I am the beginner in th eaircraft modelling (plastic models 1:72). I have heard stories about famous FUTURE floor polish so I decided to use it. I am just working on the Nakajima (Kate) bomber. I painted fuselage and wings with dark green gloss paint (Humbrol). Then I applied decals. I put the plane aside to let it dry for 24 hours and then decided to make the final touch - cover/seal everything with FUTURE. During applying it, everything went great but ten minutes later I froze. Firstly the decals wrinkled and they look as if they are going to fall apart in a moment. Secondly, here and there white stains appeared. Something is wrong. Please help! Where is my mistake? What caused these problems? How can I repair the damage now? … or maybe I should not panic and just let it dry for another couple of hours and everything will be OK (but honestly I doubt it). Where is the problem?
You didn’t say if the Humbrol paint you used is enamel or acrylic. You also don’t mention if you used a decal solution to help the decals settle in. From your description of “white spots” I presuming you used Micro Sol or some other vinegar based decal solution. The white spots may disappear on their own, but if it doesn’t, then you’ll have to remove the future coat. If you used enamel, you can use Windex and remove the future coat. Hopefully that doesn’t take off the decals as well. Otherwise you may have to take off the paint as well.
Here is a link to the famous The Complete Future by our very own Swanny. Full of helpful tips about the usage of Future.
You should seal the model with Future and let dry BEFORE you apply the decals. Yes, as already pointed out some setting solutions can cause a white reaction but not to worry. Let the decals dry down completely then reseal with Future. The white will go away and the decals will be sealed in and also the carrier film with tend to disappear. Bgrigg has already given you the link to The Complete Future, look it over and if you have problems or questions just drop me a line – be happy to assist.
I’ll answer that Matt! Yes Future can be applied with a brush. A wide soft brush is the best to use. If you read through the link I posted above Swanny touches on the ability of Future to be brushed. Better results from the airbrush, just like all paints, but it can be done given time and patience.
Well first of all, Future is usually used for canopies and for giving a gloss finishing to the model PRIOR to applynig decals. You said you painted the model with gloss paint so I don’t understand why you are using future if you already have a gloss finish.
Nowadays I usually only use future for restoring clear parts as it does not react well to micro sol and other decal solvents. I most always use Tamiya Clear Gloss in the spray can (TS-13) to achive a nice gloss finish (over acrylics). It is a synthetic lacquer that will be completely dried in under 1 hour (assuming you apply a reasonable amout). TS-13 does not react to decaling solvents.
I know that info does not solve your problem but I hope it helps avoid future problems–no pun intended.
I have never heard of future affecting decals so I will have to assume the future is reacting to the paint. I have never used humbrol paint so I can say.
First of all the problem started when you used gloss paints and decaled over that. Any miltary model you build should be done in flats, water base acrylic paints are best, then Future can be applied as a gloss coat prior to decaling and then again as a decal sealer. After you seal decals with Future and let dry a few hours you can spray a cleat flat dull coat over that. I think what happened is a solvent in the gloss paint reacted to Future under your decals, that can happen when decals are not properly sealed even if they look like they are there can still be edges on the decals that have lifted from the model surface. You want to inspect your seal on your decals use a powerful magnifying glass and inspect every edge on the decals, if you find edges that have lifted use an X-Acto #11 blade and make a tiny cut into the decal where you see it lift and apply decal setting solution again over the cut and wait til it dries, inspect again and seal the edges again with Future.