clear coat question

[Didymus]

I'm out of town for a week, but when I get back, I'll take some photos of the U-POL'd 917 and post them. In the meantime, I'll just say it's very shiny.

Using Tamiya Dark Green, the Lotus 25 paint came out just fine without a clearcoat, so I'm gonna leave it un-cleared unless the decals look too dull.

Ddms

[klutz_100]

Originally Posted by Didymus

Using Tamiya Dark Green, the Lotus 25 paint came out just fine without a clearcoat, so I'm gonna leave it un-cleared unless the decals look too dull.

The decals look fine but the "Team LOTUS" thin yellow stripes do not adhere very well so watch out yours don't also end up in the waste disposal
see here

[Didymus]

If you choose to apply Tamiya's clear gloss (no. TS-13) over a Tamiya color finish, you'll need to be careful when you apply it. You have two choices: you can add the clear coat immediately after applying the last wet color coat, or you can apply the clear coat after the color coat has cured and gassed out for at least a month. Tamiya's clear gloss paint cures at a different rate than the color paints in the line. If you wait even a day to apply the clear gloss, the different curing rates will cause the clear finish to crack.

To be blunt, I think that's misinformation. I have never known Tamiya TS13 to "crack," no matter how long I wait after the color coat. It that were a problem, the forums would be filled with howls of complaint about it.

Tamiya's products are generally excellent. Such a serious compatibility problem with two of their own products that are intended to be used together does not fit their profile. At all.

As to polishing, I give it a day or two.

Ddms

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

The decals look fine but the "Team LOTUS" thin yellow stripes do not adhere very well so watch out yours don't also end up in the waste disposal
see here

Thanks!

I just attached one of them, and it was pretty tricky. It's so long and thin that I was worried about tearing it. If one part is moved, the rest of that long strand has to be re-aligned, so I was also concerned that the adhesive would be gone after all that moving about.

Ddms

[.vr6Love]

Originally Posted by Didymus

To be blunt, I think that's misinformation. I have never known Tamiya TS13 to "crack," no matter how long I wait after the color coat. It that were a problem, the forums would be filled with howls of complaint about it.

Tamiya's products are generally excellent. Such a serious compatibility problem with two of their own products that are intended to be used together does not fit their profile. At all.

As to polishing, I give it a day or two.

Ddms

I wouldnt know, as i said i have 0 experience. I was looking at tutorials on the Scale Auto site. Thanks for clearing it up though

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Didymus

To be blunt, I think that's misinformation. I have never known Tamiya TS13 to "crack," no matter how long I wait after the color coat. It that were a problem, the forums would be filled with howls of complaint about it.

Tamiya's products are generally excellent. Such a serious compatibility problem with two of their own products that are intended to be used together does not fit their profile. At all.

As to polishing, I give it a day or two.

Ddms

No, it's not misinformation, but it might be a product of the past. I have known a couple well-respected builders/painters that did have a couple models where the TS13 cracked, and Tamiya used to have a notification on their website for this problem because the TS13 cured at a different rate than TS colors. It's from the horse's mouth where the "within one hour or after one month" timeframe became public. I had TS13 crack when applied over Black Gold/HOK paint one time, happened w/in a week of applying. It's barely noticeable only in subtle side-lighting, but it did happen and if you saw the model in person you might understand.

I have not heard of any problems in the past few years, I assume Tamiya quietly adjusted their chemicals and the problem is no more. In general I've never had a problem because I start applying clear immediately after color, even if just a light coat. Last night I applied first coats of TS42 Lt. Gunmetal (decanted) to my Tamiya 370Z (yes, you heard that right ), this AM I scuffed it w/3200, fixed a couple areas w/a polishing stick where mold lines were still showing (shot over plastic, no primer), reshot the TS42 (it's great in that it is pigment-dense), mixed a little TS13 w/the TS42, then a good thin coat of TS13, let it flash, followed by a thin/wet coat of Gunze solvent-based gloss clear (it's a barrier, it doesn't affect the TS paint unlike TS13 that will cause halos around panel lines if TS13 is shot too wet too fast), let that dry a few in the dehydrator, then back to TS13 in light coats followed by a couple coats straight from the spray can. All of the above w/in an hour or so. It's been sitting in the dehydrator now for about 5 hours, it's very smooth, and ready to buff now if I want to. Smooth enough that I don't need much more than the 3 Tamiya compounds. Why wait overnight?

