Hi all, sorry this has probably been asked (and answered) a 100 times before but I've just finished the paint work (acrilics) and I've read the model should be coated before applying decals then again before panel lines. Is this correct? If so, what's best to use?

Cheers

Ian

Gloss coat before decals, and then seal the decals again in a gloss coat to even it out after they are dry. Then proceed to go either semigloss, or flat as desired

Cheers

Ian,
The key to a perfect decal application without silvering is a smooth surface so that there is almost no air trapped under the decals, as it's the air that causes the silvering to show.

Traditionally, a few gloss coats followed by some gentle puffing will give you the correct surface. Am Gloss of choice is Testors Glosscoat, which is lacquer bases. I had issues with Alcad's clears as they took days and days to really dry. Then seal the decals when dry with gloss again, and start your weathering if you're going that route.

I've been a follower of Paul Budzik for years and years, actually way back to the 70's. These days Paul prefers to polish out the Matt paint, and then decal right on top of it. From what his videos show, it does indeed work, but you still have to seal the decals.

Joel

Hai,

What I am doing (which is not necessarily the only or best practice):

- gloss coat sealing the paint
- panel lining before decals. This avoids that decals get messed up when cleaning the excess panel liner
- decals
- gloss coat
- panel lining (very carefully) where decals go over the panel lines
- satin or matt finish when needed.

I usually wait a week in between layers to let the previous layer harden.

Never forget you are not building a tank. Tanks are often built using hot rolled metal, or even casted metal giving a rough, matt surface. Planes are usually made from cold formed high quality metals. These always have a certain shine.