Finishing with clear

Hi All,

I have a question regarding finishing with clear cote.

After you have done all the correct steps painting your model with your chosen base coat and got an acceptable finish, what is the correct procedure for laying down the clear?
Do you mist on 2-3 coats, sand and then 2 wet coats?
Also, do you lightly san the final coat, as this has always dulled the clear in my experience. And is there any specicific compund to use on clear as most I have seen caution against using on clears?

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere, but I haven't seen a really clear tutorial on the correct way to get a great clear caot.

Regards,

Matt

fist mist on a few coats then do some wet coats (i do like 3 wet coats), after that i polish up the body with - rubbing compound then polishing compound that u get in general automotive stores. or Stratch X can work also. then if you want u can use wax after. if this is your first time be sure to lay down maybe like 2 extra coats of clear in so you dont rub through the clear into the paint.

i have never sanded my clear coat after, maybe you can try wet sanding it but it might still turn dull. but i have been using the method above for a long time and it gives great results.

Yeah, mist a couple of coats (particularly if decals are involved and the clear is an aggressive lacquer like Tamiya TS-13) followed by heavier. I always sand between the heavier coasts to smooth out any orange peel. If you don't have any orange peel then stop - you're done. :)

Tamiya make a set of three different polishing compounds that will get you started. If you want to get more involved then you can look into micromesh polishing pads and other types of polishing or waxing systems.

Just give it a go and see what works for you, cause different things tend to work for different people.

Sorry to hijack...but you can use ts-13 over decals? What would be the proper procedure of doing this?

Like Phil said, do it slowly. First couple of coats just MIST it and let cure. this way you don't make the decal soak in the aggressive clear coat.
/Joel

Sorry to hijack...but you can use ts-13 over decals? What would be the proper procedure of doing this?

See this thread:

Tamiya TS-13 Clear (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=658172&highlight=tamiya+clear+ts13)

Thanks for the info guy's.

Does this hold true for TS65 Pearl Clear too?

Regards,

Matt

If you're looking to polish the clear, you'll need to lay down some regular gloss clear over the pearl clear.

Ok, after I read all of the links to the TS-13 issues I have found this:

1. Lay down your first coat of clear like ten minutes after your last base color.
2. Wait a month to do the clear?!

This confuses me because I want to do decals. So, basically I have to wait a month after I apply three small decals?!

This sucks if it is true!

Why does there have to be thinner in the TS-13 anyway?

Why does there have to be thinner in the TS-13 anyway?

erm...if there wasn't thinner... then they'd sell in in cubes..:rolleyes:
But it's true, that's why I've been trying to find an alternative to TS-13.
I'm more or less switching to automotive paints exclusively lately. More choice less mess.

TS-13 will kill your decals. At least it did with mine. I have since switched to Gunze Mr. Topcoat, which is acrylic based and doesn't harm decals, although, I just picked up some Finisher's auto clear which i'm going to use on my F1 Ferrari. Supposedly it's decal safe.. guess i'll find out.

So, basically I have to wait a month after I apply three small decals?!

This sucks if it is true!
One month is overkill, one of those ass covering clauses that are so prevalent in society today. I usually wait only a couple of days before clearing my decals. You have to be smart about it though, make sure your decals and paint are completely and utterly bone dry. If the weather is cold and damp you'll need to wait longer and always remember - MIST COATS.

Why does there have to be thinner in the TS-13 anyway?
All paints need a thinner or reducer of some sort. I also suspect Tamiya TS sprays have a fair bit of retarder in them to slow down the drying time.

[QUOTE=RallyRaider


All paints need a thinner or reducer of some sort. I also suspect Tamiya TS sprays have a fair bit of retarder in them to slow down the drying time.[/QUOTE]

I kind of sounded ignorant there. I know why there is a thinner. I think what my tired brain meant was why do THEY use that for their clear? Their other ts paints are not attacking of other paints unless the lacquer and acrylic are used together.

I still don't think I wrote what I meant, nevermind.

I'm about to test the Mr. Color Super Clear on my Golf. Maybe I can get a little bit more shine...:p
But anyways,Sorry for hijack,but,do we apply the metallic transfers and clear coat,or we apply the clear and then the transfers??
Thanks!

I'm about to test the Mr. Color Super Clear on my Golf. Maybe I can get a little bit more shine...:p
But anyways,Sorry for hijack,but,do we apply the metallic transfers and clear coat,or we apply the clear and then the transfers??
Thanks!

I personally apply the clear coat before applying the metal transfers, I think the clear coat after kind of slopes up the the edges of the metal transfers and looks weird.

