Bare Metal Foil Questions! Help again.

[LuiS_42]

when i apply bare metal foil to a surface with recessed panel lines, can i place a clear top coat over it? will it lose its shine? if so how do i do a wash?
thanks! im planning to do a 1:6 kaiyodo C3P0with Gold BMF.

[TER-OR]

You can apply a clear coat, and a gloss coat won't reduce the shine, but it will change the sheen. There are a few options for panel line washing on BMF. Transparent watercolors might be your best option, and you won't need the clear coat. The pigment will not stick to the smooth surface, and a slightly dampened cotton swab can remove the excess.

Look for these tubes of watercolor at art stores, or craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Also look for some flow-aid, though a little dish soap can work too. This will help with the capillary effect. The transparent nature of the pigment will change the color without looking like black gunk.

[Kekker]

One word of warning - you do need to be careful with the gold BMF - it's not gold-colored metal, it's regular aluminum BMF with a transparent gold coating. The coating is vulnerable to enamel thinners, and also to too vigorous polishing or buffing.

Trust me on this - I ruined the first foiling job I did on my C3PO!

The good thing is that you can replicate the gold foil with a transparent "gold" or orange-ish spray.

Kev

[Zen-Builder]

I have had good results by using a coat of metallic colour and than a coat of clear yellow to produce a gold effect.

Something I learned from the local FSS guys.

Also back in the days were kits that had a supplied gold-colour that you applied over the chromed parts.

[LuiS_42]

You can apply a clear coat, and a gloss coat won't reduce the shine, but it will change the sheen. There are a few options for panel line washing on BMF. Transparent watercolors might be your best option, and you won't need the clear coat. The pigment will not stick to the smooth surface, and a slightly dampened cotton swab can remove the excess.

Look for these tubes of watercolor at art stores, or craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Also look for some flow-aid, though a little dish soap can work too. This will help with the capillary effect. The transparent nature of the pigment will change the color without looking like black gunk.

so my wash will be vulnerable to smudges if not handled correctly because its not sealed by a top coat right? thanks for the help guys!

Kev, do you have pics of your C3PO?

[TER-OR]

Both oils and watercolors might be less durable without a topcoat. But, those will be easier to work with. It depends on how you plan to handle your model. You should use an old model as a test piece for these techniques. It sounds like you're going to try several new techniques and you don't want to mess up the actual piece.

An aircraft wing or something similar would be good to practice with. It doesn't have to be a whole model, and since you're working with BMF you can even remove the foil if you want.

[Kekker]

Kev, do you have pics of your C3PO?

Sorry - He's in about the same condition he was in "Empire" - the last move was not kind to him!

What I did was to fiddle around with the transparent colors from Tamiya. (Gunze also makes some) It took a while to get a decent gold. The trick, which I figured out only too late, is to start yellow and make it slowly more orange. It's a lot easier than trying to make it less orange! I just used a scrap bit of foil and would brush on a small test patch, then wipe it off to try again.

Kev

[LuiS_42]

thanks for the advice kev, and thanks again ter-or for the quick reply! wish me luck on this endeavor of mine!

[TER-OR]

We're here to help!

And remember, you can make your own transparent paints with ink dispersed in Future. Use India Ink, it has no solid media, just pure soluble pigments. It will be MUCH thinner than the Tamiya clear paints, but that makes them very flexible.

[LuiS_42]

noted! thanks!