Alclad II Gloss Black Base Paint First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

I remember when I first saw Alclad at the IPMS/USA National Convention in 1995, the revolution that this lacquer-based system caused to bare metal finish was astounding. The build-ups of the ERTL YB-35 with the different shades of metalizer on various panels made the model seem far more realistic than any other build-up I'd seen to that point. The best part about Alclad was that it could be touched, painted over, masked over, and the finish was resilient. The downside to Alclad was that it didn't seem to catch on and the company simply disappeard.

Then along comes Alclad II. The product line was saved by a fine gentleman from the UK who has since come over to the colonies to develop the product.

When Alclad II created a Chrome metalizer, this was oriented to the car modeler who was tired of the heavy chrome plating applied to their kits. The problem with the kit's chrome plating is that you couldn't match the chrome with any paint available to touch up areas where the part attached to the parts trees or the invariable flash edges. The more experienced modeler would drop the entire chromed tree into brake fluid and strip off the chrome. Even so, the metalizers on the market could still not achieve a chrome finish - until Alclad II. With Alclad II Chrome, you get the same highly reflective finish without the heavy layers of paint and you'll see details on your parts previously obstructed by the kit's chrome process.

The only catch is that the Alclad II Chrome must go down over a gloss black surface to achieve that chrome appearance. Introducing Alclad II Gloss Black Base. This is a primer that goes down on a prepared surface that will be metalized. Not only does this base make Chrome pop out, it did wonders with Polished Steel as well.

In this test, I took a resin Altas missile kit, applied the gloss black to a prepared surface, and within 20 minutes, it was ready for the Polished Steel. Alclad II will recommend waiting six hours before handling the black, but that warning allows for applications that may be too thick in conditions less than favorable for drying. Once the Polished Steel had dried 20 minutes later, the model could be handled without fear of fingerprints, in fact, in the third photo, I had applied masking tape around the base of the polished steel to apply a darker metalizer. When I removed the tape, there was no evidence that any of the Alclad had pulled up. Nice!

My sincere thanks to Alclad II for these review samples!