Hey guys,

I was wondering what you all recommend for painting the glass of side view mirrors. I put a layer of Vallejo Model Color Silver on the mirrors of my M1117 Guardian, and it looks ok, but not great. I also tried chrome foils with adhesive backing, made by Model Maste, but it is verty difficult to work with.

Dan

Have you looked at these? http://www.echelonfd.com/
Check their mirror range.

Those are beautiful. Unfortunately, I have a time restraint and ordering decals will delay my weathering. I am trying to get this project done for the Buffcon show, this weekend.

Dan

Try this stuff. Ultra thin and not as fussy as MM.

http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal-foil.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwwoLHBRDD0beVheu3lt0BEiQAvU4CKuNrIXJhwu4KnDYhsZpI4jG_WPpRKUH5JwsOv3jPV3gaAuFa8P8HAQ

G

I have used regular kitchen foil - probably like the foil you have used but at least with no adhesive backing you can trim to size before fitting. Then the challenge is to not get glue on it! It's still tricky to get looking good though, but better than painting silver.

I may have found a solution. I have some nicotine patches left over from when I quit a few years ago. The patches are individually wrapped in paper and stuck to a 2x2 inch piece of a very shiny, silver backing material. I am going to cut it out, according to the mirror dimensions and attempt to glue it into position. If this doesn't work, I might just omit the mirrors altogether, since they are not yet attached. During my time in 2 ACR, our M1025 / M1026 HMMWVs often had the mirrors removed. So, I guess it is possible.

Dan

IF you want your mirror to really look like a glass-with-metal-backing mirror..... Try to do something close to that!

You can get some mighty nice "mirrors" by painting in the mirror with silver (almost all real mirrors were historically made with silver, and later with aluminum... so the silver color is pretty close to what the mirror color was in most cases) - and then add the "glass" by painting over that "metal" with some clear gloss or "Future". Future, which is a self-leveling acrylic floor finish, will form a very smooth glossy surface over your paint.

You can of course do exactly the same thing if you make your mirror with some metal foil glued down onto the mirror piece, and paint over it with some Future for the glass look.

Just a suggestion!

Bob

You can also use Mylar film cut from many food wrappers or medical products-- I save stuff like this in a special drawer n my work space-- I've got lots of clear plastic, Mylar and foils from various wrappers and food containers I've saved over the years (cleaned of course) that I keep in file folders in my "scratch building" drawer. I'm kind of a pack rat that way. However, for true "mirror like finishes" I prefer multiple coats of Alclad chrome, each polished with lens cleaning tissue paper. And another solution if you are a car builder and are willing to sacrifice a car kit-- the chrome plated mirror parts from model cars can be carefully shaved away and sanded down (on the backside) to fit military models. I'll often look for $1.00 or $2.00 deals at car shows just for parts like this in a car kit.
VR, Russ

There's a paint marker that's all the rage right now in the automotive circles that works fantastic for stuff like this. It's self leveling, and the finish is just like kit chrome , and can be sprayed thru an airbrush. The name is Molotow Liquid chrome marker

So you can use this stuff to paint chrome details on model vehicles? ie, 1/35 civilian vehicles that don't have chromed parts?

Yes it's a paint marker . Sorry my phone won't let me link it . Several modelers used it on cars truck's, even a tank at a recent show. One vendor commented how awesome it is spraying thru airbrush, or right out of the marker

Section 8 Hobbies has the all 3 sizes of the markers in stock. (or did on Friday 3/3/2017)