So I'm looking at the WNW Fokker D.VII and the tips section on line suggests painting the wings before putting on the lozenge decals as decals won't stick to bare plastic. I get that. My question is, can I just gloss coat the bare plastic and skip the "paint" stage? The decals are going down on the gloss coat anyway.

Haven't done anything where whole sections are covered with decal like this before, so I thought I'd ask before I screw something up. Thanks!

Michael

My personal inclination would be to lay tamiya primer (not the fine kind, the regular stuff), then gloss. I can't guarantee its not just a psychological benefit, but I feel like the gloss coat would adhere to it better than bare plastic. And then in turn, the loz decal would adhere better.

I would agree with Richard, but I'm sure that a good gloss coat would be OK, but I personally wouldn't use it on its own. If you want to save a stage use a gloss paint

Hi Michal

I do as Mal suggests and use a gloss buff-coloured paint as an undercoat. As well as giving a good surface for the decals to adhere to, painting in a solid colour has the added advantage of highlighting any flaws that need correcting.

All the best

Rowan

Yeah, thought about the gloss paint after I posted. Guess that makes the most sense all around (forgot about the seam-finding aspect). Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Michael

I've always air brushed on Glosscoat over flat paint. The shine basically comes from the gloss lacquer filling in the valleys so the surface is smooth but still has a little bite, so that the decals have no problem sticking to it. With the use of Johnson & Johnson's Future clear acrylic floor finish it's a whole new ballgame. Future will stick just fine to any unpainted plastic surface, as it has no problems sticking to any type of floor.

Joel