bonnet pin Q

This is my first time using photo etch parts on the exterior area of the model and had a question on how I'm support to put on some photo etch bonnet pins. I painted the car and added some carbon fiber decal on the hook of the car. I still haven't clear coated it yet but I was wondering if I had to scratch some of the color, decal and clear coat off so I can glue the photo etch or can it be glued over the clear coat? How do I go about doing this? Thanks guys.

how do you glue your other bits of etch?

A lot of guys use either white glue, Eileen's Tacky Glue, or even clear enamel paint as glue.

i've heard of some using future as well. From experience, I would recommend something like windscreen glue, something that will dry clear and not hurt the paint beneath so If you have to remove or reposition you can clean it up

I use zap-a-gap (CA) glue to glue photo etch to photo etch pieces. This is very strong and hardens within a few seconds but i've never used it to glue metal onto painted plastic so I dont know if it would fog the clear coat. As for white glues I have Testors clear parts cement & window maker to glue my clear parts (windshield, head lamps, etc.) and just bought a bottle of microscale micro metal foil adhesive and noticed that after it dries it becomes clear, but i've only used it on BMF. Have you guys tried any of these to glue photo etch onto paint? I'd like to use something that wont have the photo etch falling off later on.

I've never used the clear that comes in small jars but now that I think about it I do remember my LHS had some in their paint rack, I just dont remember what brand it was. If I bought this would it be the better way to go in this situation? I painted the model in Tamiya italian red and was going to use Mr. Hobby topcoat since I was told it works well when you're coating over decals. If I were to buy the clear coat in the jar and use that as the adhesive for the bonnet pins, is there a certain brand I should avoid give it that i'm going to use Mr. Hobby clear spray to coat the entire car?

I would use the testors clear parts glue. it wont fog the clear and cleans up with water, that way if you make a mistake it wont ruin the paint

Paint and clearcoat the body like usual. Then stick the PE on afterwards.

Unless you use CA or epoxy, there will always exist the possibility of the PE parts getting knocked off. Personally I would rather live with that, and just reglue them in place when needed than risk an adhesive that would damage the body.

Microscale foil glue is certainly my favorite option for this sort of thing. White glue, krystal kleer/canopy glue, and acrylic clear are also good options- but none is so much better than the others as to be a standalone choice.

Krystal Klear