JK Modeler's Guide - Ch. 2.5 - Let's Stop Taking Zoids Into the Bath

[Korvalus]

The process is essentially the same but typically you would use something like Alclad II Chrome rather than Leadbelcher. Leadbelcher is a medium/dark silver with fairly low reflectivity, if you haven't seen it before Alclad II Chrome has a finish so reflective it's like a mirror - that's what you want ideally for candy coating. Since Alclad Chrome is a lacquer, you're going to want to airbrush both it and the primer (which will also need to be a lacquer). As I said, it's not difficult as such - it's just a lot of airbrush cleaning.

Yakumo just says シルバー (silver) in the manga and I considered being a bit more specific but eventually decided to just translate what was on the page.

I knew it wasn't that simple XD. To be honest, I'm avoiding airbrushes like the plague (prices + maintenance + short paint sessions + unsuitable paint schemes) and prefer using sprays and both synthetic and marten brushes.

After checking the Alclad II I agree no it being more suitable. Citadel metallic paints are very subdued in their shine, even the clearer ones like Stormhost or Liberator Gold and if you need chrome levels of reflection for candy coating makes sense they're not suitable.

But seriously, the technique is painful just on the amount of airbrush cleaning. I think I'll stick to my Contrasts.