I think this OP is yanking our chain. The same question has been presented in several different ways with the same answer given. There seems to be a disconnect somewhere, something lost in translation?
I am all about helping anybody however after reading this thread and replies multiple times I see that the OP just does not get it.
P. S. The screen name “ohms” implies to me resistance and this appears to be what is happening here.
No, I understand it may look like I’m having fun with people on the board, but I have no intention of doing that. I just had what I thought was a valid question. Still new to the model kit hobby, so I’m trying to bridge what I see on YouTube vs. what I’m trying on my own. Don’t have a lot of resources beyond the internet to help me out. [:)] I understand my questions can get a little OCD, but I don’t want to be mistaken for someone simply looking for a laugh.
The can of Tamiya TS-13 was what I was given at the store when I asked for something to give me a gloss coat. (It said ‘clear’ and not ‘gloss’, so did the guy not understand me? I didn’t question him and just took it).
I didn’t use the can that much, because I soon bought an airbrush and now I use a Humbrol gloss mix instead.
It’s just that that TS-13 can was lying there saying ‘clear’ when I asked for gloss, and since I didn’t get much of a gloss when I used it (maybe I should’ve applied more layers?), and since I don’t see much of a difference when YouTubers apply it (see videos by Sideshow Collectibles), I began to believe that “clear” (as opposed to gloss, matte and satin) is some neutral coat that’s applied for some other reason besides changing the sheen.
Thus I decided to ask this question. I was wondering if this is some type of product that’s used to prevent the airbrush coat from scractching off easily, which is a genuine problem I’m having. Otherwise, if it’s just for non-silvering decals and protecting paint from weathering layers, I have no use for it.
Ditto that.
TS-13 is gloss clear, TS-79 is semi-gloss clear, and TS-80 is flat clear.
That is certainly one use for a clear coat, yes.
I have used a lot of acrylics, and my product of choice is not one of the tougher-drying ones, so I got into the habit early on of clear-coating just about everything to seal, protect, and provide handleablility.
Really, that’s a secondary benefit becuase the primary reason is usually to provide the desired surface finish (flat, satin, gloss etc).
I’m also in the clear coat over decal camp, because otherwise it has been my experience that decals yellow over time. And I believe it helps to hide the decal edge too.
This is my 2 cents on your question, I don’t mean to ignore other replies above saying the same things, just second them.
Thanks, that helps.
Hi. No, it’s neither. What was happening was I was using the common “Tamiya Extra Thin Cement” to put several pieces of a Formula One wing together after having airbrushed them and waited a day. These were very finicky parts, and because you have to wait a while for the glue to bond properly, the pieces kept falling apart and I had to keep re-attaching them AND finding a way to keep the shape while the glue dried. All that time touching & stressing with the pieces led to a lot of paint getting scratched off.
A lot of that was due to inexperience (in hindsight, I should’ve just done one bond at a time, not try to fit the whole thing at once). It was literally the first step in the model and I had already ruined it. When I tried to remove the paint with Dettol to start over, the parts proved to be brittle and broke apart. Needless to say I was heartbroken.
I’ve since asked on this board about other glues, but to be honest, I’ve tried several glues now, wasted a lot of money for just one application each, seeing that none of them are as good as regular superglue, and given them away to a local handyman. Now I’ve decided to just stick with superglue for everything but the clear parts, for which I have a decent alternative.
If Greg says that clear coating does help with preventing the paint from scratching off, PLUS if I won’t be stressing too much with superglue’s almost instant application, I think I’ve solved the problem.
You might not understand how Tamiya Extra Thin works so just in case…
So I am hearing that you airbrushed, waited a day for paint to dry, then used Tamiya Extra thin to assemble.
Did you scrape off the paint at the attach points? You want bare plastic where the two surfaces meet.
Tamiya and Tamiya extra thin melt the plastic at the bond surface and ‘weld’ it together. Depending on the type of paint and how thick it is sometimes you can get away without scraping, but I’m in the scrape camp.
In this case, a clear coat would make things worse rather than better.
By the way, in my experience, superglue has a tendency to fail on large plastic joins subject to any tensile pressure over time, and a proper plastic cement (like Tamiya) is a safer bet.
