I have developed a method to achieve a metal finish that is easier than any other method I have seen and much less expensive than all of the pre-packaged paint systems on the market. It produces a metal finish that is as good as any of the expensive metal paints I have seen and you do not have to be a paint expert to accomplish the metal finish. I am going to provide a tutorial and a list of the items needed so that others can benefit from this method. Using this method anyone can have a metal finished plane even if you do not have any painting experience. If you already have the clear and a gun you can create this finish for less than $100.00 for a 1/5 scale airframe. The amount of clear used is very small because of the mix ratio.

Here are the items you will need:

Rustoleum Black Primer Item#2089 (the can actually says Dark Gray)
Rustoleum Metallic Paint Item#7718 (Can has a chrome lid)
Automotive gloss clear with hardener
Automotive Thinner
400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 grit wet sandpaper
space heater
spray gun for applying the clear
Tack Cloth (old tack cloth is better)

This tutorial assumes that you are working with a composite surface airframe. The same results could be accomplished with glassed wings I suppose.

1) Start by sanding the surface of the part with 400-600 grit paper to prep for primer. After the surface if roughed follow with 800 to smooth slightly.

2) Now, turn on your space heater and warm the Rustoleum black primer. Test if it is warm enough by shaking to see if can gets cold again. Once warm spray a fairly heavy wet coat of black primer. You only need one wet coat. Allow to dry overnight unless you have a method to heat the part to cure it completely. Most other paint methods use a primer plus black base coat. Using black primer eliminates one step and saves time. Some systems also apply clear over the black, this is not required or necessary.

3) Once dry, wet sand the primer with 800 grit paper, followed by 1000, and then 2000 grit paper. By now the finish will be very smooth. Use a moist paper towel and clean the part. Look for any areas that need additional sanding. If the part is ready, take a dry paper towel and polish the part until it begins to become shiny. Rub for a few minutes and you will see it take on a polished look. The black surface is now ready for the metallic paint to be applied. Clean with moist paper towel one more time if needed, I usually don't. The smoothness of your part at this step determines the smoothness of the metal finish. Metal is smooth and does not look like paint, take your time to get it right now so you get a nice smooth metal look.

4) Warm the metallic paint and test by shaking as before. Warming the paint makes it thinner and will allow you to spray a very fine mist of the aluminum onto the parts surface. Follow the next steps closely to achieve the metal finish. Wipe the black surface with a tack cloth to remove any dust before spraying metal paint.

5) Applying the metal paint: Move fairly quickly when spraying the metal paint and start on one side of the part and make overlapping passes with the metal paint just like painting any item. The only difference is that you must completely cover the area you are working on before making the next overlapping pass and working your way from one side of the part to the other. You cannot come back to an area that has already been sprayed so make sure you have complete coverage while spraying that area and that it has the polished metal look. You will immediately see the high polished metal finish develop as you make the second pass over the top of the first pass, creating the wet look.

DO NOT try to re-coat any part after the metal paint has dried. If you have not achieved the desired effect then sand the metal off and re-coat with black so you can start over. Follow the paint method above and you will never need to do this!! Allow the metal paint to dry overnight or you may have problems with applying the clear.

DO NOT touch, rub, wash or wipe the surface of the metal paint finish before you apply clear, except with the tack cloth as explained below..

If any one need further explanation of this let me know, it is not easy to explain in words,


6) Use a tack cloth and very, very lightly wipe the surface of the metal finish before applying the clear. If you have a new tack cloth, remove it from the bag and open it up to allow it dry some before using it on the metal surface. If it leaves any streaks you will see it when you apply clear. I used an old tack cloth, just make sure it is not dirty.

7) Applying clear coat: Mix your automotive clear gloss paint with recommended hardener and reduce 300% with thinner. Spray a light mist coat (it must NOT be wet) and let dry 20-30 minutes (you can probably apply decals now). The purpose of the mist coat is that it seals the paint and allows for a heavier coat of clear without affecting the appearance of the metal finish. Once dry you can spray a normal wet clear coat to finish sealing the metal paint and decals. One coat of clear is usually sufficient, too heavy and it looks like paint. If you have applied decals then obviously you need to mist coat those as well before the final wet clear coat. Let it dry and you are done.

The finish produced is excellent and easy to achieve. You can simulate a semi-gloss finish or a high polish finish depending on the costs of clear applied. Again, just be careful as you can make it look like paint by using too much clear. Ue only as much as is required to produce the finish you desire.

I am glad to help anyone who needs help with a project using this method.

Gary