Manufacturer: A division of C&C Aerospace Inc., 119 Central Drive Unit C, Brandon, FL 33510, 813-643-1232
Kit: No. N/A
Scale: 1/48
Price: $7.40 per 1-ounce bottle
Comments:Airbrushable metallic finish, 12 shades (Aluminium, Duraluminium, White Aluminium, Dark Aluminium, Polished Aluminium, Chrome, Magnesium, Pale Burnt Metal, Jet Exhaust, Gold, Copper, Steel)
Pros: Durable metallic finish
Cons: Can etch unprimed plastic, takes multiple coats to cover, each shade must have a primer undercoat, some shades need to be applied over different primers; instructions vague on which types of primers are needed
In the continuing search for the ideal natural-metal finish, modelers have tried everything: silver paints, buffable metallics, foils ... you name it. One of the newest coatings is Alclad II, a solvent-based metallic paint that is airbrushed onto a primed surface.
Unlike some buffable metallics, Alclad II can be masked over and requires no polishing. Since the solvents used in Alclad can react with polystyrene, a primer coat must be applied to serve as a barrier between the paint and plastic. Alclad recommends using a gloss black enamel primer under its Chrome shade, and a gloss black acrylic primer for its Polished Aluminium shade. The remaining shades should be applied over "an acrylic primer, car paint is ideal" according to the instruction sheet. On the bottle label, Alclad II suggests "Krylon." On a separate flyer, the manufacturer recommends the above primers and adds "Floquil railroad primer or Tamiya spray primer."
To test the paints, I primed the left fuselage half of an Italeri 1/72 F-84F with Dupli-Color brand primer, then painted the right half with Testor Model Master gloss black enamel on the top and Testor Model Master Acryl gloss "Navy Gray" on the bottom. I left a narrow strip of unpainted plastic in the middle to experiment.
After waiting 48 hours to ensure all the primers were completely cured, I painted the left side overall with the Aluminium shade. After an hour or so, I masked certain panels and applied White Aluminium, Dark Aluminium, and Pale Burnt Metal. I also masked a couple of panels and tried Polished Aluminium over the standard shades.
After they had dried overnight, I applied a piece of Scotch brand Magic Tape and determined whether the paints would lift. None did, but the Polished Aluminium overcoat lost much of its brilliance when the tape was removed. Since Alclad doesn't recommend applying Polished Aluminium over the other shades, this was no surprise.
The different shades allow you to simulate different metals used in aircraft construction. I found the White Aluminium and Duraluminium shades to be almost identical to standard Aluminium. Pale Burnt Metal seems a bit too yellow for its intended purpose.
I painted the rear end of the right side with the Chrome shade, and the cockpit area with Polished Aluminium. I painted the front end with the standard Aluminium shade to see if it would react with the enamel and acrylic gloss paints. It softened the gloss black enamel, but didn't affect the acrylic paint.
The Chrome shade over both the enamel and acrylic gloss is extremely shiny, close to chrome-plated plastic. The Polished Aluminium shade looked bright on both gloss paints, but seemed to stick better to the acrylic in the tape test. Polished Aluminium looked great on the unpainted plastic test strip, too, but it lifted off almost completely with the tape.
Alclad says decal solvents won't affect the standard shades, but it doesn't recommend their use on Chrome or Polished Aluminium.
Conclusion: If you can determine which primers are best for the recommended shades, Alclad II can produce a wide range of durable metallic finishes. Alclad II doesn't require special handling when it is dry, but it has specific requirements for its application.