Top/clearcoating Molotow Chrome

[Evil Eye]

As you may recall, Molotow Liquid Chrome is an amazing paint. On small areas it works quite well by hand, either through their markers or with a synthetic brush, and thinned with levelling thinner it is stupendous through an airbrush. Like, one of the best-behaved highshine metallics I've ever worked with.

However, it's not flawless.

 

I have discovered to my great annoyance whilst airbrushing it onto test spoons that despite being alcohol based and thinnable with Mr. Levelling Thinner (AKA the lacquer airbrush paint equivalent of liquid talent), it is not in fact a true lacquer, and attempting to spray over it with lacquers- for instance, Mr. Clear Color paints- will reactivate the paint and cause it to at best dull into silver and at worse melt off completely, even after a month's worth of cure time. It is compatible with Alclad's excellent Candy Enamel range, and naturally aqueous paints are safe to use on top- though of course acrylics are also (IMO) a complete pain in the backside to spray compared to their solvent-based counterparts and tend to run and pool very, very easily.

 

Anyway- I suppose ultimately my question has a few layers. First of all, what exactly IS Molotow? Obviously it's alcohol based, but is it an alcohol based acrylic like Tamiya or is it one of those weird uncategorizable/unique paints? Secondly, what is and isn't safe to put over it (for metallic colour effects or even just protecting the finish etc)? And finally, is there any way of topcoating it with something that will withstand lacquers without damaging the finish? I assume not as presumably any paint able to cope with being covered by lacquers would be chemically "hot" enough to destroy the chrome.

[Cruor Vault]

I've found it works relatively well with All Clad Klear Kote Gloss.  It still dulls a little, but it's clearly still chrome when everything is dried.

 

I tried Spaz Stix gloss for chrome on it as well.  Most of the time it works a little better, with barely any discernable loss in lustre....  However the Spaz stix goes white and fuzzy ~10% of the time no matter what I do to prevent it.

[Bung]

For your candy colors use Createx Candy2O.

They are water based and as they are true airbrush colors they spray as a charm.

 

But i doubt you will find anything that doesnt dull the chrome finish at least a little.

You are spraying a layer over your metallic paint that breaks the light before it even comes to the metall pigments.