I've nearly finished the first kit I've managed to churn out in a long time, and I'm just about ready to put a final coat of matte on it. I've got rattle cans of both Testors and Rustoleum dull coats in the garage. These are both lacquers, correct? I work primarily with acrylic paints (poor ventilation + family members + cats = I don't want anyone to get sick), is there any preventative action or cautions I should keep in mind before I spray the dull coat over the paint and Future I've applied?

As an aside, I have to say I'm less than impressed with Future as a gloss coat for decals. I brushed it on straight out of the bottle, and while I didn't have any issues with brush marks or streaking, the finish I got was satin rather than gloss. I think going forward I'm going to rely on the rattle cans of clear coat I've got sitting next to the dull coat, but the same question applies: should I be concerned about using a lacquer spray on an acrylic base coat?

You should have no problem as long as your acrylic coat is thoroughly dry,24-36 hours to be sure.

Just make sure the area you spray in is ventlated,and no open flames,you know the common sense stuff.

the Testors rattle cans dull and gloss work great. I have the liquids and thinner for airbrushing, but I dont do that too often anymore. airbrushing is more efficient, the rattle cans aint cheap, but then the time and unpleasantness of cleaning the brush and mixing bottle with acetone more than offsets that.

you can also do touch ups with dull coat. I keep a pad of those tiny single use disposable brushes for that purpose.

What type of acrylic paint do you use ?

Depending on what brand of paint you use ( Tamiya is a good example here ) is not glossy or at least in military which is flat and will take many coats of future to fill in the roughness of the flat paint leaving a nice smooth glossy surface .

I use the Testors gloss and flat coat's but I don't use the aerosol cans . Glass jars work the best . You use a hell of a lot less and those cattle cans are pricey in the long run . Spraying the lacquer through your airbrush will the gloss/dull coat better atomization resulting in a smoother finish .



Terri

Thanks for the replies! I'm hoping to spray some dull coat tomorrow night to finish up a kit.

Terri: I do indeed use Tamiya acrylics as well as some Vallejo acrylics. Will I achieve a quicker gloss coat with a clear coat spray?

You will still need to build this up in layers . One thick coat won't do it and will only cause you troubles with runs and pooling on the surface . Doesn't matter either it is done by a brush or airbrush , best results are building it in layers until you have smooth gloss surface .



Terri

As long as the paint has completely dried, there shouldn't be any issues. Flat acrylics should only take 24 hours to fully cure unless it's been very humid, then I'd give it one additional day to be on the safe side.

Given the choice between Rustoleum, and Testors dull coats, go withe the Testors as it's been formulated for model paints. If you have an airbrush, then go with that over a rattle can. Apply with the can in lite even coats. Build up a few coats, then let it dry for a few hours, then a final few coats. You don't want runs and puddles.

As far as hand brushing Future/Pledge, the problem is with your technique. As Teri said you need to build up the coats lightly and slowly, but you also need to polish the flat painted surface with Micro Mesh pads or sheets. I use 8,000 then 12,000. This smooths out the surface allowing the gloss coat to flow on and produce a shiny finish. Just brushing on Future over the raw paint will take layers and layers to smooth out the finish, and it may never be smooth enough.

Joel

sometimes I use Vallejo gloss or matt topcoats from the cans and I find its best to mist a couple of coats on rather than going for it first time ! gives a much better finish.

paul

The reason you did not get a really glossy finish when hand brushing Future is because you need to apply several coats to build up the shine. I exclusively use this method and it works just perfect. The Future levels out and leaves NO brush marks. My paint is usually smooth but if it's a bit rough to the touch, I lightly polish it with an old cotton rag or paper coffee filters.

I let the Future dry 10 minutes or so and then apply another coat. I keep doing this till I get the right sheen usually 4-5 coats then let it dry for 48 hours or so before decaling. After the decals go and are dry, I brush another coat of Future for the panel washes. Let that dry for a day or so then spray either acrylic or lacquer clear flat.

I recommend going with the Testors rattle can over the Rustulium because the latter will spray a thicker coat than Testors. I also use both Rustulium and Krylon primers but decant them for AB use for the same reason.