What's a perfect finish? And how good are you at painting one?

If you have ever seen an unpainted aluminum storm or screen door you will know that bare aluminum oxidizes to a dull light gray. Aircraft aluminum does not oxidize nearly that much but it also isn't especially shiny unless a highly polished showbird.

A perfect bare metal finish is a lot more about preparation and application skill than it is the spritzing of some magical compound that does all the work for you. If you expect a perfect finish you will need to do showroom car quality work on your model without obliterating the details.

So, among your options are the gloss black base and Alclad metallic system (probably the most popular paint choice) , the various metallics of other paint brands or you can go with Bare Metal Foil for an authentic finish.