The Mr Metal Color range of paints are excellent, I use their Stainless to colour all my rigging wires.
Usually the paint does not need thinning and spays very well straight from the bottle, but if thinning is required I use just a tad of lacquer thinners (general purpose). No primer is needed but if you wish a coat of black under the metal finishes gives a very nice appearance, but be careful what paint you use as the lacquer thinners will react with the base coat.
Drying time is extremely fast, just a matter of seconds, but i usually wait a few minutes then I buff the paint with a soft brush or a cotton bud (Q tip).
Constant handling will eventually rub the paint off but if you apply a coat of clear this will solve that issue, but the clear will take away the effect of the metalic finish somewhat. If you dont want to apply a clear coat but plan on handling your painted item wrap it in a tissue paper first then that will eliminate the paint rubbing off.
I always clean my airbrush with Lacquer thinners, this does a great job.
The colour I used on my engine is Mr Metal Color Copper with about 10 - 15% Mr Metal Color Brass added, always stir the paint very well before using, avoid shaking the bottle if possible.
The Mr Metal Colors spray extremely well but can be brushed, because of the very fast drying time brushing can sometimes be a bit of a problem, brush painting small parts is okay.
Des.
