The official "clear coat" thread.

[Ansel Marrow]

Ok im a big newbie, I primed my body just the way primera man told me to, sanded and about ready for paint (its testors spraycan btw, no close model shops anyways) I need to know mainly what clear coat brand do you guys use and reccomend? could i pick it up at ace hardware etc? do i polish clear coat after i put it on? how many days does it have to dry for? ho many coats for a super gloss shine? how delicate is it after finally cured?

[nis.k.a.]

Don't spray lacquer over enamel. I would use Testors enamel clear over Testors enamel paint.

Testors enamels (in my experience) takes forever to cure. My last Testors job took right around 20 days before I could polish it out.

A super gloss shine isn't normally going to come from how many coats you apply, though proper application helps A LOT. A super gloss is going to be achieved more through polishing.

Delicacy. Assuming you did everything semi-correctly the paint should be fine after a full cure. Treat it with care, of course.

[primera man]

Dont bother to clear coat IMO.
I'm still yet to hear a postive thing about what you can and cant do with using a clear. What works for one person doesnt seem to work for another.

Spend the time on getting a real good paint job by using compound and wax. Its all i ever use.

[proosen]

Usually you only need to clearcoat metallic and pearl colours. They need this to protect the flakes and keep the shine. Solid colours just needs an additional coat or two of paint before rubbing out.

Niclas

[bvia]

I also find that you really can't sand/polish out metallics (due to the metal grains which will cause a "blushed" finish). Also clearcoating over decals helps protect them...if it doesn't eat them first...;-)>

hth,
Bill

[Vric]

did you primered with testot primer ? if so, don't sand it, it's totally unsandable..

never use this anymore.. NEVER

For clear coat, since you use Testor Paint, you should use Testor Clear.

Few thing to remember:
- Get the Clear with number 18xx (others are terrible)
- The Clear yellow over short time. so on dark color, it's fine, but not on white or silver color.
- The spraycan will work only 2 times. Even if you still have paint in the can, trash it. you will have bad result with the 3rd time.

[Ansel Marrow]

I used krylon primer, it waws meant for plastics, i didnt think it would do any harm. it really fills well and sands great, it gives me a nice finish. i need to check to see if i can use enamel over it, but im pretty sure i can, i have used it in the past.

Im not going to use decals. mainly i just want a nice mirror finish, has anyone done this with testors spray cans w polishing?

[cooltc2004]

hey what compound and wax do you use in your models?

[the dog]

Testor's paint is fine for clear coat, but like someone said, let it dry for about 20 days. And as someone else said, you don't need clear on solid colors, just a few more coats of paint so you don't buff through. Again, letting it dry for about 20 days,

You may want to look into a paint system like MCW's He has a great primer, almost any paint color you can think of, and the correct clears to go on top. MCW can be ordered in prethinned 1, & 2 oz. bottles, or in a spray can. I use several different paint systems, but if i want a good finish with little work for the colors he has, it's the plan. You can paint, and buff out the next day. And yes he does Mail order to U.S. address'. I can only get MCW products at shows when I'm in the States.

The other system for custom paint is BlackGold, it's repackaged for modelers "House of Color" paint. You can paint, and buff out the next day. The only down fall, is I don't believe you can get it in spray cans, and it's not prethinned.

Another good system is Dupli-color, You can paint, and buff out the next day. but don't use their primer, use MCW, or Krylon sandable gray or white primer. And with all the systems above, but testor's, Primer is a must. MCW, BlackGold, and Dupli-color paints are "hot"(will wrinkle the surface) to model plastic. Resin must be primed, but no paint can hurt it.

I've used all, and have had very little trouble with any.
Randy