Mirrored effect

[Dedwrekka]

I wanted to know if anyone had tried this technique.

Undercoat in black. Paint in a very shiny silver color. Paint on several coats of GW glosscoat (now know as GW \'ardcoat I think).

I was planing to paint several tau stealth suits this way, and I was wondering how well it worked before I use it.

 

[DennisMech]

I think the bumpiness of the texture would stop it from working. Even if you did it very smoothly, it still wouldn\'t be mirror level, just very shiny. I suppose you might be able to make a metal cast of the minis, and polish it a lot, but I still don\'t think that would be enough.

 

[Trevor]

Yeah, I don\'t think it would look very good.

 

[Fizl]

I\'ve not tried them myself, but how about the Vallejo alcohol based metallics. Aren\'t they supposed to have a finer grain? And don\'t shoot me for saying, but wouldn\'t a metallic enamel be quite smooth? (I havent used enamels in 20 years so my memory of them may be a tad rusty!).

Shaz

 

[supervike]

shiny yes...

I think you would end up with a very glossy, shiny effect, but not the \'mirror\' effect you may be looking for.


Of course, experimentation is always good. Give it a go and see what happens.

 

[U4-Welcome]

Message original : Fizl
I\'ve not tried them myself, but how about the Vallejo alcohol based metallics. Aren\'t they supposed to have a finer grain?

They are finer indeed, and look really nice, but aside from being alcohol-based (can\'t dilute or clean brushes with water !), they aren\'t quite mirror-like yet.

 

[Fizl]

Another option (just thought of one), could be silver leaf if you just wanted to do a shoulder pad or something. You can buff it really well if you are careful. Unfortunately I have no idea the effect sealing will have on it.

Shaz

 

[Dedwrekka]

They are finer indeed, and look really nice, but aside from being alcohol-based (can\'t dilute or clean brushes with water !), they aren\'t quite mirror-like yet.

Yes, but, if i\'m correct, the mirrored effect comes from the 4-7 coats of glosscoat over the shiny paint. Just like a mirror it has: a dark background, a shined serface, and a piece of translucent material.

 

[DennisMech]

Ha! it\'ll never work!

Nah, give it go! If you do by some freak chance succeed, then you can paint your minis like that, and laugh in our faces. Post results

 

[Dedwrekka]

RESULTS (Late as ever)

Ok, so painting metalics over a black undercoat, and then adding a number of gloss coat layers didn\'t work. However, I have been able to accomplish the technique by filing a metal mini, then polishing it, then adding GW \'ardcoat Glosscoat.

Attempts at picture takeing and scanning of the minis have resulted in my being blinded.

 

[Evil Dave]

Did you try chrome spray paint?
Don\'t know if it\'ll work but worth a shot.

 

[U4-Welcome]

Message original : Dedwrekka
Attempts at picture takeing and scanning of the minis have resulted in my being blinded.

That would explain your avatar lol.

 

[supervike]

gold leaf....

I know I have heard of gold leaf, but is there a \"silver leaf\" that could be layed down to get the mirrored effect?

 

[Dedwrekka]

I\'ll take a shot at it with chrome spray paint, but I don\'t think I\'ll be able to get it to a high enough shine.

@Supervike: I\'ve never heard of a silver leaf, but I\'m sure it\'s expensive, I\'ll look around though. Of course, gold leaf is just a thin gold plating over a surface, and most (if not all) metalic paint has some amount of the base metal mixed in to give it the shinyness.

I\'ll have to keep experimenting with different methods and materials.

 

[dauber22]

I don\'t know if you\'ll have enough surface area for the chrome paint to really give the full effect, but it\'s worth a shot.

You could probably get silver leaf @ Michael\'s. They used to carry Gold, Silver, and Copper leaf. It was not cheap - last I knew around $5 for a sheet about 5 X 7. It also needs a special adhesive I believe, which will be more money. All in all, I don\'t know how cost effective a solution it will be.

By the way, in the probably-more-than-you-wanted-to-know file. The stuff you commonly find called gold-, silver-, etc-leaf isn\'t really that at all, just gold-TONED or silver-TONED metal (aluminium, I believe). To get the real stuff, you\'d probably have to go to a jeweler or specialty store and fork over $ - that\'s \"big bucks\"

 

[Nelson]

Hey, stupid suggestion of the day here! What if you took the silver lining of a Jolly Ranchers pack and rubbed it on to the mini? You know, that stuff that you rub onto desks in school?

 

[Orchid_Noir]

Originally posted by Dedwrekka
I\'ll take a shot at it with chrome spray paint, but I don\'t think I\'ll be able to get it to a high enough shine.

@Supervike: I\'ve never heard of a silver leaf, but I\'m sure it\'s expensive, I\'ll look around though. Of course, gold leaf is just a thin gold plating over a surface, and most (if not all) metalic paint has some amount of the base metal mixed in to give it the shinyness.

I\'ll have to keep experimenting with different methods and materials.

There is everything from brass to aluminum to silver to 24k gold leaf, including some really interesting verigateds. I think the better option here is polishing, just remember to get some jeweler\'s rouge to keep the shine.

Orchid - who went from ceramics (the gold leaf) for many years to apprenticing as a jeweler b4 going Mom :flip: