First time builder and confused as to which clear coat I should be using. I’m building a car using testots enanel painy. Spray cans for the body and large pieces, brush for smaller areas.
Do I need enamel clear coat? Laquer? Acrylic ok? Will I ger good results brushing it om or better out of a can? I’m not going to invest in an airbrush. Any specific brand I should be using if I use testors enamel paint?
Thanks
Welcome to your first build! I’m no expert, but I’m nearing completion of a build on which I also used Testors spray enamel for the body and brush enamel for the smaller parts. After painting, I sprayed the body with Testors clear gloss lacquer and it worked well. I recommend using the same brand for paint and clear coat, at least until you have more experience to know what does and doesn’t work. I do not recommend brushing on clear coat unless you have a really nice brush and a refined technique. Hopefully this helps, cheers!
I airbrush but many years ago used Testors Enamel rattle cans and always used their enamel clear as well ( when I used clear that is, back then we didn’t automatically clear coat so much as today). Also their candy colors a lot more. This was when Pactra was still alive and well and I used their enamels as well. My suggestion is to keep enamel with enamel. Lacquer clear over a fresh enamel paint job can reach out and grab ya sometimes. If someone is doing that successfully I’d say they have been lucky thus far even though these lacquers are not as hot as automotive lacquers.
Water based acrylic clears will go over enamel ok and maybe not yellow over light colors in time as much as enamel clear might. And if you are going to polish these give them a good long time to cure, both enamel and acrylic or you may not like the result. Lacquer can be rubbed out sooner, the bad news is it will probably need to be more so than enamel or acrylic. Anyway that’s my take on your question.
Cans are okay it would depend if your going to do any weathering.If you weather with enamels,then you would need an acrylic clear,if your weathering is acrylic,then go with enamel clear.If no weathering is being done,then either would be okay.
I’m not a rattle can guy but some guys in this site are. Have heard great things about this product for auto type finishes:
https://www.testors.com/product-catalog/testors-brands/testors/lacquer-paint/lacquer-sprays/
Tojo is correct. I clear coat with acrylic over enamel. A coyuple of reasons- it can be removed or touched up to fix runs etc. without damaging the color coats. It brushes on fine it you use a soft wide brush and are careful.
And as was pointed out, enamels, or in my case turpenoid thinned oil paint, can be applied over acrylic without any problems.
I think we US modelers are sort of airbrush crazy. I read other magazines from the UK and brush painting is much more the norm.
I use Testors lacquer glosscoat over Testors enamel. I don’t know why it works, but it does. Biggest problem is letting the enamel dry thoroughly- several days. I built a drying box to speed things up- paint is ready for usually ready for overcoat in just a day or day and a half.