Hello,
I’m pretty much brand new when it comes to making and painting models, and I’m coming close to having to start putting decals on my 1/700 Pit Road model of the Soviet Destroyer Udaloy. (More detail work and touch-ups still need to be done, and any comments/advice are more than welcome.)
I used Testors enamel as the primer coat, with various acrylic as the base paint (primarily Tamiya, but with a lot of Model Master, Polyscale, and some old Reaper bottles). Now, I know from reading around here that prior to applying decals I need to add a gloss coat so the decals will have a nice surface to affix to. I will then need another gloss coat to lock them on, do any washes, and then a final clear matte coat.
(Decals are for helipad, hull, and front of missile tubes.)
As I don’t have an airbrush setup and probably won’t for a while (small two room apartment), I would like to use spray cans as I do have a small balcony to work on. However, when looking for what sort of brands to use I seem to find all sorts of contradictory advice. One person recommends using Tamiya laquer spray, but another says to stay away as the laquer will damage the acrylic paint. One person recommends Testor Dullcoat, but another says it clouds.
I know everyone has their own personal preferences in this, and I’m sure I’ll develop mine over time; but for now, what brands/types of spray clear coat (gloss and matte) should I get? I have to well equipped hobby shops near where I live, and if that fails I can always order it.
Thanks for your help!
I use a hotter lacquer than Tamiya and never had it damage acrylic paint. Just sayin. And I guess Testors Dulcoat could be said to haze if put on too heavy in rapid successive coats. And possibly either could haze if shot in real humid weather. So there is a kind of generic answer to your question till someone else comes along ( I haven’t used spray can to paint models in decades).
Never had lacquer clearcoats attack acrylic either, not even Gunze Mr. Super Clear rattle cans. I’m with Oldermodelguy in his observation that putting the paint on too wet is probably what has caused issues for those other people. Also, when they talk about “hazing”, they may be talking about clear plastic parts. Any clearcoat will do that to clear parts, especially lacquers. You’ll be safe overcoating the whole thing with lacquer clearcoats. Just make sure you allow sufficient curing time for your paint before clearcoating, and when you clear coat, keep the can moving. You don’t want to stop or hover in one spot. Start spraying to one side of the model (not on the model) then move across the model in a smooth, sweeping action, and don’t stop the paint flow until you are past the other end of the model.
The sticker on the lid says which one is what. Main labels are probably the same. You noticed the different TS #'s
A sticker where I couldn’t see it would make sense…
As far as product numbers, I wasn’t sure if one was like an old run or a different composition. (Like, the gloss referred to it as a lacquer but the matte one didn’t.) I got sort of overwhelmed by all the threads across all the forums about various ways to get a clear coat I wanted to make sure I had everything down.
My point about more aggressive lacquer ( thus hotter) is that if mine doesn’t eat the acrylic base coat Tamiya should not for sure, since it’s quite a mild lacquer. I’m talking about non model lacquers that I have used, the solvents are much stronger in them. Both automotive and wood working lacquers have not bothered acrylic base coats/color coats.
A lot of people use those TS paints and love them. I’m not sure you’re " missing" anything !