I am not very experienced with acrylics as i tend to try to avoid them but for my latest project i had no choice but to use them. Now i applied the acrylic onto a base coat of cellulose car paint, i put it on with an airbrush a bit thick to get a nice glossy finish. This was a couple of days ago and while the paint is dry i wouldn't trust it fully for another 5 or 6 days under some heat as it still seems soft enough to the point where you can put finger prints into it if you are not careful. Now once the acrylic has dried hard what would be the best thing to put over it to seal it or protect it against chipping? Now usually i would just go back to some good old fashioned car lacquer, but since this is acrylics were talking about i cant really do that. I have heard that floor polish works, but the main brand that people who work with acrylics on a regular basis seem to use (future floor polish) isnt available in this country i dont think. Would normal floor polish work, and how do you apply it? By hand or does it come in a spray can? If this isn't the best thing to use to seal it what is? I want to make sure this acrylic-project doesn't turn out like my last one, which is the main reason i try to avoid touching acrylics. They chipped off the plastic as soon as i tried transforming the figure and i really want to avoid that this time around so i want to know what the best product is to seal the paint and make it as durable as possible. Thanks for any help.
I'd try ebay for the floor polish. *General rule when painting, clear coat acrylics with enamels, and visa versa.
Careful of some 'other' brand clear sprays also, even krylon. TEST TEST TEST, I can't stress that enough. One brand of Krylon turned all my metallic silver...into gray. Some clears, dry foggy, unless in PERFECT temp rooms/settings.
Well testors has a gloss coat in a can if that would work I think you can finding it in hobby shops if where you live has one. I truly think that the acrylic of testors has some sort of glosscoat sealer in the mix, but I'm just speculating on that theory.
I thought I just answered this question *L* Lemme find what thread I did it in, so I can give you the same link I put in the other one, its to an article that shows you what you are looking for. Future is sold all over the world, but it is a different brand name in different countries. this article has descriptions of the bottles too, so you can have an idea of what to look for. Found it, it was in the Toyark: http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html
I used Tamiya Acrylics with Tamiya Clear Laquer spray for Arcee and Ironhide: Tamiya Acrylics with Krylon Dullcote spray for Brawl: All of them are transformed on a regular basis without a single scratch. To me, there is no point in painting a figure if you loose the ability to play with them like a factory fresh one. Tamiya Clear Laquer is my Crack. Each coat dries in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette and it is not glossy and not dull. It really brings out the color and cures hard as a rock overnight. I put 2 light coats on each mode, so most parts get 4 coats, and I never have issues with cloudiness or the paint interfering with joints. It also goes on clear plastic without a trace. $5 a can and 1 can does 1 voyager class figure.
Thanks for that, since this is the easiest one to find near me without going online (as no place sells testors over here) i'll go for this option. Thanks everyone else for your help though, i will look into those options for future possible acrylic repaints. (hopefully there wont be too many)
Oh well damn, seems finding the tamiya clear lacquer will be harder than i thought so i will probably go with the floor polish as thats easier to find, i just dont like the idea of applying it by brush but oh well. I'll still keep an eye out for the tamiya stuff though..damn useless UK hobby shops.
Glad I could help, sad you can't easily get it. Most Ebay auctions of Tamiya seem to originate in the UK and cost the same as our local hobby store prices. I know Future Floor Wax works well in an airbrush, but I have not tried it yet.
USE Future floor polish, or Klear if your in the UK, either can be run through an airbrush straight out of the bottle. They ARE an acrylic clear coat, which is why many modelers use it instead of a paint brand clear coat. You can mist it on lightly from a distance with multiple coats and yield a more matte finish, go a little heavier for a satin finish, or apply it a bit more heavy still using light multiple coats (without waitin as much in between) to achieve a glossy finish. It is extremely versatile through an airbrush. DO NOT apply it with a brush over other acrylic paint. As you lay down the clear it "bites" into the acrylic you already have down. The rubbing of the brush may lift or smear paint. Especially if you are using something like water based acrylic like Tamiya. FYI, the best way to prevent chipping is not so much with a clear coat, but with a properly prepped and primed surface. Chipping occurs from paint not sticking well enough to the base you sprayed it on. Clear coat adds protect in the form of a barrier so nothing can rub with direct contact on the paint. Hope that helps
Funny you should say that cos i did an ebay search for it and there was zero results. And you can use the floor polish in an airbrush? Awesome! I'll be applying it that way then.
I dont intend on applying it with a brush now that i have found out it can be used in an airbrush, but thanks! As for the prepping of the surface goes, i sanded it all down with very fine sandpaper so that the base coat had something to adhere to. I then applied automotive silver cellulose paint as the base, then once that was dry some thick coats of tamiya acrylic. Im pretty sure there wouldnt be any chipping as is because of the prep work and base coat, but this project is looking so awesome i dont want to take any chances so its better to be safe than sorry. (because my last project with acrylics was ruined due to chipping) Can this floor polish still be applied if you have already put a coat of clear acrylic gloss over some parts of the figure? I have done that in a few spots to buff up a few dull patches in the paint you see so im wondering if that will affect the floor polishes effectiveness.
future You CAN lay down future with a brush you just have to dab it and not brush it. I've done it to several of mine with no "bite" to the paint. You just have to be careful and I forget who posted that, not brush it per se.