Gloss black base coat for metallic finishes?

[GeneralFROSTY]

I am looking into Allclad II for my Rocketeer jetpack and would like for someone to explain to me the science behind why a gloss black basecoat helps to bring out metallic fineshes better.

 

[RickDTM]

I "think" it has something to do w/ the fact Alclad is meant to go on thin, and as such the light reflects through and back up from the gloss coat.

That being said, you can get some cool effects varying the gloss of the undercoat.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

Will the process still work if you go over the gloss black with a clear gloss laquer? I've been told the glossier the better - and a gloss black out of the can is only going to be so glossy so if there is a way to augment the finish someone please chime in.

 

[robn1]

A light mist coat of Alclad over gloss black will give a chrome look. The heavier you spray the Alclad, the less chrome like it'll be. Undercoats with different colors and levels of gloss will give different effects.

 

[robn1]

Will the process still work if you go over the gloss black with a clear gloss laquer? I've been told the glossier the better - and a gloss black out of the can is only going to be so glossy so if there is a way to augment the finish someone please chime in.

Yes you can undercoat with anything, you can even polish it for more gloss. Just make sure it's black for a chrome look.

 

[steveo3002]

best bet is to try some test peices , as said smooth full gloss black with a light coat of alclad looks nearest to chrome , but dark grey gloss or similar will give differant effects

 

[feek61]

Think of a two-way mirror . . . it only looks like a mirror when it's dark on the other side.

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

Thank you for the input.
I found a hobby shop locally that carries the Alclad products.
I spoke to the store owner on the phone today and he recommends only using Alclad's gloss black basecoat product rather than going with something like the Tamiya gloss black.
I am going with the "Polished Alluminum" color for my Rocketeer jetpack. I have a build thread going on in the props section if anyone is interested in checking it out.
The store only has one bottle of the color I want so I will use that to do some tests on scrap plastic I have and see how I like the finish.
I also need to determine how MUCH of the Alclad I need to purchase since they ONLY come in small jars and my Rocketeer jetpack is quite large.
One I do some tests, I will post some pics here as well as in my jetpack build thread.
Thanks again for everyones input.

 

[falcondesigns]

The Alclad gloss black is the best I've ever used.......goes on like laquer,dries hard.

 

[ewokus]

I've used Krylon Gloss Black for my base coat and it worked fine. What I've noticed that when you airbrush on the Alclad II as a few, light initial coats, more of the black shows through, and you get a stainless steel look to your paint job - as you apply more of the Alclad and cover up the base coat more, then you get to the chrome effect. Gives it some flexibility for you...

 

[GeneralFROSTY]

I was going to try out the Tamiya TS-14 Gloss black but my hobby shop only has ONE can left and wont be getting more for a while since Tamiya is having import problems to US suppliers. Apparently, they have to start including american text on thier products.

 

[Makrel Johnson]

I was watching the Robot Finishes class in SWSCA and they did the gloss black, then clear, then the chrome. It looked damn good - like it was plated.

I think it was a 'less is more' approach to the silver over the black and very light coats to build up the right amount of shine

 

[SeismicA]

I use the Alclad gloss black base coat, works wonderfully.