I've been procrastinating the sanding on one of my cars but tomorrow i'll for sure do it:p

Once that's done im going to apply a few decals including the carbon decal on the hook and trunk of the car. Im going to then apply the clear coat over the decals. It's going to be my first time doing it this way. I've read that many of you apply a couple of mist coats before applying the wet coats. Im assuming the wet coats are a good amount of clear over the body.

Can some of you describe how you apply your mist coats. With the limited space I have in my apartment I mount my cars on Tamiya's painting stand and hold it with one hand while I spray with the other. Im thinking my method of "mist" spraying will be to hold the car back further than how I normally would. Now please, if someone foresee's disaster from this please stop me.

One last thing, does anyone know of a link that provides the hobby terms/definitions? I just recently figured out what orange peel meant and am still clueless about what wet and dry sanding are.

Thanks in advance guys.

Can some of you describe how you apply your mist coats. With the limited space I have in my apartment I mount my cars on Tamiya's painting stand and hold it with one hand while I spray with the other. Im thinking my method of "mist" spraying will be to hold the car back further than how I normally would. Now please, if someone foresee's disaster from this please stop me.

Disaster foreseen!!
Holding the model back will cause the paint to dry mid-air. Thus ending in a rough surface.
OK this is how I do it: I normally spray at 2-3 inches with an AB and 5-8 with a can.
For misting: I don't change the distance, I just change the speed in which I move the can across the model. Basically, I move the can across as fast as I can without my hand slamming into something.
With a AB, I use less paint (I don't pull back on the trigger that much) and go a tad slower. Just make sure you leave enough time between coats.
Now-a-days, I normally let it sit in my paint booth for around 40-60 minutes until the next coat. I do 2 to 7 mists depending on the paint (color/clear) and if there are decals involved. With clear and decals, I do 5-7 coats. One note though, my mists are a very thin mist coat.
Just keep in mind that what works for one may not work for the other. The only definite answer: Try and see what works for YOU!
Try on a scrap piece and see what happens.
I just recently figured out what orange peel meant and am still clueless about what wet and dry sanding are.
Wet and dry sanding are exactly what the words say.
Dry sanding: Take the sandpaper or whatever abrasive you are using and rub it across the object. Results: sandpaper clogs up easily and you get a acceptable surface. (I normally only dry sand up to 1500 grit, mostly to clean big scratches and make modifications)
Wet sanding: Soak the sandpaper in water until it turns soft (make sure that you have "wet & dry sandpaper" otherwise the sandpaper will fall apart at this point) and keep it sufficiantly wet throughout sanding. A lot of poeple add a drop of dishwash liquid to help lubricate the sanding water, ratio= water 1L: dishwash liquid 1drop. I personally sand under the tap. Results: Sandpaper doesn't clog that easily and is whatever get clogged in the sandpaper is easily cleaned off afterwards. Surface is much smoother and more mirror like compared to dry sanding. (I wet sand 1500 and up)

HTH,
Steve

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d49/2442830190593/HPIM5043.jpg
This is orange-peel paint car!! see how rough the paint is? That is orange peel. On some paints,it looks orange! So,that's why it's called that way.

I recently started using this technique on my motorcycle models, works very well for me when clear coating decals.
First get your base coating done, if you are using the likes of zero paints from Hiroboy.com website, then I find a couple of coats of halfords automotive laquer over them gives you a quick drying hard glossy surface for decals (do not use halfords over decals though, very aggresive).
lay down your decals, then once your decals are properly dried I mist on a couple of coats of Mr top coat, (i think you could lay it down heavy straight away if you prefered as it doesn't toch decals!)
I find 3 coats of this stuff comes up great, then polish after a week or so for a great decal fiendly shine. only downside is cost of mr topcoat £5 for small tin, mind you that is no worse than cost of tamiya ts spray.

I think this technique would work quite well for any one new to modelling, also mr topcoat goes on great straight from can. too see the results I had using this look here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=675527

thanks
Col

Thats some nice work colbro, and thanks to you cyberkid, and rod for clearing some of these terms up. Im going to try clear coating over my deals for the first time and winstona (fellow member) suggested Gunze. Ive always avoided that brand because its more expensive than tamiya, model masters, and testors; and i've always applied my decals over the clear coat. However, at this point I only use testors and model masters spray cans only if i have no other alternative, and I've read tamiya clear has given many members on here problems when sprayed over decals. I want to try something different this time and ive seen the big difference when covering the decals with clear coats. My LHS has Mr. Hobby clear and super clear. I guess thats extra glossy? Im thinking of trying that one out. Thanks guys.

I think super clear is a more aggresive clear coat with decals, so be very careful if you use that one!