-“How-To” Paint Project-
Using Alclad
by KB Kustoms
What I do to get a SpectraFlame finish on a car with bodywork (and sometimes even those with no bodywork because I personally think this looks more like the original Mattel colors) is:
You can use any enamel base black for this according to Alclad, but, they do recommend Automotive paints. And usually when you put Lacquer over Enamel, a bad reaction between the two will take place, but I have noticed that Alclad does not always follow this rule, so, just be careful what you use as a base coat…its always a good idea to test the compatibility of the paints first by spraying a junk body with the same type of paints you want to use BEFORE spraying your project car!!! If there are any reactions when the Alclad is applied, then try another type or brand of base color until you find one that is compatible. Let your base color dry pretty well before proceeding, but, don’t wait too long because Alclad is picky about its base coat being FRESH.
The dry times will vary depending on what type of paint you use, but, as an example, the Urethane I use dries to the point of being handled in less than 24 hours, the Alclad needs to be applied within 48 hours or a danger of it rubbing off comes into play. Just use this as a rule with your paints dry times and you should be fine for SpectraFlame finishes…something like full chrome and especially Black Chrome would be a lot more picky about this because they would not have any paint OVER the Alclad thus more likely to have problems with the chrome paint rubbing off if this “window of opportunity” is not strictly followed!!
Now when Alclad chrome is covered with ANY other paint, the chrome effect WILL be diminished. However, it does have a nice sparkle/flake in it when coated with candy colors, and again, I personally this looks more like the the original SF used by Mattel in the late 60s!!! I use it nearly exclusively now for all my Candy paints and flames!!! It does not look the same as if you had polished or chromed the casting, but, it DOES look good and its a lot less work to do this as opposed to heavily polishing a casting first!!!
Here is one that I did a few months ago with this method. The flames are Chromalusion, but, the main color is Candy Cherry Red over Alclad.
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