Republic F-84G Thunderjet; Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team

Ben M
Looks great. You dechromed it?

Dave Burgess
Nope. Just hit it with Alclad Black primer and Alclad Mainframe Aluminum.

Ben M
I built a plated kit a while back, it's a bit frustrating 😀

Dave Burgess
Yeah. the problem with the plating is that it's so thin that it gets scratched off too easily, the liquid cements themselves will remove it, and sanding the seams does as well. Plus the decals don't adhere very well so you have to clear-coat it before applying them. I know some people will drop the trees in a bleach bath to remove all of the chrome, but that just sounds like too much work to me! Most of the time, I just avoid buying them, unless it's the only available option, They usually add a few dollars to the kit as well - another reason to avoid them. Besides, these days there are LOTS of good metal finish products available on the market.