clear coat before or after window trims

[supermod04]

i read the couple tutorials on window trims but said nothing about clear. should i add my window trim then clear coat or clear then mask ti off and sand my window trims and paint them black or just clear and mask and paint? what one? i am delaying on doing it becuase it is my first try and i want to knwow hat do do before i start

[gasman03]

I do it after, no reason why, just the was i've always done it

[supermod04]

ok, cus i ahve always seen ona real car they are flat and not very gloss, so i figured after i clear would work

[Fastphil]

Yeah it depends on the finish of the 1:1 car. Like if it's chrome, then you can clear after, no problem. If it's flat or semi-gloss black, then clear first, and carefully apply the trim.

[StephenDeli]

I never understood why you clear before or after for that matter...

[supermod04]

well i got it, i decided to do the trims first. coupel peopel said thats what theyd o so i will use that method. hey it is my first time for window trims so i will experiment this time

[Vric]

I do it after. Shiny black for trim don't look great at all

[supermod04]

2 late i guess it will be shiny, well i used gloss black paint any ways, and 5 people said after so hey i will go with that

[MPWR]

On a car that needs a clear coat, I always apply the clear before doing any trim work like windows, etc. The best reason? The clear will help protect the body color from masking. Peeling body paint up with the masking is a b1tch!! Also, depending on what you're using for clear, if the trim painting goes badly (leaks, bleeds, whatever), and you need to correct an error, the clear will protect the body color when you clean up the trim.

Doesn't matter what color the trim is with regard to when you clear coat- if it's flat or gloss, than paint it flat or gloss.

With as annoying as window trim painting can be, it's nice to have a few advantages.

[supermod04]

well i got the widnow trims thanks guy. i did it before cleawr. i think on my next model i will do it after. i did not even mask it, i use a testors paint pen worked great

[Fkouch]

Originally Posted by supermod04

2 late i guess it will be shiny, well i used gloss black paint any ways, and 5 people said after so hey i will go with that

Yeah well it'll look crappy. In fact if your paint job is glossy enough you don't NEED a clearcoat at all. I only use a clearcoat on metallics.

Also remember that if you wait too long (or not long enough) to clearcoat your model, the clear layer might have problems and may even crack.

As long as you get 1 or 2 good wet coats of paint on you shouldn't need a clearcoat. Go have a look at PMans stuff for example.


Cheers

Farrokh

[MPWR]

And NEVER clearcoat after the windows have been installed!!

[supermod04]

it acuallty looked nice, the windows trims are a little dull, i use the clear cus with my old experince of modeling from about 4 years ago, i have a couple models with no clear and the paint jobs are dull, they got dull sitting for over 5 years.and, the paint is a metalic piant, i mixxed myself. but the reason i cleared after windows trims is i talked to about 5 or 6 people on aim, asking them and knowing there model skills and how well there models turnout, i did what they said, plus this is my first model in over 5 years, and before never did widnow trims, so hey it was a practive and learn thing. ow next time i will be doing window trims after clear.

so this is one of the learn and try things for me. i will do diffrent on my next model, experiment with what i can do.

thanks for the help