Great progress, pity for the zinc chromate mishap, my friend @gblair.
Nice, clean airbrush!

I planned to get a bunch of painting done today, but it was horribly humid here in Central Texas, so I limited my painting to some simple stuff. I also did some preliminary work on the decals. I wasn't sure if the decals could go over the NMF without additional gloss, so I tested it under the wings. The Icarus decals are fairly thick, a lot like Revell or Monogram decals. I put one roundel under each wing. It was obvious the decals weren't going to hug the detail without some help. I tried pressing them into place with an ear bud. No luck there. I then tried using MicroSol on the roundel under one wing. After 6 applications, the panel lines were just starting to be visible in the decal. On the other roundel, I used Tamiya MarkFit (Strong). After 3 applications, I began to see the panel lines in the decal. So, you can apply the decals directly to the NMF, and neither MicroSol or MarkFit appear to damage the finish. I will look everything over tomorrow. The last thing I did was to cover the tail with some clear gloss. I applied very thin Tamiya Clear in very thin layers. More tomorrow. Cheers.

5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Great job so far, my friend @gblair!

I’ve never had this issue when spraying MIG AMMO. When brushing the paint directly on the plastic it happens sometimes though when the surface is a bit “oily”.
Maybe you’ve hit a Monday morning bottle?
The decals and tail look very good by the way!

I finished painting the NMF today. It has been an interesting process that featured a lot of learning and pivoting when my original ideas didn't work. Here is the crooked path I took:

The NMF started with an overall layer of AK Xtreme Duraluminum. I let it dry for 24 hours before I did anything else. I was worried that it wouldn't stand up to tape and other masking materials, but it has been very sturdy, so far.

For the next step, I wanted to paint two fuselage panels in a darker tone. I still don't like to put lacquer through my airbrush (Isn't it amazing? A decade ago that's all I used.), so I wanted to use Vallejo Metallics, which are acrylic. I masked the panels and started painting with my airbrush, but I soon discovered that the Vallejo wouldn't stick to the slick surface of the AK lacquer. It formed small beads of color that pooled on the surface of the lacquer. I tried several different methods to spray the Vallejo (full strength, high pressure, low pressure, diluted), but nothing worked. In the end, I wiped off the Vallejo and decided to try something new.

For my next attempt, I used some Alclad II that I had purchased several years ago, but had never used. The AK lacquer and Alclad II appear very similar, so I figured they would work the same. That was sort of true. The full-strength Alclad sprayed very well and went on smoothly. I applied the Alclad on the fuselage panels, then on the leading edge panels of the wing. Everything looked good until I removed the masking. Everywhere I had used the Alclad, the masking tape left a bunch of glue residue. This had not been the case for the AK.

Next problem, how to remove the glue residue. I had some medical pads that are designed to remove the glue residue left over from medical patches that are worn on the skin. This makes sense, right? Use the stuff that is designed to remove glue residue. I tried the pad on the elevator. It removed a good portion of the paint really quickly, so I decided the pads needed to go back in my bathroom. I did some reading online, which offered a bunch of different ways to remove the residue, always with the admonition to test on someplace inconspicuous. I finally decided to try full strength 90% alcohol. My first pass over the glue residue removed about 90% of the residue. I decided to let the NMF rest for a while before I attacked the rest of the glue.

I used rubber gloves whenever I handled the model. I don't usually do this, so it took some getting used to. The humidity here today is 85%. It is lower inside, but there was a lot of moisture inside the gloves when I took them off. Lots of fun.

I plan to remove the rest of the glue, check my finish, and then put the decals on tomorrow. I am still expecting a disaster somewhere, so I am wary of what is coming. Cheers everyone.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

The world is waiting for a really good solution to NMF finishes. We keep getting these new products which seem to work and indeed do work most of the time. But not 100% of the time. Sorry to hear of your troubles George (@gblair). Take it one step at a time.I know it's frustrating, been there myself fairly recently. Perhaps mask with post it notes on the next go around.

Great progress despite the setbacks, my friend @gblair!
I think repainting the offending area will be a smooth process. Ah, yes, the phantom leading edge seam is always our companion 🙂