Tamiya Polishing Compund.

My question is easy really . . or not. . . Anyway,I was at the hobby shop today and noticed the Tamiya Polishing Compound. So i decided to try it out on some of my kits. I noticed, though, that there were three kinds of compunds, Coarse, Fine, and Finish, or something like that.

I guess my question/s is/are:

Do you need to use all three? And are they applied to the base coat, or at the end when the clear coat is applied?

My models lack that realistic shine that all the other model kits on AF have. If anyone can answer my questions, I'd appreciate it.

Thanx. :popcorn:

Hello,

You don't really need to use the three different coumpound in the same time.
You can use the fine or extra fine ("finishing") for finishing above the last coat (clear coat or not), but personaly I already use coumpound between each coat of paint, to smooth the coat and give some shine to the paint, and if you sand each coat I recommend to use coumpound (because it also take off the paint dust due to sanding).
Paints are deeper with coumpound between each coat and probably a little bit more shiny because you can better add more coats, but for shine effect the last coats are the most important, especially if you clear coat and those should be properly sand and applying coumpound would increase shine effect.

It must be a tip or a how-to somewhere in the modelling section here I think...

and there must be better specialist here than me for clear coating subject... :naughty:


Phil

For a while they only had one. Very similar to the medium one of the three out now. Love the stuff. You don't need all three, but I have to say, having them is nice. For the investment and how long a tube lasts (literally years) I would recommend getting all three. If only one, get the medium. The one I use least is the coarse, but it has it's place, and having it on hand is very convenient. Use them very sparingly, it does not take much. I build a lot, and a single tube last me about 2-3 years. I even use it on my real cars. Now that I have all three, who knows... - Mark

OK, I have the stuff and have gotten good results with this method. It's not the only method, but it works for me. First, I lay down the base coat. I don't sand, polish, or modify this at all, because doing so will change the color slightly. After that, I lay down several coats of clear. Once the clear is completely dry, I use polishing cloths in 3200, 3600, and 4000 grits to remove orange peel (which compound will not do), and then use Fine and then Finish compound. The results are quite lustrous--smooth and shiny. Hope that helps!
Alex

I understand compound is like sand paper. Using them depends on the end results of your paint jobs. If theres orange peel then you might want to use the coarse compound. An ok finish might just need fine and finish. An acceptable finish might just need the finish compound. I guess you should see this as if you were to use sand paper and ask yourself if, for example, you would use 1000 grit on a very good paint job or would you rather skip it and start with 3000 grit? Hope that helps.

i just bought the fine and finish compounds (to scared to buy the course), but i cant find any model wax.. can i finish my car with the tamiya finish compound or do i still need wax at the end? also, since i cant find any model wax at my LHS what is an alternative wax? thanks

I use Tamiya and love it. (Keep in mind that my results are with Tamiya rattle-can synthetic lacquers and clear coat. I have no idea how well the stuff works with acrylics or enamels.)

I've always assumed that to get rid of orange peel, you have to start with coarse abrasive and use successively finer grades to get rid of the micro-scratches left by the previous grade. Lo, that's how I misspent my precious youth, wasting untold hours, straining my eyes and patience, in a hopeless quest to get rid of the tiny scratches left by Micro Mesh polishing pads. :frown:

Now I don't use any grit paper or polishing cloths after applying the final coat of paint or clear coat.

Tamiya "Coarse" is definitely not scary because it's not coarse in the usual sense. It's TOTALLY unlike automotive polishing compounds! You don't have to use finer and finer grades to get rid of the scratches left by "Coarse," because it doesn't leave any. It works in some mysterious way that really gets rid of orange peel without leaving its own micro-scratches. (Alex and I don't agree about it getting rid of orange peel; try skipping the polishing cloths and see what you think.) It produces a very nice gloss that's just right for older cars.

"Fine" gives you a still higher gloss. Once you've used "Coarse" to get rid of any defects and/or orange peel, "Fine" is the stuff to use if you're building a recent car. Actually, most sane people would stop right there.

The "Finish" grade is pretty expensive, and it produces too much gloss for my taste. But that makes it just the ticket for gloss fanatics. If you're building show cars and F1 Ferraris, "Finish" is the shine to beat!

With the Tamiya polishes, wax is strictly optional. I'd use it mainly for protection and to give all the surfaces on the model a consistent shine.

(Oh, I have no connection with Tamiya. I just like the stuff a lot.)

Diddy