i believe its straight molotow chrome decantered into an airbrush, no thinning needed. the gold was the alclad clear mixed with a gold dye and sprayed over the top of the original chrome ink.
What mix of chrome and lacquer thinner did you use? Or was it straight paint?
Just to ad my experience: Appearance of Molotov +Alclad ALC-310 Gloss Klear Kote is very similar to ALC-105 Polished Aluminum + ALC-600 Aqua gloss. Black gloss surface beneath both.
Even dried perfectly and coated the Molotov will not stand up to handling. It just stays soft somehow and you need a certain thickness for the chrome effect to kick in. Coating will dull it slightly. Mechanically much better is the Alclad polished AL and Aqua gloss solution. Looks nearly identical. Only caveat is the price per square centimeter. A 1oz. bottle of polished AL can only cover a 20x20cm area convincingly. Superior results for a price. And you cannot use the Klear Kote on the polished AL, you need the Aqua Gloss.
Was your gloss black layer fully dry, and what kind of paint was it and the underlying primer? A gloss black layer is unnecessary for the Molotow and I would be worried about paint interactions/incompatabilities. That might be the source of your softness particularly if it was enamel (Krylon, Rustoleum) paint or primer topcoated within 48 hours to a week of the underlying layer's application. Enamel dries very slowly and putting lacquers like the Klear Kote over it is risky.
My best molotow+top coat yellow
https://nsa39.casimages.com/img/2018/05/23/mini_180523093543129055.jpg
True Molotov doesn't need it. It looked best on Gloss Black base ALC-305 from Alclad for me when airbrushed for a thin layer. That black is applied very thin with an airbrush and super solid. Tried many surfaces including none, just 1000 grid wet sanded. Molotov's look is fantastic, but what ever I do it will stay somewhat soft. Dried in my oven at 114F overnight let it sit for a week etc before coating it. Without sealing it is completely useless even after weeks of drying it will become grey at the slightest touch. I got very close and thought I had it solved for my Memory orb build by drying it in the oven and coating with Klear Kote, but in the end parts that get handled with some pressure show that it is not truly hardened. I will keep parts that are not touched that much in Molotov, but for buttons and parts that are more exposed to mechanical stress the Alclad route seems best
Check out this video, Adam mentions a system to effectively top coat Molotow chrome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XB4Be6TjHU&t=1345s
This is what I followed but only looks good and only stands up to occasional or light touch unfortunately. Big improvement compared to no coat but not sufficient for buttons for example.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181001/5f6f71be70956b53dd31a1f0437c5317.jpg
Use any suitable primer. Molotow needs to go on thick and wet for the best chrome look. The primer will be completely covered. The gloss black is needed for Alclad because you mist it on and don’t cover completely. You use the gloss of the base coat to boost the shine of the Alclad, whereas Molotow shines by itself.
Also, spray with low pressure or you will get white “fogging” in the Molotow chrome.
Offhand, I actually don't know, I'm sorry. I usually go by feel alone using the small manual regulator on the airbrush connector. I suggest taking it down until it starts to "spit", then go up a bit more. And spray fairly close to the object to keep it wet. It's a bit tricky to get it right at first.what psi would you recommend?
thanks