How do you protect Alclad Chrome finish?

[Ghostmech]

I have found that Alclad 2 Chrome finish is fragile. A little handeling and and the black under coat starts to show thru. Is there anything you guys do to protect it?

[Fat Brian]

You might, MIGHT, get away with a coat of Future to protect it. Test it first to be sure but this is probably your best bet.

[Chillyb1]

I agree with Futurabat. It shouldn't be happening at all and if it is, then you are doing something wrong. I've gotten great results shooting it over Alclad's black base and it has never worn or rubbed off. Lately I've been using Tamiya TS-14 gloss black and gotten equally great results and durability.

[Erik Smith]

I think it depends on your base coat. Are you using Alclad II gloss black base? A lacquer base will not allow the chrome paint to "bite" and will rub off easily. The Alclad II base is an enamel.

[CadillacPat]

That actually shouldn't be happening. Alclad is hard as stone once cured. You can't put a clear coat over it either because it will turn to silver metalflake. I think Alclad has a clear formulated for the chrome, but i've never used it. What kind of basecoat are you using? I now have a contact at Alclad and I will ask about this for you.

While it is true that some Clears will turn some Chrome paints to mud,

I have shot HOK Clear over Alclad Chrome and other types with no change or harm at all.

Just make sure your Alclad is fully cured ( I bake mine in my CadillacPat Fact-O-Bake Ovens) and use a Medium or slower Reducer in your Urethane Clear. and go light on the first passes of Clear.

CadillacPat

[Ghostmech]

I use Tamiya TS-14 exclusively for high gloss/polished/chrome Alclad. TS-14 is a lacquer as is the Alclad Gloss Black Base.

On the Alclad website, according to their directions on the website, they say to spray 2-3 coats of their high gloss clear over the dry high gloss paint. I guess I'll try it to see if the chrome look stays bright.

Anyone try clearing over the chrome as suggested?

[Exotics_Builder]

Allclad sells an Aqua Gloss CLear (ALC 600) that is supposed to seal their chrome and keep the shine. A member of GTR club showed an F1 car done with it and it looked good. Picked up a bottle the other day to try as I had to strip the front and rear bumpers of the 66 El Camino.

[jaydar]

In my experience, Alclad Chrome is fragile when sprayed over Tamiya gloss black. Also use wet coats misting chrome makes it more fragile. The top coats do not bite into lower coats of the chrome.

[Mr mopar]

I use Humbrol gloss black #21 and midnight blue #15 as a base with awesome results, looks better then chrome.hard as a rock when dry.

[Steven Zimmerman]

I have cleared over Alclad chrome with water based acrylic clear with good results.

[steveracer]

I have Alclad over the Alclad black.  I shot one maybe two coats at most of the alclad chrome.  It sprayed and turned out great, so I let the parts sit - now for about three weeks or so.  I did NOT clear with the aquagloss.

Now - without touching ANYTHING, the chrome look is disappearing slightly and the black undercoating is showing through.  Looks cool, but not what I want and if this continues will look horrible on parts that are to appear chrome as the model ages.

Anyone have this issue before?

I plan to spray another coat or two of alclad over the parts, then clear them with the alclad aquagloss.

[Claude Thibodeau]

HI!

For one, I always use it over Testor's ENAMEL gloss black. I also got different shades over gloss white (more like polished aluminium) and gloss light blue (more like polished stainless).  

I usually airbrush the Alclad Chrome within about 6 hours of my black base. Then let it harden for at least 48 hours. My experiences showed that, in my case, this is the best way to obtain maximum "chrome" gloss, while still resist usual assembly handling. Just my two cents...

CT 

[Force]

Alclad recommends using enamel paint as a base for their chrome for a reason, so why use anything else when it works.
I have used Humbrol gloss black and dark blue enamel paint and have never had any trouble...I have even used it on my real 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe where some plated interior plastic parts had faded and it worked and held up just fine the years I had the car

Edited February 1, 2021 by Force

[steveracer]

OK, great.  I didn't use enamel - however I used what was recommended and produced or packaged by Alclad.  Not sure why that would be an issue to cause the ghosting or lightening of the chrome finish 3 weeks after application.

Force, whoever you are replying to, they used what Alclad recommends, so I am not sure how to interpret your comment.  Please clarify.   As well, how many coats of Alclad did you use on your Fairlane interior parts?  And without clearing over them, that sounds like a very successful application.   Which is what I am looking for over the recommended Alclad black base.