More realistic metal look?

[Spanky]

I need some help. I want to get a more realistic look of metal on my helmet/armor etc. Has anyone tried silver leaf? I know it comes in paper form but I also saw it in liquid. And nope, it wasn't just silver paint. I know silver is sprayed on at some point, and it looks great. But I was just thinking if this technique would work. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.


Spanky

 

[ShireFolk]

I kind of stumbled onto this technique if u can actually call it a technique, but when i took the tape off the parts of the helmet where i wanted metal to show through the bit of adhesive from the tape that stayed on the paint actually made the metallic paint look very much like real metal. Also it was the blue painters tape and it had stayed on for about 3-4 days.

-Shmeagol-

 

[Spanky]

So does that mean it did not work? I got from that was it came off. Let me know if I'm wrong. Thanks again.

 

[Jangos kid]

I tried messin around with that leaf stuff a little bit & really didn't have much luck. It just didn't seem to want to stick very well! It looks great & if its used for a model that will just sit on the shelf its probably great, but if your going to handle your props frequently I don't think its durable enough, but that doesnt mean others havent had better results w/ it. Best luck I had w/ making realistic metal look, is Testors rub & buff metalizer spray paint. Just spray it on, let dry a bit, then buff, then clear w/ Testors metalizer sealer. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Spanky]

Thanks JK. I have been doing models forever and have never heard of that. Thanks!

 

[DarthVader1]

This is just an idea that I'm gonna try soon and I've never tried it before, which I suggest to practice with a piece of plastic or something else rather than the helmet (like a plastic bottle or something similar to the Helmet's material to avoid a failure..cause we're talking about GLUE here and not just paint!

Try adding instead of paint, using pieces of Aluminum Foil, sticked with glue, could be plastic cement or Super Glue. Apply the glue to the areas that you really want, and then stick the little pieces or scrap of Aluminum foil. Probably you want to do this by one piece-one step at the time, before the glue dries up. Once the glue is dry, apply then to the areas that you don't want to be painted with Painters Masking tape (the one with the low stick power), start painting the helmet and then remove the tape really carefully, not to pull pieces of aluminum with it. This sounds like a great idea, which I'm gonna try sometime soon. If somebody was successful, let me know.

 

[mindphunk]

I think foil is too thin and has a tendency to wrinkle and or tear. I think pretty much all the helmets on here have been painted and they do give off a real look. Just be sure to do alot of coats.

 

[Packrat]

Or you could actually make it out of metal like metalboy and MMM.

 

[Megalomaniac Mando]

...heh heh heh ...

 

[Defiler]

If you want to be as accurate as posible like the movie used props is better to paint all parts of your armor. Many, if not all of the weathering of the original armor was done topically.

 

[Star Wars Chick]

Ahh, rub-n-buff, you seek rub-n-buff. Actually, this is a big topic over inJango since most of us aren't using metal for our aromr or helmets but need it to look like metal. This stuff works great- I used it on all my armor and my helmet, gauntlets, shoes, jet pack. If you want to know more about it, do a search in Jango for rub-n-buff.

 

[ShocKWavE]

Don't even get me started

 

[sithlord23]

I have recently in the past year been takin my sweet time, painting my helmet and armor and I used duct tape in spots, then pulled it off, and it left a realistic metal look, then I put a light layer of silver over that. and then the other colors, it might not be the most movie accurate, but it looks good

 

[DarthVader1]

I used the Blue painters tape, which you have to look for the LEAST strong in "stickyness", and that will work fine. I used it for my armor and i had no problems with it. Just remember, whenever you're painting your armor and/or helmet, paint and weather first, then take the pieces that you want to show silver off after the whole process.

Robert

 

[sith camaro]

Yeah, Rub N' Buff, or Brush N' leaf!

 

[bobagoat]

another thing you might try is picking up powdered graphite usually in the form of a lock lubricator thing. a bit of that will give your armor a metallic look. a little goes a LONG way for that stuff.

 

[thksdad]

hey, i went to Michael's craft store not too long ago, and bought a kit of the silver leaf...ya know...the foil stuff. it worked great for me....it was not the real silver leaf foil, but, it came in a kit, and worked great. the kit cost me $11. i'll try to find a link for it. hope this helps.
Michael

 

[Baddblood]

why not just vaccu-chrome it?

 

[thksdad]

whats that???? i have never heard of that.
michael

 

[snake fett]

Isn't that technique to paint bikes and such?