One of my favorite things about modeling forums is learning all the useful tips and tricks associated with using everyday household items that are not traditionally thought of as modeling supplies. Sometimes following these tips can be disastrous, or disappointing at best; however, sometimes you hit gold. That is just what I thought had happened when I discovered Future floor polish, but recently I’ve been disappointed. I’m not going to go into the usual “did the formula change affect it’s properties” debate. Instead, I’m going to give you a mini-review of a product I decided to try just for giggles that I am now head-over-heels in love with.
This would be Krylon Crystal Clear Gloss Acrylic Coating (1303).
On a recent Michael’s trip with my better half I couldn’t really find anything to use my 40% coupon on. I obviously couldn’t let it go to waste, so I grabbed a can of this stuff. For around $4 it wouldn’t kill me to try it. I must say that I didn’t hold much hope because, having followed forum advice, I had used some Krylon primer and found myself disappointed. The primer is actually a good product and works well; however, even with thin coats applied sparingly the finish ends up grainy. This really isn’t always a problem because ideally you would want to do some light sanding following primer anyway. When I used it on a 1/48 Spitfire things went fine since I could sand it down adequately. However, doing so on a Panzer IV isn’t as easy given all the nooks and crannies, and even after several overcoats of hobby paint the finish was just rough.
I wasn’t going to just spray this stuff untested onto a good model and hope for the best. Fortunately, my garage is full of kits that just went wrong somehow or another, so I grabbed one for some testing. I sprayed three light coats over a 1/48 Hasegawa P-40. I allowed an hour or so of drying time between each coat. A day or so later I remembered this experiment and went to the garage to see if the stuff was going to prove to be too thick or not. I was amazed to find just how glass-like the finish was, but was even more amazed that the panel lines and rivets were not filled in near enough for me to tell any difference. This is vitally important when you’re planning washes, so I was thrilled. I decided to move to some further testing.
My problem with Future has been a whitish hazing or fogging of my finish when exposed to both Walmart brand white spirit and Turpenoid. I’ve eliminated all other variables by trying different paints etc. and continue to have the problem even with Future having weeks to dry. To test the Krylon I heavily brushed white spirit on the top of one wing and Turpenoid on top of the other wing (both of which had been painted with Tamyia acrylics). I then used a paper towel and wiped away the liquids from one half of the wing surfaces just as you would when doing filters etc. I left the inner portions of the wings with very unrealistically liberal amounts of each liquid pooled on them and promptly left the house for several hours of holiday shopping. When I returned home there was no ill effects to the paint or the gloss coat. At this point I know the stuff is safe for use with my preferred thinners for weathering. What about decals?
The last round of “testing” I did was to apply some spare decals with my solutions of choice: Micro Set and Sol. Again, no I’ll effect with leaving the stuff pooled on the surface. I didn’t even have the sometimes alarming, but totally fixable hazing caused by these liquids. The decals sat down and sucked into surface details just as you would expect them to do.
In conclusion I would just like to say that my whole intent is to share with fellow modelers a product they may be interested in trying to help them reach the goals they set for themselves. I am not at all suggesting that using whatever product you may be accustomed to is wrong or ineffective. Some of you may very well be like me and live in an area where there aren’t any decent brick and mortar hobby shops to buy model dedicated items. It’s nice to know you can walk in a Walmart on any corner and buy something like this you can use if you don’t want to have to trek to your LHS or make an online purchase. I thank all of those who take the time to read this, and I surely hope it helps you in the future. My future is pretty Futureless.
Some demo shots:
