clear lacquer or clear acrylic?

Hello all,

I have a question, which is better for clear coating after color and decalling? Lacquer or acrylic. I have both in Tamiya and both would be airbrushed. The person at the hobby shop I go to says it's the same thing but I´ve heard that acrylic cannot give the same shine but it is less agressive with the decals.

All your comments and advise would be very much appreciated.

islero

These are my two cents

Acrylics; If you've used an acrylic paint for the cowling color this is the way to go, laquer is not suitable on top of acrylics. Acrylics take a lot longer to cure and are much more sensitive to finger prints and other damage.

Laquer; Much easier to polish out and gives a harder surface. Go easy with the first coats of clear over decals and you are safe. Just mist the first two coats.

As I always use laquer for my cowlings I always go for a laquer clear coat.

/Joel

Thank you very much for the tip, Joel. I did use lacquer for the color so it really makes sense to use the same kind of paint for the clear, it´s just that it sounds much easier to use acrylic than having to take out the paint out of the can, but I guess that if you want things to be done properly you have to put some work into it.

I will soon be posting some of my works, I only started recently and after seeing some of the things you guys do, I want to acquire some practice before posting anything. But I have really learned a lot here and I'm very pleased about how much you share your "secrets" with anyone, expertise that I am sure have taken quite a few years to reach.

Thank again,

islero666

Don't be shy to post your work. Its how you learn. Trust me! I put my work on even though its nowhere near as good as most people's here. What I find is that most folks here give great tips on how to improve what I'm doing based on what I'm showing them....

Thank you very much for the tip, Joel. I did use lacquer for the color so it really makes sense to use the same kind of paint for the clear, it´s just that it sounds much easier to use acrylic than having to take out the paint out of the can, but I guess that if you want things to be done properly you have to put some work into it.

I will soon be posting some of my works, I only started recently and after seeing some of the things you guys do, I want to acquire some practice before posting anything. But I have really learned a lot here and I'm very pleased about how much you share your "secrets" with anyone, expertise that I am sure have taken quite a few years to reach.

Thank again,

islero666
Just so you know, if you used Tamiya TS lacquer you might not even need to clear it. Compund, polish and wax might be just as effective and less trouble ;)

Of course it depends on paint used, is it a motor sports build with decals etc, but it's worth bearing in mind.

Why don't you show us? ;)

HTH

This may be a stupid question, but where would you find lacquer paints? Outside of decanting TS cans, where can you find lacquers for car bodies? I know Alclad II and Testor's Metalizers are lacquers, but I'm asking more about actual colors...

Daniel

It's not true that acrylic can't give a decent shine. This is Tamiya acrylic clear applied over mixed Tamiya acrylic color.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/67954109_0961.JPG

And yes, laquer clear is certainly more agressive than acrylic. Applied wrong, it can easily destroy decals and even paint underneith it. Which to use will depend alot on your skill and confidence in your airbrushing ability.

What are you building? How many decals are on it? Is the paint metallic? The safest way to learn to spray laquer clear is over a body with few or no decals, painted in a solid (non-metallic) color. Applied too fast or too heavy, laquer clear can soften/melt the paint it's sprayed on. On a solid color you likely won't see the effects, but on a metallic the damage would be more obvious. TS-13 has a well deserved reputation for eating what it's sprayed on. Applied correctly the results can be fabulous, but applied incorrectly you can almost always ruin what's under it.

If you're still just learning, acrylic clear can give a stunning shine also. For best results it has to be applied correctly, too- but even if it's not it won't destroy the paint and decals under it.

Just so you know, if you used Tamiya TS lacquer you might not even need to clear it. Compund, polish and wax might be just as effective and less trouble

I agree with Klutz_100.Sometimes I find that applying a clearcoat is not always necessary.Most motorsports cars have vinyl stickers for the sponsors and numbers etc.In reality they are not clearcoated over they are simply applied over the paintwork.I find with most of the Tamiya TS range a good rubbing compound and polish can bring up a brilliant shine without the need to clearcoat.I only use a clearcoat when I must (basecoat paints,some metallics etc) Why add an unnecessary step in the painting process if you don't need to.

As MPWR sais it's possible to get a shine using acrylic clear. My opinion though is that acrylic clear is SO much more easy to destroy when handling the model. Fingerprints in the paint are much more frequent on my acrylic surfaces than on my surfaces painted with laquer paint. That's why I would go for laquers BUT if the base paint is acrylic that is not a possible choice...
/Joel

Don't be shy to post your work. Its how you learn. Trust me! I put my work on even though its nowhere near as good as most people's here. What I find is that most folks here give great tips on how to improve what I'm doing based on what I'm showing them....

Thanks for oyur vote of confidence, pirata. I will be posting some of my work recently. I know people here do give great advice and they do it unselfishly.
In fact, I have learnt here a great deal. I am a graphic desginer but started only very recently to build moto gp bikes. I built models as a little boy, but that was many years ago and never went into real detailing which is my aim now.

islero666

Just so you know, if you used Tamiya TS lacquer you might not even need to clear it. Compund, polish and wax might be just as effective and less trouble ;)

Of course it depends on paint used, is it a motor sports build with decals etc, but it's worth bearing in mind.

Why don't you show us? ;)

HTH

I dis use TS lacquer and the the result was very pleasing, it does have a great shine, it's just that after aplying the decals for Barry Sheene's Yamaha I wanted to give it a clear coat to protect them and also to give it an extra polish and shine over them.

islero666

It's not true that acrylic can't give a decent shine. This is Tamiya acrylic clear applied over mixed Tamiya acrylic color.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/67954109_0961.JPG

And yes, laquer clear is certainly more agressive than acrylic. Applied wrong, it can easily destroy decals and even paint underneith it. Which to use will depend alot on your skill and confidence in your airbrushing ability.

What are you building? How many decals are on it? Is the paint metallic? The safest way to learn to spray laquer clear is over a body with few or no decals, painted in a solid (non-metallic) color. Applied too fast or too heavy, laquer clear can soften/melt the paint it's sprayed on. On a solid color you likely won't see the effects, but on a metallic the damage would be more obvious. TS-13 has a well deserved reputation for eating what it's sprayed on. Applied correctly the results can be fabulous, but applied incorrectly you can almost always ruin what's under it.

If you're still just learning, acrylic clear can give a stunning shine also. For best results it has to be applied correctly, too- but even if it's not it won't destroy the paint and decals under it.

The model I am building does have few decals this is why I chose it, and it is solid black. It wasnt hard to work with it at all, the only troble I had was, that after applying the decals Microset left a few marks that took a little polishibg to take them out, that aside it polished and buffered fantasticly.

Nice Carrera BTW

islero666

I agree with Klutz_100.Sometimes I find that applying a clearcoat is not always necessary.Most motorsports cars have vinyl stickers for the sponsors and numbers etc.In reality they are not clearcoated over they are simply applied over the paintwork.I find with most of the Tamiya TS range a good rubbing compound and polish can bring up a brilliant shine without the need to clearcoat.I only use a clearcoat when I must (basecoat paints,some metallics etc) Why add an unnecessary step in the painting process if you don't need to.

It's true what you say about the vynil decals that sports cars and bikes have. But who doesn't agree with me that the look a model has as if the decals were painted on, and the shine it has does not look great?

islero666