good hobby clear...?

[patoffspyder]

I don't know, I get this kit at a PPG dealer where I live. I live in a small town in Canada, so I guess this should be available almost everywhere.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by patoffspyder

I don't know, I get this kit at a PPG dealer where I live. I live in a small town in Canada, so I guess this should be available almost everywhere.

Yep, I found some PPG stores in my area. I'll try one of their 16 oz kits when I need some more urethane clear. I don't like bribing the guy at F----hmaster.

How long before the clear is cured enough to put masking tape on it for an extended period? I'm using 3M Blue Line #2080 for Delicate Surfaces.

Ddy

[kadler18]

Try this stuff:

Nason Selectclear 496-00 urethane Clearcoat. This is made by DuPont. Sells by the quart with the hardener for about $30.00 US. I purchase it from Finishmasters.

To give you an example a 1:24 scale car will take 4 teaspoons of Urethane and 1 teasspoon of harder. These five teaspoons will clear the entire car.
Think about how any cars you can do for a quart. Cheaper and better than Tamiya TS-13.

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by kadler18

Cheaper and better than Tamiya TS-13.

Yep! It's great stuff. And much more toxic, so it must be handled much more carefully. As I've said, I always spray it outdoors and don't even open a container of two-part urethane paint unless I'm wearing a respirator.

Didy

[MustangMuscle]

in my opinion, urethane clear is not the best clear for model cars; it works, but is quite toxic and needs polishing to cut the "rounded off" look it gives to the paint. What I mean is that this clear does not cure by solvent evaporation like a conventional, single part clear, it sets like a resin by mixing two parts. So it keeps its film thickness upon curing (well almost), which means the paint film is way thicker than a single-part clear, giving this out-of-scale look to the car body. It is possible to reduce this effect by color-sanding the clear, but in this case this clear is not the best alternative (urethane is harder to polish than other paints).

I very much prefer clear lacquer, it requires polishing but it is easier than urethane, and it gives a very realistic look with sharp edges.

Just my thought...

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by MustangMuscle

I very much prefer clear lacquer, it requires polishing but it is easier than urethane, and it gives a very realistic look with sharp edges.

You make very good points; urethane is beautiful, but it does soften the edges. I've just been admiring Green Dragon's great models at http://homepage3.nifty.com/greendragon/index2.html and noticing how realistic his finishes are. His finishes are less glossy but also beautiful in a more subtle way. He is an amazing craftsman; his site makes me want to learn Japanese! (The Google machine translation is terrible.)

I've gotten into urethane because I've been frustrated in the past when trying to polish out acrylic clear. It's pretty aggravating when I think I'm nearly finished and color appears on the polishing cloth, or worse, when I've rubbed through to the primer! Any suggestions?

What kind of clear lacquer do you prefer? And what do you use for a color coat?

Didy

[kadler18]

Excellent and right on points about the realistic gloss. I think I may have solved that problem.

I only put one coat on a car. With the right amount of sanding and polishing you can control those - rounded edges. Many times the sanding brings the luster of the clear "down" a bit. Much more realistic.

Everything has a trade off, however, an added plus is that these types of clear "seal" a finish. Your paint job becomes extremely resiliant to scratches and minor errors when assembling the body onto the chassis.

I only spray this stuff through my paint booth. If you don't - just put on Beatles song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and enjoy!

[nakadds]

Originally Posted by Didymus

Yep! It's great stuff. And much more toxic, so it must be handled much more carefully. As I've said, I always spray it outdoors and don't even open a container of two-part urethane paint unless I'm wearing a respirator.

Didy

How safe is Finisher's GP1? Is it just as toxic as any other urethane clear? In one of those japanese model building video on YouTube the builder airbrushes GP1 right at his desk without a respirator. How crazy is that?

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by kadler18

I only put one coat on a car. With the right amount of sanding and polishing you can control those - rounded edges. Many times the sanding brings the luster of the clear "down" a bit. Much more realistic.

But, compared to lacquer, it's tougher to polish, isn't it? How easy is it to get an even polish, even in the nooks and crannies?

Here's what I'm thinking:

1. The one-part ChromaColor (that's what it says on the bottle) I get from Finishmasters has great coverage, lays down beautifully, doesn't want to sag or run, and dries fast. (MUCH better overall than Duplicolor, IMO.) I can get 2 oz. of any color in the Dupont book for about $14. It's one-part; no activator needs to be added, so I'm not quite sure what it is, chemically speaking, but it sure is great. The only disadvantage is that you're supposed to reduce it 1-1 with that toxic UR40, rather than lacquer thinner, or so they told me at the store. But I've got a pretty safe setup now and I want to continue using it.

2. Clear lacquer has the advantage of being easier to polish than two-part ChromaClear urethane, plus it evaporates and leaves those nice clean edges. The final result should look more like the real thing compared to two-part ChromaClear which, unpolished, is unrealistically glossy and does tend to soften the edges. Plus, lacquer is a lot safer to use! So I want to spray clear lacquer over the ChromaColor.

Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

Didy

[mrawl]

There's another good reason to prefer lacquer to urethane. Touch up. You can't get a perfect repair with urethane, but lacquer remelts itself for potentially perfect touch ups. Of course this is not an issue for competent modelers!!

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by Didymus

So I want to spray clear lacquer over the ChromaColor.

Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

Some worlds, maybe, but not this one!

I spoke too soon, not knowing that it's illegal to sell clear lacquer in jars in California. You can only buy acrylic, enamel, or easy-to-apply but highly toxic urethane.

I've heard that Tamiya clear in spray cans is a lacquer. So I'm gonna try decanting some and airbrushing it over automotive urethane. Stay tuned to learn if poisonous vapors take all the paint off my workroom walls.

Didy