You all are the most congenial, friendly people I’ve ever seen on a forum. I’ve been on FlightSim forums, football forums, etc. and users go from one extreme to the other, sometimes really attacking one another. I certainly appreciate this one!! Seriously!!
I also have a question I’ve tried to paint Future over my paint job with an airbrush and don’t get a very good finish. I’m not sure why since I paint my acrylic colors on the same way. I must be doing something wrong. Any suggestions? Also, can I use a clear dull coat of enamel over the Future, or will it cause a problem?
Yeah, you think we’re friendly? #$%^ that! LOL [:D]
I must admit, modelers seem to be a pretty helpful crowd. We get the occasional troll, but we have lots of vigilant posters who shut them down as fast as possible.
M1Garand is pointing you at the same website I would. Swanny is the definitive source for Future use! Future requires multiple coats to get really glossy, I use two or three. You don’t need any special techniques or thinning, just pour and spray. I use Tamiya X-21 Flat base mixed with Future for my dull coats. Swanny gives a ratio chart in his article on Future.
Have a read through and give it another shot and let us know how you did!
Kinda noticed that myself here. I just kinda stumbled in here almost by accident, looking for one specific bit of info, and just seemed to stay. [:D] What can I say, I like talkin’ airplanes!
OK, not airplanes that talk. I realize I’m from the 60’s and 70’s, but they weren’t THAT good to me! [:O] I like talking about airplanes. [;)]
It is a great place. Sometimes, it can get a little hot in some threads. Usually there’s more people coming down on trouble makers than people squabbling. It’s the nearest to “safe” that anything on the internet gets. Don’t get too comfortable…anyone can read or post here, so guard your personal info… SSN, address, biggest fears, and so on.[:)]
If you are getting a rough pebbly finish, I had the same problems when I started using Future. Here is what works for me:
What you need to do is turn your air pressure down to about 8-10psi. Thin it about 30% with Tamiya thinner. Then get up nice and close to what you are spraying (less than 2 inches), and lay down several LIGHT mist coats. If its put on light enough, the first coat will have dried enough by the time you get to one end of the model to go back to the start and put the next coat on. Let this dry for a few minutes, then turn your pressure on your airbrush up a bit (less than 15 psi), and put on a heavier ‘wet’ coat. The secret to making this work is to put it on in small amounts, close up. Spraying at high pressure, from more than 5-6 inches away is what causes the pebbly finish, the future starts to dry before it hits the model, and its self-leveling properties are ruined. Also, you don’t have enough control that way to keep the future from causing runs. If you try to get a glossy coat in one shot, Future is not going to work well.
I have used Tamiya’s lacquer clear flat over Future and it was OK. You have to make sure you let the Future cure completely, a couple of days drying might not be enough. Here’s a different suggestion. Some people here like to use Future with Tamiya clear base, but I don’t like that. I am just thrilled with Model Master clear flat. It goes on white, so you can see what you have painted, and it dries dead flat. Its really easy to use, inexpensive, and it comes in big bottles. Also, you can spray it right over acrylics with minimal drying time for the base coat…
Hogan: You’ve found a great forum, indeed. For the most part we all get long in here. My only advice is never title your post, “Only Real Men Highlight Their Panel Lines”.[:D]
As for the Future [#ditto]…take a look at Swanny’s site.
Some things i’ve found when using future…I spray it on incredibly light mist coats. Also if its humid i try to wait for a day when the humidity is down. The extra moisture in the air on humid days has always seem to make future coats get a little runny on me. I have taken the same practice with painting, humidity [censored] STINKS. That being said i think the best modeling investment i’ve ever made is a dehumidifier for my modeling room.
And about the forums this is definately the nicest forum i’ve ever been on. I’ve been on forums where everytime a new guy asks a question the first three replies are, in no particular order “use the search feature” “search for the answer u noob.” and “read the rules and guidlines and use the search but i’ll help you this one time…”. This is a great place. And i spend about 7.5 hours of my work day here because i enjoy it so much.
Make sure that paint dries for at least 3-4 days before overcoating with Future.Also use light coats instead of one heavy coat.The airbrush should be clean as well as the paint bottle.That should fix the problem.
Thank you all for the tips. I’m going to try these out. I did have the pressure up fairly high in my first attempts. I’m working on Tamiya’s 1/48 F-15 and have achieved a good camoflauge paint job to this point (which is most certainly subpar to the pics I’ve seen on this forum, but for my abilities and level, I think it’s a decent job [:D]). I will post some pics when I get the future applied and the rest of the kit finished.
Thank you all again for the help. It’s appreciated!![:)]
Well Hogan,since your working on an F-15…would you be interested in joining a Group Build? Our F-15 Group Build postings are moving kind of slow,but I think it is because of it being summertime and that (for some of us) usually means less workbench time.Just in case you have never heard of a Group Build…A GB is a way for us modelers to get our creative juices flowing.A group of us commit to build a model of either a specific subject, or a model that has a common theme with the others.Most GB’s have a beginning and end date, and as we build, we give updates as to the progress of the model construction (even including our screw ups!) If at all possible we try to post in-progress pictures of the model we are building, and give info on how everything is going (or not).It is quite common for several people to build the same model kit… and in this instance we try to help each other with tips and tricks to make a better detailed model, avoid the pitfalls of that particular model,and also help each other out when it comes to aquiring info that may be hard to find about your subject.But anyway…you are more than welcome to join if you desire.All of the relevent info is on the first page of the thread.The Group Build is located in the GB forum, but here is a shortcut for you:
I’ve tried to paint Future over my paint job with an airbrush and don’t get a very good finish. I’m not sure why since I paint my acrylic colors on the same way. I must be doing something wrong. Any suggestions? Also, can I use a clear dull coat of enamel over the Future, or will it cause a problem?