Review Summary
The reviews highlight a mix of experiences with the bronze lacquer, noting its ease of use, good coverage, and reliable performance even after prolonged storage. However, some users encountered issues such as a grainy matte finish due to heavy flake, incompatibility with other clear coats leading to adverse reactions like bubbling and loss of metallic sheen, and ineffective sealing properties. Additionally, the paint's color and sparkle are appreciated for retro aesthetics, though some suggest sanding before topcoating to manage the aggressive metallic sheen.
I wish it looked more like the cap
The Testors bronze lacquer was easy to use and covered quite well, however the flake is much too heavy and resulted in a grainy matte finish. I recommend it with those caveats.
Just my experience - not a recommendation
I was really curious about the new Testors claim that their Extreme Lacquers were a sealer, primer and paint, all in one application. If I could dispense with priming, that would save time and money. I airbrushed Testors Bronze on Revell's new Del Rio wagon, after having decanted it, and I was impressed at how beautiful and smooth it looked. Then, as I always do, I airbrushed Rustoleum's gloss clear lacquer over it, starting with a mist coat and finishing with a wet coat. The mist coat did not give any hint at the disaster that awaited. But after allowing a couple minutes for the mist coat to set up, I started the wet coat, and some kind of reaction started. I noticed one area where the paint seemed to be bubbling up, and other areas where the bronze seemed to be losing it's metallic look. I kept applying more wet coats in the hope that it would correct itself and start to look like glossy metallic. Unfortunately, the entire model started losing its metallic look and I was left with what could only be described as a metallic sludge. Needless to say, the whole thing went into an alcohol bath. So, it could be that Testors designed this product to only be compatible with their own one-coat lacquer finish, and if that's the case, my entire premise about saving money by eliminating a primer went right out the window. My chosen lacquer finish costs about $.50 per ounce, whereas the Testors product costs about $3 per ounce. Oh, and by the way, Extreme isn't a very good sealer, either. The roof of the model has a very distinctly flawed area, that Testors sealer did noting to hide.
Looks wild on a Wildcat
Testors 1847 Bronze comes out somewhere between Harvest Gold and Burnished Saddle Poly, two Buick colors from 1970. It has a fairly aggressive metallic sheen that could stand a good 1000+ grit sanding before topcoating, although I like the out-of-the-can sparkle from this paint. Another great retro '70's color!
