People on this site and others have been going on about using future floor polish to apply decals, how important is this and do I have to cover the whole tank or just were the decals are to be applied?
It is not important that you use Future in particular. What is important is that you apply a glosscote of some type, especially if it is on flat paint. Decals will silver, when applied directly to flat pained surfaces. Silvering is the minute air bubbles trapped between the flat paint (which is microscopically rough to give the flat sheen) and the decal, which reflect light back. Decals will stick better to a gloss surface as well. The smoother the surface, the better adhesion your decals will have and the more they will disappear into the model’s finish and look painted on. You can either apply the gloss to just the area that the decal will go, or on the whole model. If I am decalling a model with many decals, such as helos, I spray the whole thing. On a tank with just a few decals, I usually just apply some where the decal will go. To finish the process, you also need to seal the decal on with a cote of dullcote. This seals them on and also takes the shine out of your area where you applied the gloss for the decals. It also helps blend the decal in and makes the carrier film (clear part of the decal) disappear even more. Once the decals are sealed, you should have no problem with them ever coming off or discoloring either. I have models that are 15 years old with the decals still in tact and no problems at all.
Personally I prefer Testors Glosscote and Dullcote. It is up to you though on what you like and use.
When applying decals, it is very important that the surface onto which they are applied be smooth and glossy, otherwise microscopic bits of air will be trapped between the decal film and the model. This effect is known as silvering, and has the net result of making the decals look like, decals, rather than allowing them to look painted on. Futire floor finish is one way that you can get a gloss surface suitable for decalling. So in answer to your first question, Future or some othe gloss finish is extremely improtant.
As far as ther whole tank vs. the decal area, there are people who subscribe to each method. I prefer to do the entire tank. By glossing the entire model, I fing that the final finish will look more uniform. I also find that after the decals are applied, that the deacls seem to blend better by covering the entire model, decals and all, with another gloss coat, prior to hitting it with a matte coat.
Another advantage to glossing the entire thing is that Future is acrylic, and thus acts as a buffer between an underlying enamel paint and a susequent thinner/enamel wash. When applying washes directly over the paint, you run a strong risk of having the wash dissolve the underlying paint and ruining the paint job.
One final point, is that if you are worried about piant buildup and hiding details, airbrushing a few coats of Future aren’t going to do that.
Andy
How important is Future Floor Polish? I’ll tell you how important Future Floor Polish is.
Future Floor Polish is the foundation on which Western Civilization rests.
[:p]
Actually, it’s just a helpful hobby tool. It has many uses, and is readily available, cheap, as it’s sold to be used in large quantities. Why would anyone torture themselves over spending three bucks for a five-years supply in a bottle? Just buy it man! [(-D]
Hey Scary,
Just so you know, there are some of us out here who don’t use future. There are other ways to prevent decals from silvering. I don’t have anything against the stuff, but IHMO, it is unnecessary. The use of dry transfers has really eliminated the need for it on armor for me.
Many others use it and believe in it religiously, so it’s your choice really.
Regards,
Steve
I dont use it. I think that it detracts from your model… General rule of thumb is that use the least amount of coats of paint, weathering, and finishing agents possible to achieve the desired affect. There is obviously less room for error.
crockett: do you have to get dry transfer sheets already made or can you print your own?
Dry transfers is not your typical ink on sheet kind of deal. But hey, if you can print your own decals, with the proper knowledge and stuff you can certainly print your own dry transfers.
I use future as a gloss coat for a number reasons besides decaling.
1.) it is not as expensive overall as glosscote or any other hobby manufactuer
acrylic glosscoat. (really cheap in comparrison on a model to model base)
2.) provides an excellant barrier between enamels and oil/turp washes
3) As pointed out above 3 for 5 year supply - Mine was $6.00 for a 10 year supply
4.) great agent for protecting clear parts or even tinting clear parts with acrylic
paint or food coloring
5) Low tack glue for small pieces of PE
6) A decent backing for decals, and in armor applications just a little bit where a decal is going is sufficient
Is it the end all - no, but it has been extremely useful for me
Cheers everyone for the detailed imput. This is my first build for 20 plus years and the more I read this site, the more I realise how much I have to learn. My am pleased with the way my 1/35 Tamiya Tiger 1 has turned out, all is built and painted with just the decals and the tools to add. I had originaly planned to paint the model without weathering just so I could have one model built and on display, but after seeing pics of other builds I realise that to make my model look finished it does need some weathering. Is there an idiots guide on how to do this, i just need the basics to make the tank look used as my Tiger looks like it has spent the war in Switzerland and the crew have had nothing better to do than spend everyday T-cutting and polishing their tank
Yo G-monkey,
I order all mine direct from archer at www.archertransfers.com, they virtually have a set for any application. I’ve never tried making my own, and even if it were possible, I don’t think I would be into it. I’ll leave that stuff up to the experts.
Steve
I personally could not build the way I want to build without Future. Oh, I could use gloss coats using other materials, but the cost would drive me nuts. So, to answer your question, Future is extremely important…to me.
There might be stuff in the techniques forum, it can be both simple and complicated subject. Do you have to weather the model to call it complete - no, not everyone does. Do what you are confortable with and don’t hesitate to experiment or ask questions
You can also check out other armor modelling sites ie: armorama, for articles on weathering.
scary monster,
Seems all the bases have been covered, so may I extend a warm [#welcome].
If I may add a comment about weathering. I think you will find many techniques are fairly simple and easy to master. In my own experiences I did improve after several attempts. If this is an expensive kit, you may want to leave it as is for the time being and try weathering some less expensive kits until you are comfortable with what you are doing. You can then go back and weather your Tiger.
There are some very fine people here and I’m sure none of them will hesitate to give advice if you hit a problem area. Good Luck as you finish your project. Hope to see it posted here when you finish.
Joe
I’ve got to differ with 121. I like future and believe it is also an effective protectant to the base coat. I love to weather my builds and with a coat of future I can detail paint with oils or enamel and wipe it off if I don’t like it or @#$% it up. Other glossies are good too but I spray only acrylics and plus Future is CHEAP and accessable. JMHO
The importance of Future acryilic floor wax is only surpassed by the importance of the number 42. [tup]
I cut Tamiya flat acrylic base into my Future and use it to dull down figure uniforms. I also dip my helicopter canopies into straight Future to make them clearer.
Future acrylic and collie fur, however, do not mix well. A couple of weeks ago a nearly-full bottle of Future fell off a storage shelf by my workbench and landed next to my collie Claymore, who was sleeping on the floor. Claymore shot up into the air, the Future shot out onto Claymore, and everybody got real wet in the ensuing encounter with the garden hose.
Take a look at this thread.
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11687
Domi’s guide is great for first timers because it’s generally really easy to undo any mistakes. Unfortunately the pix are long gone, but the info is still first rate. HTH
Thanks everyone, great thread buff and thanks wibhi2 for the armorama site. I have a couple of other cheaper models I am going build to get some practice with weathering before I try it on the Tiger1, painting was never the stongest part of my modeling.
Thanks all
SM