What's good for recreating brushed aluminum look?

I have an old MPC/Ertl RD-D2 kit, and the chrome plating really irks me.

If you look at photos of R2, his head appears more like brushed aluminum, at least to me.

So while the FAQ tells me how to get the chrome off the parts, I'm stumped on what to use for the brushed aluminum. The local hobby shop has a healthy supply of Testors Model Master paints, as well as (I think) some of the metalizer stuff.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Reply to
Casey Tompkins
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Reply to
Dave Calhoun

Dave,

Thanks! I take it both choices (dull *and* semi-gloss) you mention are laquer, yes?

I've forgotten what can get sprayed on what; I generally use acrylics for hand-detail and airbrushing, and Testors enamel spray can for non-airbrush large areas.

I'm thinking the dull would look better. While the box photos (Return of the Jedi; R2 with those those loathesome teddy bears!) show a bright shine off of his head, I suspect that's the studio lighting, so a "natural" look would be more akin to (say) old-school audio equipment with the aluminum front, instead of today's flat black.

Note to self: get more photos! :)

Reply to
Casey Tompkins

One option is to apply aluminium kitchen foil which has a brushed finish using Microscale foil glue. I'm not familiar with the r2 model ,but from IIRC from the movie he has a domed head which would be a bit of a challenge to apply foil to ,but it would be possible with careful cutting .At least the foil glue will allow you to remove the foil if you make a mistake.

Reply to
Kevin(Bluey)

I would have thought that just a sprayed aluminium coloured paint would do. This is going to give a flat metallic look but not brushed.

However, I think that the brushed effect is something you only see on a full size item when you are close up. Imagine the equipment panels you mentioned - standing 1 foot away you can see the brushed effect - but stand

3 yards or more away and it suspect that it just looks like a flat uniform aluminium colour.

I assume your R2D2 is not full size, so at scale I don't think your would see the brushed effect - in fact any attempt to reproduce a brushed effect would probably be massively overscale.

Cheers,

Nigel

Reply to
Nigel Heather

Exactly - take something that is brushed aluminium (like cellphone Siemens-BenQ S68) and imagine it in your scale. (for example by looking from a distance)

Maciek

Reply to
Maciek

I am not sure which brands currently have it, but there are/have been flat aluminum paints. I think the R2D2 is more of a mill finish than a brushed aluminum, but flat aluminum does a good job representing brushed aluminum. For mill finish, I spray the chrome piece very lightly with Testors Dullcoat.

Reply to
Don Stauffer in Minnesota

in article snipped-for-privacy@h76g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, Don Stauffer in Minnesota at snipped-for-privacy@usfamily.net wrote on 6/9/06 9:42 AM:

I've had good luck with Floquil's Platinum Mist. It's a very finely ground flat aluminum that's pretty easy to apply. Pip Moss

Reply to
Pip Moss

For the best finish and description of brushed aluminum I've ever seen go to:

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Go to the bottom and click on "Article"

Then go about 2/3's of the way down to " 'Hybrid Painting Method' for natural metal" for a description of his painting method. It is truly unbelievable!

Art

Reply to
Art Murray

My technique for applying a brushed or grained look - like what you see on American Airlines jets - is to use a pencil eraser in parallel straight strokes on foil before applying it. It can work on BM foil, but I find that it's a bit delicate for that. Back the foil with glass, stone or metal and use a guide to keep the eraser strokes parallel. Obviously you can alternate directions of grain on neighboring panels.

Ken

Kev> > I have an old MPC/Ertl RD-D2 kit, and the chrome plating really irks > > me.

Reply to
Ken D

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