Microscale Micro Gloss / Satin / Flat

I was at my LHS and seen this Micro Gloss bottle from MicroScale. (who make MicroSol, Set and other great product)

So, an acrylic clear that is OK for decals and "should" cure harder than Tamiya one and cost 2 time less than x-22. Sounded good I got one.

Now I try to see what is the proper mix for airbrushing. Out of the bottle, it look too tick. They ask for water or Alcohol for thinning. I guess 1:1 would be OK, but I'm afraid to thin too much end with a dull finish.

Anyway, before I start to use half of the bottle with experiments, anyone used that before and have some tips ?

It's rare that I ask for help, but this stuff is quite new for me.

Hmm. I’ve seen this product in the UK, but it’s not any cheaper then X22. £1 for 10ml of X22 and £2.50 for 29ml of Microscale gloss clear. X22 x 3 = £3.00 so only .50p cheaper, and I can’t buy it other then online. I can get X22 from the LHS hence cheaper as there will be no postage costs.

I’d be interested to know your results though. X22 does dry hard, I’ve used it a few times now, it just takes three weeks to go hard. I can’t help you, but I’d try thinning with what it recommends until it’s the consistency of milk/

And I’d not worry about asking for help, this forum is meant to help us, until you get shouted at by someone for not using search features or reading a hundred threads..!!

I´m not sure about the gloss finish (got it in stock but have´nt tried it out yet), but I have used their satin and flat finishes with great results. Microscale recommend adding a few drops of water for thinning, well I tried that and forgot about cleaning the airbrush, few hours later it was like superglue in my airbrush, took my a bottle of thinner and a bent needle to get it clean again. NOT recommended. As for thinning ratios I have no idea, I just keep adding thinner until I feel that it "feels" right and flows good. But then again there´s quite a difference between a glossy paintjob and a flat one...

Good luck!

oh I did search :D

Here, the X22 is 3.29$ (every Tamiya paint is this price. and the Micro Gloss was 2.99$ (note it's Canadian price from a shitty town) Anyway look like the Microscale stuff cost less here (Sol, Set, Film all cost 2.99$)

Anyway you get my point with the X22, which take forever to dry hard. This is why I wanted something new.

The only instruction on the bottle is "brush with a soft brush or use airbrush (thin with water or alcohol) As always, very usefull instruction from them :D.

I tried with brush on a small part I had put CF on. It dried in about 10 minutes, and after 30 minutes, I can press on it and there is no finger print. So it dry fast and hard. The Gloss is also quite good.

pics!
or comparison pics!

I've used their flat coat, and it ruined a model I was building. Long story, but in order to deal with the grief of the loss, i've chosen to blame it on the product (rather than the builder).... :)

I thinned their FLAT coat with water, and after it was sprayed on (went on fine....) it started to go milky and frosty right in front of my eyes. It just got worse and worse over time, and completely ruined the model. Ended up with a hard, rough, white cloudy layer over my entire model.

I refuse to use the product again, even though I have plenty of mates that seem to be able to use it successfully.

Good luck...

Murray

I've tried airbrushing the gloss one, turned milky too. So i guess airbrushing it not very well recommended.

Its good on small area though, i used it out from the bottle with no thinning and the product works well. =>

I've used their flat coat, and it ruined a model I was building. Long story, but in order to deal with the grief of the loss, i've chosen to blame it on the product (rather than the builder).... :)

I thinned their FLAT coat with water, and after it was sprayed on (went on fine....) it started to go milky and frosty right in front of my eyes. It just got worse and worse over time, and completely ruined the model. Ended up with a hard, rough, white cloudy layer over my entire model.

I refuse to use the product again, even though I have plenty of mates that seem to be able to use it successfully.

Good luck...

Murray

Out of interest, did you use distilled water?

Personally, I would be very hesitant to use tap water to thin paints etc because of all the minerals etc in it. Just put a drop of tap water on a piece of glass and let it evaporate to see what I mean. Just imagine what gets left of your paint job :))



Vric, did you check out scale wiki? :) j/k

Seriously though, you might want to check out Velejo (? spelling) thinners sometime. I've found it to be a very good product as are their acrylic clears. Especially the Satin which I use for interiors.

Actually, I use bottled water. Not distilled, but much better than tap water.

I don't really believe it was the water though. It was some sort of defect in the product. The amount of residue and powder was very significant.

Could have just been a bad bottle/batch, but I'm choosing to avoid it in the future.

Murray

Well guess I will have to try it on a scrap model..

thanks for comments guys.

I think that white milky finish is problematic with some older style matts. Had similar things happen with Humbrol and Testors. The matting agent used is an almost powder like substance, which sits as a gluggy mass at the bottom of the bottle. The clear coat needs to be very well mixed and layed down super thin so this powder doesn't build up on the model and look crap.

More modern alternatives like Modellers Flat Clear don't have this gluggy mass as a matting agent and are almost completely clear in the bottle. That is what I'll be using in the future, although I still have a bottle or so of Testors Dullcoat to use up. Modellers is a lacquer though, so it's not an option if using acrylics or enamels.