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

The decals look fine but the "Team LOTUS" thin yellow stripes do not adhere very well so watch out yours don't also end up in the waste disposal
see here

Aaaaaaargh! Despite your cautions and the experience of doing the left side successfully, now there are two of us. I just emailed HLJ and asked them to send me a replacement sheet.

Their FAQ on how to order spares is at http://www.hlj.com/faq/q41.html.

Ddms

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by ZoomZoomMX-5

Why wait overnight?

I've been assuming that you get a better shine if the paint is really, really dry. Of course, living in Southern California, the climate is my dehydrator, but it's probably not as good as a real dehydrator.

Maybe the new paints don't take that long and I'm working from old or misunderstood information.

Ddms

[guiwee]

This is kind of a two-part thread reply..I just got my renco food dehydrator and im going to experiment with it and the testors gloss cote lacquer.I painted an mp/20 from revell ts-30 let dry for 3 days then painted ts-40 yesterday.According to you guys i can spray the clear now.. right? NOone said anything about testors so ill give it a try.Gonna do about 3 mist coats put it in dehydrator for an hour after each coat on a temp of 115 degrees F.then two heavier coats.Any comments about this?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Didymus

I've been assuming that you get a better shine if the paint is really, really dry. Of course, living in Southern California, the climate is my dehydrator, but it's probably not as good as a real dehydrator.

Maybe the new paints don't take that long and I'm working from old or misunderstood information.

Ddms

I just constantly push boundaries mostly because I'm impatient and want to get stuff done fast. 95% of the time I don't have any paint issues from buffing out after only a short time in the dehydrator. Sometimes I need to re-buff it later if it wasn't fully cured and shrinks down a bit more. My 370Z can be buffed now, but it will sit overnight in the dehydrator. Someone once said for ever 10 degrees above ambient, a dehydrator (or any force-drying contraption) cuts drying time in half. My basement is about 70 degrees and usually a bit humid (our weather now is typical summer warm/humid, nothing like SoCal). My dehydrator is about 110 degrees. Overnight/24 hours will make my model as dry as 16 days ambient.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by guiwee

This is kind of a two-part thread reply..I just got my renco food dehydrator and im going to experiment with it and the testors gloss cote lacquer.I painted an mp/20 from revell ts-30 let dry for 3 days then painted ts-40 yesterday.According to you guys i can spray the clear now.. right? NOone said anything about testors so ill give it a try.Gonna do about 3 mist coats put it in dehydrator for an hour after each coat on a temp of 115 degrees F.then two heavier coats.Any comments about this?

Testors gloss lacquer dries really fast, even faster than Tamiya. The new one-coat stuff feels dry to the touch in about 20 mins. or so. You should have zero problems. 115 might be slightly hot; aim for 110. If I were misting/drying and reshooting I'd consider scuffing out any dust nibs that might occur during the process before recoating. Otherwise I'd probably try to do the mist coats together in shorter intervals. It really depends on your own technique how wet each coat you lay down is and how fast you make the passes as to how quickly you can paint it w/o it running when you get to the wet coats.

[guiwee]

Thanks zoom i appreciate the timely response!!You guys are such a fountain of knowledge!!

[Emilssi]

Hello everyone,
Does anyone use Humbrol clear coat? I've recently used it on my model and it seems to be OK but does anyone know weather it will turn yellow in the future?
Cheers