David shows how to apply Bare Metal Foil

Transcript*

Intro

Hello all. This is David from Loisirs vers le soleil. And in today’s video, I finally get to talk about something that isn’t hobbies. We’re discussing hair metal. I can finally tell you all about these great bands like Rat, Dawan, Wasp, Mly Crew. Oh, today I’m actually talking about Bare Metal. I grew my hair out for nothing.

Applications

You and I being hobbyists, we both know how tricky it can be to paint metallics, especially chrome. So, let’s say you’re working on a a car. Uh you’re painting the rims and maybe some of the trim in a very nice, very expensive chrome paint and it looks beautiful. You can see your reflection in it, but then as soon as you put the varnish on, that lustre just goes away and you’re left screaming to the heavens, “Why can’t I get metallic paints to look good?”

Well, then you have this secondary option. Bare Metal Foil. This is essentially well metal pressed into a very thin foil with an adhesive back on it that you can cut pieces out of just simply stick it onto your model. And not only can this be used on cars, it can also be used on planes, uh, miniatures. basically anything that would have a metallic finish. It’s a a great secondary option for those of us who are just frustrated with trying to paint metallic colours.

And uh yeah, it’s like uh the tagline says, the answer to a modeler’s prayers. So, this particular bare metal foil I’m looking at is from well, the Bare Metal Foil Company. Uh they make uh several different shades of metal. I’m using three here as an example. Uh ultra bright chrome, black chrome, et matte aluminum. And for my test subjects, I’ve got this car body, which I’ll be using to demonstrate how to apply thin trim along a window. And I’ve also got a plane here where I will be using the foil to demonstrate putting foil over different panels to give it that uh realistic look, not just one bland shade of of metal.

Tools Needed

So, let’s get started. One last thing before we get started is I’m going to show you exactly what tools you’ll need to complete this. First, you need a hobby knife. And this foil tends to dull uh blades pretty quickly. So, you’re going to need some fresh spare blades. Uh you’ll need a ruler. And you will also need some cotton swabs and a toothpick. So, I’m going to start off by showing you how to do trim on a car.

Measuring and Cutting

First thing you want to do is take your ruler and measure the area that you will be working on. So about 4.5 cm by 5.2 by 3.4. Take a piece of foil, but cut just a little larger than those dimensions. You’re going to want some wiggle room. So, having made adjustments to the measurements that I will need, I’ve decided that I will do 4.7 by 5.5 by 3.9.

So, I’ve got a new blade in there and we’re going to start cutting. Now, the idea of having a fresh blade in there is that this should just slide across and cut the foil. If it starts tearing in any way, then your end result’s kind of ruined. So, it has to be a very sharp blade. And if you feel like it’s tearing in any shape or form, then you should change your blade. So, now we’re going to go 3.9 across.

Applying

Okay. So, as I mentioned earlier, these have adhesive backs to them. So, we’re going to stick this onto the car and go from there. So, the next thing you’re going to want to do with your fresh blade is we’re want to cut the inside perimeter of this window, but we don’t want to cut right up against the edge of the uh car frame. Uh we want a little room to fold this on the inside.

So give it maybe about 2 cm and just poke and cut. And because this stuff is quite precious and we’ve got so much of it left over, we’ll take our paper backing and stick it back on there so that you can use it for something else later. Now, what we want to do next is just cut little slits diagonally in the corners. So now we can fold this on the inside. So now uh just to make sure everything is secure, I’m taking my toothpick and really pressing it into the crevices. And be careful when using a toothpick. They can tend to be sharp and you don’t want to poke a hole in your foil.

All right. So, now with another fresh blade, we’re going to want to trim away the excess, leaving only a thin line of trim all across the window. So, we’ll start on this end. And again, go gently. If you don’t cut all the way through, you can always make another pass. So, yeah, not too difficult. So, I’m just going to quickly remove the rest and then I’ll get right back to you. So, there’s how you do trim.

Uh, I would also like to iterate that this should be done towards the end of your car building process as uh bare metal foil doesn’t really play nice with paint or varnish. So, when building your car, you’re going to want to paint, varnish, and polish it, all that stuff before you get onto this. And that is how it’s done.

Different Shades

Now, I’m going to show you how to do different shades of metallic panels on aircraft. I was originally going to use this old Corsair for my demonstration, but uh having looked at it, uh the guy who gave us this sanded that the surface so much that the panel lines are so barely existent that it’s like they’re not even there. So, forget that. Instead, I’ll use this SR71 as you can still feel the panel lines on that one.

So, in this case, you can still measure the panels if you like with your ruler, but I honestly think it’s better to just take your recycled piece of foil and simply place it over where you want it to go. And again with your toothpick or I’m sorry, your cotton swab, gently press it on. And you’ll find the panel lines pop out easier. You know, I actually really am liking this stuff. Maybe I’ll use it for my planes more often. Okay. And with your toothpick this time, just gently trace it along the panel lines. Make them pop out even more.

And now with yet another fresh blade, you’re just simply going to want to cut along the panel lines. And you’ll just peel off the excess. Perfect. Just for a little more of a demonstration, I’m going to show you all different shades of metal on this same plane just to have some variance with your shades of metal. So, now I’ve got some matte aluminum foil, which I’m going to place right next to it. There you have a nice bare metal variance.

Uh, I did a black chrome off screen, but uh, being an SR71, it’s kind of uh, unnoticeable. That’s basically all there is to it. Now, the adhesive backing on these foils, I was actually pretty impressed with. I was expecting them to not hold at all. So, you shouldn’t have any issue with adhesion.

Microscale Adhesive

But if you do need uh just a little more hold, you can always get this metal foil adhesive that Microscale makes. Basically, uh take a little bit of it on a either a Q-tip or a disposable brush and just place it over underneath the area where the foil will go. And that should give it some extra hold.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, bare metal foil is a great alternative to painting metallics. It’s simple to use as long as you know the proper technique, and it gets you past all those hurdles of painting with chrome. I’ve even heard that you can use plain old aluminum foil for the same purpose. But, uh, let’s not give supermarkets our business. So, you can find bare metal foil in different shades and colours at Sunward Hobbies in store or online. Thank you very much for watching this video.

Remember to like, comment, subscribe, follow us on our socials, and until the next one, adios.

About the Author:

David Peckam has built scale models since he was 12, specializing largely on military aircraft. He is a makeup artist and background actor for films and TV. He enjoys watching hockey and of course, movies. He has an excellent knowledge of hobby products and if you have questions concerning scale model airplanes.

*Video by David Peckham
Video Edited by Daniela Castellano
Transcript generated by youtube
Edited by Angelo Castellano