati]

just some suggestions for you

you can make panel lines using high build primer and panel tape - that way if you dont like it - soak the body in mr muscle oven cleaner and back to a clean white body

Valejo acrylics - do some nice different metal tones which can be buffed to get different effects well worth a look - lots on you tube

Checker - it is much easier than you think - spray black as a background colour - draw a pencil grid on masking tape for bottom row - cut out small squares and build up. then spray multiple white coats to build up th white - the black base makes it pop

you could get into hairspray and all that good stuff to make this pop.

this all sounds super hard - it really isn't - lots on youtube and go on sites like brit modeller and large scale planes to get some ideas

[anonymous-user]

dr_gn said:

I've tried most of the metallic paints from Halfords Chrome to Alclad II. None of them worked particularly well for me in terms of a polished finish. Even if you achieved this, it's not very robust, and decent repairs would be hopeless. There are metal paints you can polish, which might be an option, but I've not used them for decades.

The other option is Bare Metal Foil, which I used with some success on one of my latest aircraft builds - the forward fuselage here is foil:







This is a small scale aircraft, and the grain on the foil is a bit exaggerated (and if the undersurface is less than perfect it will casue a similar effect). On a 1:10 scale car body it would look better, and of course because it's real metal, you can polish it, and patch it if you need to.

This is insane. So beautiful. Good work!

[dr_gn]

bulldong said:

This is insane. So beautiful. Good work!

Thanks! build thread here if you're interested:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[AlexC1981]

A bit of progress. Panel lines done, primer and another rub down.

I'm quite pleased with how the panel lines turned out. The Tamiya scriber is quite aggressive how it cuts into the plastic and you need quite a light and precise touch for it not to drift away from your tape. I was quite relieved when they were all done.

I thought I might miss off the black coat and do an entire coat of gloss blue next to save masking off areas since the fins are going to be blue. This would be my dark undercoat to give depth to the aluminium. Perhaps I could pre-shade the panel lines with black? I'm not sure how exactly to go about this. The aerosols I'm using aren't going to allow for any delicate work.

This was supposed to be a very quick job! Just a bit of filler on the nose, primer, top coat and a few stickers to cover up the bad bits

[cati]

if it was me i would black the body so you get the depth to the ali and build this up with light coats - the reason why is this

I would then mask off the blue bit and then put some salt and or hairspray on this bit and spray the blue and gently chip off the salt or rub off the hair spray

so you get a raced look, a bit of dry brushing around the panel lines and you have something really cool

video below explains all


https://youtu.be/ZmFa3vqvARQ