Using Mirror Silver

I saw an advertisement for this paint in a recent issue of Model Graphix, and I was really excited that Mr. Color was getting into chrome paints, specifically the SMS1 Mirror Silver. One thing that I’ve never really liked about car models is the chrome parts. Sometimes the chrome they use doesn’t look right once it’s scaled down, or even worse, a company can use cheap chrome, and that can make a model look toy-like.

But probably the thing that’s kept me away from chromed parts the most is that once you cut the parts off the sprue, the chrome is now gone. And you’ll need to find a good, shining silver to cover it up. Now, a lot of model companies are designing modern kits that don’t need any cleaning on the chrome, just cut off the parts and glue them on.

As great as this is for us, the modeler, what do you do about replacing all of the chrome? Well, let’s see if Mr Hobby has the answer.

Now I should note that Mr Color doesn’t exactly refer to this as “chrome” but Mirror Silver, and that they also state that this is for expert modelers, and can only be used with an airbrush. I did try hand brushing it, and it just turned into a grey puddle.

I checked with the GSI Creos website to see if there were any more directions or what type of paint this is. Sadly, (at the time of writing this), the website is blank aside from a picture of the box. But I did some reading on a Japanese forum, and they state that this is an acrylic paint, similar to the Aqueous range.

Reading over the instructions, I’m going to try following them as best as I can. However, I don’t have any Acrysion Gloss Black, so I’m going to try a few different paints and see how the results differ.

This is quite the pre-flight checklist for some paint, so I’m a bit concerned that this paint isn’t going to be as user-friendly as I had anticipated.

Here is the bottle of paint, it’s a pre-thinned paint, and quite dark. It almost takes on a graphite color, and Mr Hobby suggest stirring the paint before use. It is very, very runny, so I would advise against pouring it directly into your airbrush and instead using a pipette to transfer the paint.

In my searching, I stumbled on this demonstration video on the GSI Creos YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/@gsi5679). It gives more instructions on how to apply this paint, but it’s all in Japanese.

So I’ve done my best to translate the video segments here with the help of Google Translate.

Step 1: Apply a base coat with glossy acrylic paint.

Apply Acrysion Paint diluted with Acrysion Airbrush Thinner.

We recommend N2 Black Gloss. It depends on the color of the base, the finish will be slightly different.

Acrylic Resin has a high moisture content and is easy to repel, so it can be applied to objects. Be sure to remove the release agent thoroughly.

Step 2: Apply Mirror Silver little by little.

Allow the Acrylic to dry thoroughly for about a day (24 hours). Once that’s done, paint it Mirror Silver.

When the surface becomes mirror like, apply more paint little by little.

Instead of spraying all at once, squeeze the needle a little. Lower the paint and apply it by sprinkling it little by little.

Once you have painted everything, just spray air from the airbrush onto the surface. This will help it dry.

NG (No Good) Apply Mirror Silver thickly at once!

If you apply mirror silver all at once, the surface will turn whitish. Do not apply thick coats at once.

– It seems that there is a delicate balance between the silver and “cloudy” silver, so I’m going to have to be very careful with this paint. I’ll try my best, but I’m guessing that this paint is going to take time to master properly.

Years ago now, a Taiwanese modeler was showing us how he replicated chrome on his Gundam and car models. And the chrome he demonstrated came in a variety of bright colors that he applied to the models. The chrome he used was a powder, and he told us that the powder had little to do with the reflective properties and everything to do with the gloss black that was laid down first.

Now he polished his gloss black to a mirror finish, and for the purposes of demonstrating different paint reactions, I’ll be applying different gloss blacks and clear gloss, thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner.

I’ve started with Mr Color C2 Black. I’ve thinned the paint about 40-60 (Paint to Thinner), so that I can apply light and wetter coats, which should help bring out a brighter gloss.

I decided to intensify the gloss on a few of the samples, and for this, I applied Mr. Color GX100 Super Clear III. This was painted on the same as the Black at a 40-60 ratio. As the instructions directed, I left the paint alone to dry for 24 hours.

I played around with the paint and created several samples. I didn’t get quite the reflection I wanted, but the paints are a lot more reflective than the pictures show. As you can see, they did turn “whitish” in certain areas. I blame this on myself for being a bit too ambitious with the paint, as well as having odd lighting in the room at the time to properly see how much paint I had applied.

But before I get to the samples, I would like to explain my process.

I poured the Mirror Silver into my airbrush and lowered the pressure as far as it would go. I don’t have a regulator on it, but it would be about 4-5 psi. I also shut off my fan to try and avoid particles in the air. Unfortunately, the spoons were quite static and attracted particles anyway.

I slowly sprayed on the paint similar to the video demonstration, and carefully and gradually built up a layer of silver. It’s a very delicate balance between enough and too much paint. It requires a lot of focus to paint on, and it’s easy to overdo it. You also need to apply each pass of paint evenly, which was another reason why areas went whitish. Overcoming this will require practice and patience.

Here I’ve sprayed over the Mr. Color C2 Black, and the reflection is quite good. When I picked up the spoon, I could see the image from my t-shirt reflecting back.

