Clear Coat TROUBLES!!

Hi, my first post,

So today I went and bought some Tamiya Clear X-22 acrylic paint because the paint on my model was starting to wear from handling. I thinned it out a bit for the airbrush and applied it. It dried and left white stains all over the piece I was working on. To me it appears like oil because I can see what looks to be finger prints so I washed it and am now waiting to do another coat, hopefully getting rid of the spots. Maybe im applying the coat wrong or using the wrong paint or maybe its just because I didnt wash it before. I dont know but any help would be apreciated!!!

  • Thanks

  • Dan

Sorry to hear about your clear coat woes. Tamiya XF-22 is a flattening agent, to be added to paint (or other clears) to flatten them. It should not be sprayed directly onto the model. Not sure what you can do at this point besides stripping the paint/clear off.

Sorry,

My mistake its not xx or xf, its just “Clear X-22”. Im certain that it is not a flattener although I am familiar with those. I did notice though when the white spots appeared I went over the spot again and they became less and less, even after it dried.

I’ve never had a problem with X-22 Clear.

Your white spots may be related to temperature/humidity or water in your air line. If you’re painting in very cold conditions it may be related to condensation on the surface as/before the paint dries.

To clear up any confusion over what you’re using:

X-20A - Acrylic thinner
X-21 - Flat Base
X-22 - Clear (Gloss)

Yes it could be from water!

I am washing my airbrush in windshield washer fluid and thinning with 99% isopropyl alchohol. It could be from left over washer fluid because it does contain water. I am gonna try running through with alcohol and then im gonna give it another try, wish me luck.

If you are just trying to apply a protective layer why are you using the Tamiya paint in the first place? Why not just apply a coat or 2 of future?

Good point,

Ive used future before and I guess it would make sense but I was thinking it would make everything too shiny, im not sure. I guess doing a final coat of whatever maybe a semi would get rid of that. Now talking about future, do you use it out of the bottle or thinned, and if so with what??

Dan, welcome to the forum. See this post about use of Future. For more comprehensive discussion, go to Matt Swan’s Complete Future.

The Tamiya X-21 Flat Base (Not XF-21, it was a typo in the earlier post.) comes in two sizes bottle. You will want the larger 3/4 oz., 23 ml size one, #81021.

I know what your saying, but the X-22 gives just as shiny a result as the Future… you can always go over the future with a Dull Coat… I finish all my projects with a coat of Future then a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear. As for the future, you can airbrush it straight out of the bottle, just make sure you clean the brush well afterwards- Windex works very well for that.

Thanks keilau for that post and yea I think im gonna go with future now. And thanks for the windex suggestion, never thought of that but I will give it a try. Last night I when’t over the model again with a coat of clear (x-22) after thoroughly drying my brush and it when’t on very nicely. Suprisingly it didnt make it too shiny either.

Oh and is it ok to paint over future as well??

Hi,

Can you tell me how to use Tamiya flat base x-21? Should it be mixed with Tamiya gloss paints and then applied or applied as an overcoat to dull a gloss finish?

Welcome to the forums.

Yes, Tamiya X-21 must first be mixed with a gloss paint (or clear) to make the gloss “flat”. One part of X-21 to four parts of the gloss paint (or clear) will give you a flat finish.

Do not use X-21 on its own as a clear flat coat - that’s not how it’s meant to be used, as it’s an additive rather than a “paint” in its own right. Using X-21 on its own will give you a model covered in a translucent white goo.