ATOM METALLIC Black

AMMO ATOM METALLIC Black — acrylic metallic paint, 20 ml

ATOM is a line of water-thinnable acrylic paints from AMMO of Mig Jimenez. METALLIC is the metallic subseries within that line: the binder stays the same water-thinnable acrylic, but instead of an ordinary color pigment the paint carries metal particles that give the finish a genuine metallic reflection. The bottle volume is 20 ml. The paint is self-leveling, dries fast and covers well; it is applied with a brush and an airbrush, and for spraying the manufacturer recommends thinning it with roughly thirty percent of thinner from its own ATOM line. Once dry the finish is durable — it takes acrylics, enamels and decal softeners over it.

What Metallic Black is and what it suits

The difference from an ordinary black is fundamental. A flat black closes the surface and detail vanishes in it; a black metal, by contrast, reads deeper and with more sparkle — light refracts in the metal particles, edges and engraving draw themselves out and the surface takes on the character of metal rather than plastic. Typical uses: weapon barrels and breeches, engine parts, exhausts and exhaust piping, steel surfaces, armor details, and not least sci-fi and mecha subjects, where dark metal carries the whole look of the model.

How to work with metallic paint

• Mix it thoroughly. The metal pigment is heavier than the binder and sinks to the bottom while standing. Shake the bottle properly before every use, until the mixing ball rattles freely in it — unmixed paint gives only a helpless gray with no sheen.
• A smooth base. A metallic does not hide the base but emphasizes it: every scratch from sandpaper will show under the metal. On a smooth, ideally glossy surface the metal lights up; on a rough flat one it goes dull.
• Apply it at the end. Metallic surfaces are hard to spray over and masking tape likes to pull the sheen off them. Put them at the end of the painting sequence, after the other shades.
• Thin coats. Metal does not need a heavy film but an even one — two thin coats look better than one heavy coat.

Who the paint is for

For modelers who paint vehicles, weapons and engines and want metal to look like metal. A water-thinnable acrylic will also be valued by those who work at home without extraction and do not want to bother with solvents.

Store the paint tightly closed and out of the reach of children. Clean the tools immediately after work, as dried metallic paint is hard to get out of a brush.