Here is the sample with the Mr. Color Gx100 Super Clear III, and this had a much better reflection than before. I could see a lot reflected around me, and it was quite impressive. If I could get the balance right in painting, this could look very attractive on a model kit.

Because the Super Clear III is a lacquer, you can polish this further to help improve the gloss and create a much clearer and bolder reflection.

While I was rummaging around looking for another paint, I stumbled on a Tamiya X-1 Gloss Back that I didn’t know I had. I decided to test it and see if acrylics improve the reflection as Mr. Color instructs.

I’m surprised by this result. I painted the Mirror Silver on a lot thinner this time, and the reflection is clearer. I’m impressed with the gloss that this Tamiya produces; it was also a lot nicer than I expected.

While I was glossing spoons for paint samples, I decided to also try Tamiya LP-48 Sparkling Silver. I had recently seen a modeler demonstrate its reflective properties, and thought that this could be another chrome alternative.

For metallics, in particular lacquer metallics. I use Mr. Rapid Thinner. This is made by Mr. Hobby, and is the opposite of Mr. Leveling thinner, as it has an accelerator in it which will speed up the drying time, but when it’s used with metallics, it will rearrange the particles for a more even and beautiful finish.

The Sparkling Silver is already quite a thin paint, but I wanted it to be a lot thinner, similar to the Mirror Silver. It sprayed on really well, and though it’s nowhere near as reflective or clear as the Mirror Silver. It is surprisingly more reflective than I expected, and it really does sparkle.

I want to try this again in the future and test thinning it further. I think that could be the key to creating a more mirror like finish. But because it’s lacquer, it’s a harder and more sturdy paint, so that makes it easier to handle.

Mr. Color does say that you can add on a gloss coat to protect the Mirror Silver, but that this could dull the paint. A few days ago, I stumbled on Gauzy Agent, Shine Enhancer, from AK Interactive, and I thought this would be perfect to test on the paints.

As far as I understand, Gauzy Agent is an acrylic clear coat AK Interactive designed to seal in their Xtreme Metal paints. I haven’t used it before, but I think this is similar to Alclad Aqua Gloss ALC600.

I sprayed the Gauzy Agent over the Mirror Silver, and I was impressed that it did make the silver more reflective. It did cloud up the silver a bit; however, I partially blame this on the Gauzy Agent being a bit thicker than I anticipated.

If I can figure out how to thin it some more and apply a thinner gloss, I think the end result will be a very nice reflective shine.

Gauzy Agent is pre-thinned, and it works quite well poured straight from the bottle, but I think if it were a bit thinner, it would have more satisfactory results.

I also painted the Gauzy Agent over the LP-48 Sparkling Silver, and this is where I saw the biggest change. It really enhanced the silver to a point where it could easily reflect light around the room.

Just for a comparison, here on the left is the Mr. Color Mirror Silver, and on the right Tamiya LP-48 Sparkling Silver. Neither of these has the Gauzy Agent clear coating.

It’s interesting to see how the Mirror Silver catches the reflection of my desk and the photography lamp. And you can see the slight reflection of my hand in the Sparkling Silver.

Left to Right, they are: (1) Mr. Color 2 Gloss Black; (2) Mr. Color GX100 Super Clear III; (3) Tamiya X-1 Gloss Black; (4) Gauzy Agent Shine Enhancer.

Some final thoughts on this Mirror Silver.

It’s not chrome, which I was expecting, so it does have a slight grey tint to it rather than silver. And I do wonder if it is some kind of graphite, given the color of the paint in the jar.

This paint certainly isn’t easy to use, which was admittedly a letdown, as I was really hoping that this would be an easier product to use.

And I think that is going to be this paint’s greatest setback, you have to use an airbrush, and you have to practice getting that right balance with the paint. Also, this paint is fragile; it takes a week to properly dry, and without a clear coat, I can imagine the paint could get damaged before it reaches the model

I actually really like it, and I think it’s a very interesting paint, and one that I hope Mr. Hobby will continue to develop more paints into this range.

I really didn’t see that great a result from using gloss black acrylics and lacquers, so until Mr. Color comes out with an exact reason why, I’ll continue to use Super Clear III.

I didn’t get the exact results I hoped to achieve, but I got enough of a good reaction and a greater understanding of this paint to keep me optimistic, so I want to try it again. And I hope that this post will help you when you pick up this paint, so that you can avoid any of my blunders and achieve that elegant mirror like finish.

This was a fun test, and I can’t wait to see what Mr. Hobby will bring out next!

About the Author:

Jared Demes is a modeler from southern Alberta. He has been building models since he was 4 years old when his Dad first introduced him to the hobby. He has written for several magazines including, Fine Scale Modeler, Scale Aircraft Modeling, Phoenix Scale Models, and others. He has an interest in all modeling subjects, with a focus on WWII Japanese aircraft and Science Fiction.

Jared has won several IPMS awards for his modeling, and currently operates his YouTube channel rebelsatcloudnine, where he showcases model builds and product demonstrations.