Can somebody explain why using a thinner of some sort acts as a fixer? Also, what does the term “fixer” actually mean?
Please don’t anyone take this question as meaning I am debating. Quite the contrary, I do not understand the concept and it obviously works and I would like to understand why it works.
Chris, I recall back in my HO modeling period, I weathered with pastel chalks had the same result as you, a matte coat made it all mostly disappear. That is why I am so interested in this ‘fixer’ thing!
In my experience, a fixer does NOT prevent weathering pigments from disappearing under a matte top coat. What a fixer does is help pigments adhere better to a surface treated with a matte varnish. Think of the surface of a model as a 3D sandpaper. A fixer carries pigments down to all those tiny grooves on the surface of a model. This is why a liquid w/ low surface tension (e.g., thinner) works better as a fixer. You could use water as a fixer, too. But water will not fill all those tiny grooves because of its high surface tension, which makes it a less effective fixer.
Just got time to buy the tamiya flat clear from my local hobby shop…I am now at my real permanent home and will be back at my room that I rent (where my bat cave is) on Wed…I will give you feedback by then. So wish me luck. Results will be just in time for the IPMS Phillipines 11th nationals on dec 10-15.[:D]
I tried applying a small amount of flat clear over my weathered turret to apply a decal. Unfortunately, the section faded and showed some part of the primer. So what I did was to re-apply the weather master over the flat clear then applied the decal. Had no issues in adding the decal. After everything, it looks like nothing happened. In conclusion, the flat clear is not a good sealant. I guess I’ll try the acryllic thiner then.