QMx Mal pistol finish question

[Joker]

I just watched Serenity and Mal's pistol has a darker polished finish but the QMx stunt pistol has a matte finish, if I got the stunt pistol is there anything I can spray on it to make the finish look more accurate? I'll probably add real wood grips if it's possible and I find some for sale. I'm physically disabled so I can't do alot to it and I don't know anything about refinishing a replica. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[robstyle]

maybe wait till the product arrives at your door to see if indeed it would need a coating of semi gloss or gloss finish. Even then, your at the mercy of whatever the original finish is and how it would react to a new top coat. Its a static display peice so why add wood grips?

There are a couple things not accurate about the QMX version but Im sure thats probley been discussed already.

 

[Joker]

I received my QMx Malcolm pistol a few days ago and it looks pretty good but the whole thing is matte and doesn't look like polished bronze like in the movie which I just watched. Does anyone know of something I can spray on it to give it a better looking finish? Thanks.

 

[KarlBud420]

As Rob said, a semi- or full gloss in a spray can will probably get you the finish you're after.

One word of caution if you go that way - make sure you're in a very well ventilated area or you'll get really woozy.

Bruce

 

[DavidS]

Um its a plastic gun, the pictures of it looked terrible.
why are folks SURPRISED when it looks um.... NOT like metal? its NOT metal?!
lol

 

[DavidS]

ah heck..... where can i buy one?!

 

[prototype7]

I'm not sure I'd paint something that's already been painted... You have several issues to deal with.

1) Some finishes don't play nice with others... sometimes you get nasty results of discoloration and dripping and all kinds of stuff...
2) You are talking about spraying a licensed prop replica... might not bother some but it's still a valid point...

A few other options for you as far as a Mal pistol would be to...
Go with one of the fan-made resin pistols and paint it yourself... I would venture to say alclad paints would give you a nice shiny finish.
Or try checking out sidkit's metal Mal Pistol - about twice as much as the QMX but it's metal... then it's up to you as to how you want to paint it.
OR - check out the Junkyard right now - there's a guy with a nickel and brass plated Metal Mal pistol. VERY shiny!

 

[Joker]

I wasn't surprised by the way it looks, I had seen all the photos and knew it would have a matte finish and as a display piece I like it but if I were to get up the nerve to spray something on it to make it look a little better I would like sme advice.

Has anyone tried this on theirs yet or have experience painting resin and know what it would look like with a semi-gloss coating?

 

[DavidS]

OR - check out the Junkyard right now - there's a guy with a nickel and brass plated Metal Mal pistol. VERY shiny!

yeh what a freakin moron to sell such a freakin nice peice! i mean triple brass AND nickel plated PROFFESIONALLY by a chromer shop that does high end motorcyle parts.... not only that, its professionally antiqued so as to preserve the thickness of the plate....

yeh i mean WHO in their right mind would sell that?

 

[Joker]

I'm not sure I'd paint something that's already been painted... You have several issues to deal with.

1) Some finishes don't play nice with others... sometimes you get nasty results of discoloration and dripping and all kinds of stuff...
2) You are talking about spraying a licensed prop replica... might not bother some but it's still a valid point...

A few other options for you as far as a Mal pistol would be to...
Go with one of the fan-made resin pistols and paint it yourself... I would venture to say alclad paints would give you a nice shiny finish.
Or try checking out sidkit's metal Mal Pistol - about twice as much as the QMX but it's metal... then it's up to you as to how you want to paint it.
OR - check out the Junkyard right now - there's a guy with a nickel and brass plated Metal Mal pistol. VERY shiny!

The QMx is about all I can afford right now. Saw the brass plated, way too much and I can't paint a fan-made or a sidkit, physically disabled. Just looking for an easy solution like a coating of semi-gloss but if more experienced people like you say it probably won't work then I'm happy with the way it looks.

 

[prototype7]

Joker - I ain't sayin' it won't work... I'm just saying that there's a chance it might not come out so great. A chance - not a guarantee.
Another option for you might be to try some kind of polish on it. I know that alot of the guys that make tricorders have used a car polish or a floor polish to give the paint job a shinyer look... that might be worth a try but I would say try just a tiny bit on an out of the way area just to be sure it's not going to damage it.

And David Stokes - that is a BEAUTIFUL peice you have! It must hurt to have to get rid of that thing. If I were a richer man... man... I'd buy it in a second. Would you take a kidney for it?:cool

 

[phase pistol]

I got one of these, same thing, disappointed in the finish.

I tried buffin' with a microfiber cloth, but that didn't seem to help. So I hit it with some silver and "antique gold" Rub N Buff.

I think it came out okay! Still not fantastic, but a little better. Your mileage may vary.

Any ideas on improving the grips? These don't come off so I'd be limited to something I can mask off and apply...

 

[Joker]

That does look better. Looks like it took the top generic matte coat off, might try it.

Wonder how good QMx's metal version will look.

 

[DavidS]

dear god, that things ugly

sorry, im having a hard time holding my dislike for this product in....
i dont own one,so prehaps its not "fair" for me to judge it, but the phillipes resin casts looked alot better
that overly thick trigger guard is a real eye sore.... looks like they didnt even TRY to get the frame to look silver at all

 

[phase pistol]

Well YOU can criticise... you've got that plated beauty! :lol

Yeah well... keep in mind this is AFTER I put silver rub n buff on, which actually did make it brighter and shinier.

The Phillippes Firefly pistol (or mine at least) was just an unfinished casting, so you're on your own with making it look good. But yes I think the trigger guard is thinner on that one.

- k

 

[jheilman]

But were the trigger guards the same on the series and movie gun?

 

[JOATRASH FX]

I recall seeing pics from Serenity where the version Nathan was holding definitely had a thicker trigger guard, presumably one of the stunt casts. The QMX is supposed to be pulled from the real deal so that would be a logical explanation. The Serenity Hero pistol was (unless I'm mistaken) the same prop as the series version, only modified. I find it kinda funny that people are commenting on "ugly" details that seem to be accurate to the real prop and not the fact that it has been idealized from the real thing by molding it in separate pieces. If this were MR, everyone would be complaining at just about any attempt at idealization. :lol

Any kind of clear coat you put on will dull the metallic affect. This applies to both paint and real metal, though in differentiating degrees. Also, a matte coat will kill the shine completely. A glossy clear might accentuate the color and give you some glare, but it won't make the light reflect more like real metal (which is what I am guessing you want). My suggestion is to rub something on top of the highlights. Either Rub'n'Buff or some metallic acrylic paint on a cloth.

But were the trigger guards the same on the series and movie gun?

 

[whitefall]

I'm not sure about the hero Firefly rig (my personal metal "Firefly" replica has a thinner guard, but I don't know if that's accurate).

That said, I've held both the Serenity-version replica and the screen-used stunt pistol from which it was taken side-by-side, and the trigger guard is identicle on both.

The replica also cleaned up a couple of issues with the screen-used stunt pistol. The biggest was the barrel; the actual screen-used one was slightly miscast resulting in the barrel bending slightly to the right (you can see it one of the promo stills of Mal pointing the pistol at the camera).

In addition to straightening out the barrel, the screen-used stunt has a lot of little ragged edges that were cleaned up in the replica.

 

[Gman666]

What about floor wax? I used it on my T2 bust and got a great wet looking finish. I know that many use it for their Vader helmets. Are you going to handle it or display?

Thanks!

Greg

 

[Noeland]

Guys, this is supposed to be a replica of the STUNT gun, not the hero gun. And 9 times out of 10, the rubber stunt guns have a thicker trigger guard. It's very common to see this.