Yeah, I definitely came across the tip of scraping before applying the cement. But like you said, sometimes you can get away with it, and so that’s why I went in without doing it. [:(]
I appreciate the advice on both superglue and Tamiya’s cement. Right now I began a model with only superglue, and I enjoy the differential between it and Tamiya, but if you’re saying there’s a trade-off in the long run, I’ll have to keep my eye out.
Thanks again.
Superglue only has strength in shear, i.e when the force applied to the joint is parallel to the surfaces being attached. It is an adhesive, and adhesives generally have pretty poor performance with any kind of load.
Superglue has very little no almost no strength in tension. An example would be if the halves of an aircraft fuselage are adhered together with superglue, the wings are attached and the wings are then flexed in any way, the fuselage joint will crack immediately.
If you use it to join together parts that have any kind of coating, are not prepped or are dirty, the adhesion is greatly reduced, only having the value of what ever coating or other substance has with the bare plastic.
As noted above, Tamiya Extra Thin, Acetone, Testors and other solvent glues form a bond by melting and fusing the plastic surfaces.
I use solvent glues on plastic for anything structural, such as ship hull halves, wings to fuselage, or components of a car body. Anything that can be glued first and painted later.
Because the adhesion of superglue is poor, it really works best for me with smaller prepainted parts being attached to larder sections of the model.
Tamiya Extra Thin and other solvents cannot be used to bond anything together except plastic, so superglue is required for resin kits, an alternate there being epoxy.
Morrison’s Second Law: There’s never enough time to do it right, but somehow there’s always enough time to do it over.
Ohms, no offense the reaction is on my end. I did not fully understand what exactly you were asking and the responses given are some of the best advise to the question. I have no issue nor do I intend to start anything negative between us, it is all good in my book and I will execersize a little more patients next time. Good luck and enjoy the hobby…it can be really fun[:D]
I tend to use the regular Tamiya cement with the orange cap when I’m attaching parts that are already painted, and always scrape the paint away from the mating areas of both parts. The extra thin can sometimes end up running places you didn’t want it to go, and can foul a nicely painted area of your model. For that reason, I generally only use extra thin when joining unpainted parts like fuselage halves. I work the joint maybe an inch at a time, holding the parts so there’s just a tiny gap between them. Touch the brush to that area and the cement will flow along the gap. The tiny gap will keep the cement from evaporating too quickly and will give it time to work on melting the plastic (about 20 seconds). After 20 seconds, make sure your alignment is still good, and squeeze the joint together so a little bead of melted plastic forms along the edge. After you’re done gluing your parts together with this technique, after 24 hours, you can use a Squadron seam scraper to gently remove that plastic bead and you’ll have very little puttying and sanding to do because the two pieces are now one. I usually just have to touch up a couple of tiny spots by dabbing a tiny bit of super glue on them (usually where the sprue was attached).
No problem. I’m not easily offended. [:)] I had to defend myself, though, because I don’t want to be flagged by the admins or anything like that.
You have to remember, I ask such detailed questions because my models are my only point of reference. I have yet to meet someone else since I began the hobby who can show me one of theirs.
Beyond the internet, the only person I can really speak to is the nearest hobby shop owner (if he’s not busy when I’m there), and that’s a 130 kilometre drive. [:D]
I planned on coming to ModelWorld in Telford at the end of the year, but even if ticket prices remain the same AND borders reopen, I don’t even know if the event itself is happening. Will probably have to leave it for another year.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. Believe me when I say, it’s not in vain. I may not try everything, but I always come back to answers for my old questions.
Well good sir with your situation please feel frre to PM me if your comfortable I will try to help as best as I can. Also I had no idea that your 130klicks from another modeler…dude thats like being on the moon. Good luck on getting to Telford, I’m trying to get to the Nats here in the U. S. Darn COVID[8o|]. Hang in there and keep your internet connected.
I hear that.
I started modeling as a kid, and 5 decades + later I don’t recall ever meeting anyone else in person who built a model (as an adult).
That’s one of many reasons I value the folks here so much.
It was worse being somewhat serious builder as a kid. No internet, no instant answers from online friends. We had magazines. And I think that’s why so many here react as they do when they hear of a favorite magazine going away. Understandably so.
I hope you feel welcome here and continue to participate.
Look up IPMS for a club or chapter in your area.
Goober, blop, snot are acronyms for something blowing into your paint job, be it airborne or from the gun.