Paint test: "Have Glass" experiment

[Spey Phantom]

every modeler building an F-22 has one big problem, namely the Raptors metallic pearlecent coating, know has "Have Glass" (also seen on some F-16's, like dutch and Greek vipers)

exsample:



most builders prefer to use the Alclad2 types of paint, but these can be quite expensive for the budget minded modeller and not all hobbyshps have them available.
i have a couple of raptors in my stash and love to give them the "Have Glass" treatment, but i dont have that type of paint available.
thats why ive decided to develop some sort of easy and cheap to make coating, moslty by mixing thinner, metallic and transparent paints.

today, i have tested an experimental mixture (of witch the recepy still needs dosage perfection) with some early promising results
this 1/144 F-15 salvaged from my junkyard have become a testsubject for my Have Glass experiment.

the basic patern has been painted on with standard matt/satin greys, then with the Have Glass coating applied.

this coating is made with a mixure of Iron (Revell 91), clear gloss transparent (Revell 1) and a large ammount of revell color mix.
i might get better result with Satin or Matt clearpaint and darker gunmetal. once i perfected the dosage, i'll make a recipe for it.

first test results 



in light shot, the red square shows where the coating was applied, this is the same model, no modifications to the coating.

[Litvyak]

Isn't there some pearlescent clear available, I guess would be intended for use on car models? Couldn't that work?

[GTX_Admin]

Innovative approach!

[Litvyak]

Amendment to mine: I asked that mainly because I assume Nils' idea - which looks promising! - is something that can only be done with an airbrush... which I don't have (yet).

[Spey Phantom]

Amendment to mine: I asked that mainly because I assume Nils' idea - which looks promising! - is something that can only be done with an airbrush... which I don't have (yet).

forgot to mention, this is not airbrushed, but handbrushed.
mosly a mix of stainless steel paint, clear paint and lots of thinner.
had to thin it almost waterlike, so i guess it can be used in an airbrush aswell, i must note that the coating dries very fast (due to the very thin layer), so if your airbrushing, clean it very thourough when your done.

[Litvyak]

Ooh, that's good to know! Thanks.

[Spey Phantom]

ok i did some preliminary testing and i made a temporary production recipe

what your gonna need is a Pipette (for dosage), paint thinner, transparent gloss (revell or humbrol,...), steel metallic paint (revell 91, or for  alternative brand, check paintcharts), toothpicks (or piece of leftover sprue, for mixing) and an empty paintjar, pantrydish or something else to mix the paint in.



take your mixingdish (or jar, pantrydish,...) and pour in, using the marked pipette:

-3.5ml Clear paint (preferably gloss)
-1 ml steel metallic paint
-4ml thinner

then mix it all toghther, you should get this result (can look bubbly)



before painting it on your intended model, test it on an older model from the scrapyard first. if the coat is not clear enough, you can always ad more thinner, if the mixure it to liquid, you can ad a bit more transparent paint.

the test with this mixture is shown on these pics (marked in red squares)



close up



tail surface



the recipe i noted is for quite a large dosage, so if you paint is satisfactory, anf you have some left over, you can always put in a tin or jar in case you need it again in the future.

[Litvyak]

That's looking pretty great!