Any suggestions for a clear coat that doesn’t have a yellow tint? I used Model Master Clear Flat Clear Coat over a white weapons bay on an Academy F-22. It worked great, but gave the white paint a very slight yellow tint.
I tried using Tamiya and Model Master acrylic clear coats, and they work great with white, but they give the darker colors a very slight grey tint.
Just though I’d query the gurus here before I go do they “try one of everything” approach.
FYI, I searched the forums here first but here are no simple key words for this.
I haven’t heard of that problem in a long, long time. A number of clear coats used to weather to a yellow tint, but that was fifteen or twenty years ago, and I doubt your paint was that old. Could it be a problem of compatibility? What kind of paint was it going over?
I used Model Master Flat Clearcoat Lacquer over Tamiya flat white acrylic. The white paint had dried for several days so I’m sure it was cured. I thinned the clear coat with lacquer thinner.
I’m not worried about using theMM Clearcoat, I’d just like to find a reliable alternative.
One alternative is clear urethane varnish. One good thing about those is that they come in three finishes- gloss, semi-matt and matt/flat. Thin them with mineral spirits for airbrushing. I have only used them over enamels, so don’t know how they would react to acrylics.
Don, what brand of urethane are you using? What thinning ratio do you use and does it atomize nicely? I’ve seen you mention this before and I think I’d like to give it a try. I’m even willing to experiment over acrylics.
Boy, I don’t remember the brand. I got it at Menards- just regular polyurethane varnish. I do remember I tried my normal 1:1 thinner/paint ratio and it worked fine.
Minwax ‘Polycrylic’ and Rustoleum ‘Varathane’ are water miscible/clean-up urethane varnishes that you might try. They come in gloss, semi-gloss and satin. I’ve ABed Varathane in satin finish and it seems to work fine over acrylics.
What kind of lacquer thinner did you use? Applying anything thinned with ‘off the shelf’ lacquer thinner from Home Depot (Klean-Strip, etc.) over Acrylic sounds dicey… that stuff is very strong. It may have reacted with the color coat to some degree. If you’re talking hobby lacquer thinner (Mr Color, Tamiya, etc.) then it’s not an issue.
I’ve had excellent results shifting away from Future over to the Alclad aqua coats. They go on much thinner than Future, and you can get flat, matte, light sheen, and gloss. Pricier than Future to be sure, but it’s still pennies per model even in 1/32 scale.
I’ve only been using them since the last model build mid last year, so time hasn’t told the story yet of their color accuracy over time. It’s possible they’ll yellow eventually, but so far so good.