I have been model building for years, but do not regularly use a gloss coat or flat coat. I paint the model, apply the decals, then call it good. Why, you ask…I tried a flat coat years ago and it screwed up a really good (or so I thought at the time) model! I was so irritated that I had ruined a good model that I had spent so much time working on, I vowed never again to use a gloss or flat coat.
But as the years have passed and my models are stacking up on the shelf, I would like to preserve them a little better. Since I already have applied the decals, is it still possible to apply a gloss coat, let dry, then apply a flat coat as necessary???
Also, I am a little hesitant about spraying Future through my airbrush because even acrylic paint clean-up in it is an arduous process. Does anyone recommend Testors Gloss and Dull Cote in a spray can???
Any help and/or advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you!
If you have been using “nothing” to prep your surface or top coat your models for years, then your kits probably show “silvering”. If you are happy with this, enough said. However, to your point of “preserving” what you have built -
I can only tell you that I have been using both Testors Dullcote in the can and more recently, Poly Scale Flat for years on all my builds and I have never had an issue. I dont see any reason why you couldn’t dull cote an older finished model. PROTECT CLEAR PARTS BEFORE HAND!
Future cleans up far easier in the airbrush than paint, even laquer and acrylics. I just spray some windex glass cleaner through and then go through the usual steps. Do yourself a favor, on your next kit, apply future to the decal areas and let it cure for a day or so. Apply the decals and then topcoat with Testors or the flat coat of your choice. You will be rewarded with a much more realistic build.
Actually, the models that I have built without the overcoat of gloss and/or flat show very little, if any silvering at all. The only indication of the decal not being painted on, is that the decal reflects light and the paint job does not when turned in the light.
Would you suggest that I gloss coat the old models FIRST, (let cure/dry) then apply the flat coat? Or would it be okay to just apply the flat coat over the model and decals [after protecting the clear parts]?
Assuming you can get all the dust off, I’d clear coat the model first. This helps hide the decal film better than just overcoating with flat. You don’t need a heavy coat. If you’re using Testor’s Gloss/Dullcote, I’d spray them through an airbrush.