Making plastic look like metal

Flywheel primed and metalcote'd
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.

I don't think anyone has ever been fooled that anything painted with a metal look paint is really metal (have you ever seen convincing "chrome" paint), but I though I'd do what I could. To this end the beam engine flywheel has been sprayed with Humbrol Metalcote. This is a well regarded paint which, once dry, can be polished to a sheen.

Spraying it worked very well and the resulting finish is very smooth. Over the primer the result is slightly rough - just like a casting. Sadly what I want for this part is machined steel but it's not bad I suppose.

Polishing the paint makes a difference too. I'm still not convinced that you get something that looks like real metal but it's certainly not bad from a distance.

With the "metal" dry I spent ages masking off the rim of the wheel and then dug out some gloss dark green (Humbrol No.2). Spraying this was a nightmare. It wouldn't flow and when I tipped out the paint cup the pigment had broken up into congealed blobs.

In desperation I tried again eshewing my favoured cellulose thinners in preference for cheap white spirit. The results were instantly better with the paint flowing properly. I think this is due to the low temperatures in the garage I spray in. I don't understand why this should be but it's not the first time I've experienced it.