Glosscote over silver...a NO-NO???

Be careful, I just tried the opposite, applying satin clear over on a bridge I painted silver a few days before and the clear started to craze the silver.  Both were enamel but different brands.  I tried a few clears and finally found one that did not seem to affect the silver.  I used several very light coats to make certain.

Chris Sheldon

Fireone,

Thanks for the warning.  The silver I used was also an enamel. What brand of clear did you fine that worked?

I had some Krylon satin that I used awhile back on a Black plastic tender body. It also crazed the body and destroyed the decal job...the spray can said it was OK for plastics 

I have found that glosskote eats stuff.  A barrier coat of Future Floor Wax cured it for me.  This may be obsolete - paint formulae and colors are changing seemingly monthly.

I had a PA done in nickel silver and the matching B was silicon bronze.  I used Scale Coat silver in an attempt to match,  The Scale Coat gloss ate the silver.  Once I figured out the barrier I got a pretty good match.  The gloss coat can be polished wuth automotive polishing compound.

bob2 posted:

I have found that glosskote eats stuff.  A barrier coat of Future Floor Wax cured it for me.  This may be obsolete - paint formulae and colors are changing seemingly monthly.

I had a PA done in nickel silver and the matching B was silicon bronze.  I used Scale Coat silver in an attempt to match,  The Scale Coat gloss ate the silver.  Once I figured out the barrier I got a pretty good match.  The gloss coat can be polished wuth automotive polishing compound.

I bought the floor wax and didn't try it yet. I was afraid of it ruining my decals or making the gloss black look bluish?

On some of my RC planes I have mixed the wrong combination of paints. If I put a poly-urethane over enamel it will orange peel almost instantly. It has to do with type of paint, not necessarily color or clear. One shrinks as it dries and causes that to happen. 

Now I always paint a test piece and let it cure before applying a gloss or clear coat? If nothing happens, I'm good to go.

Rockyroad, I finally found that Painters Touch Satin seemed to attack the paint less (after about $ 20 worth of other brands).  It also worked better on my Cedarleaf Custom Decals I had made for my G scale bridges.

I had to coat over the decals as they are outdoors.  They came out great.

Chris Sheldon

Some of the paint crazing can happen if you do not allow the first coats to fully cure and outgas. Untill this happens, the danger of the finish crazing is there, even with compatable paints.  Any paint surface is easily scratched till the paint fully cures and with plastic models, we cannot bake them to help speed the process like we can with metal or brass models.  I try to do my painting on bright sunny days so I can set the model on the table out on my deck to let the sunlight help cure the paint.  If its metal/diecast/brass, it goes in the oven for 1 hour at 180'F.     Mike the Aspie

Last evening I visited a model car and model airplane website and discovered they use the "Future" acrylic floor wax, diluted, as a gloss finish spray for their plastic models (over the entire model, not just the decals).  Acrylic over enamel is OK...enamel over acrylic is a disaster.  The drawback is you have to mix your own and have a airbrush setup to execute the process.  You can purchase acrylic clear in a rattle-can, but caution is needed as the propellant  can be an issue. I've had that problem with Krylon acrylic clear!

Artfull Dodger:

I also paint outdoors on bright ,warm, sunny days...and let the sun cure the paint.

It's all about how a top layer acts as it cures and/ or the pigment carriers being more or less volatile, etc. than a bottom coat.

Metallic content is less stable as a general rule.

Stick with paint type as well as brand because they may use incompatible carriers.. Mostly clear coats are just a paint without pigment.

  To avoid mishap when mixing paint types use misting of many layers and full cures till your sure you have 125% coverage ( ) before trying a wet coat.

(clear on clear, light /fine sanding between coats is ok; the haze will vansish.... but you must dust out grooves etc. the dust shows, not sanding haze.).

Lacquer is hot (volatile). It can be applied over many enamels, slowly, with care.

Enamel carriers vary, but normally one step down in volatility. 

Acrylic can generally be applied over most paints safely.  

Future has a reputation of yellowing over time. Some old postwar collectors used to use it. If seen some real messes and some nice ones.

Never had an issue with glosscote over scalecoat. 

The only way to do a decent decal job is to use glosscote.

Opinion?

I had Scale Coat Glosscote eat baked on and aged Scale Coat Brunswick on my otherwise gorgeous brass T1.  I survived somehow, sanding and smoothing.

There are many kinds of acryic paint.  I believe Future is a water based acrylic, and I believe it will not eat anything.  I have sprayed lacquer over it without any problems.  Acrylic enamel is a different story - in the 1980s it was the answer to my automotive prayers - it sprayed and dried like lacquer.  It also ate ordinary enamels and sometimes itself like lacquer.

Pay attention to these plastic model airplane guys - they are dead-serious about this stuff.  Model train folks are neophytes in comparison.  I learned the Future trick from a guy with models in the Smithsonian.  When he holds an IPMS convention they fill three hotels with very serious modelers.

Testors Glosscote spray. Made for modelers. Avoid hardware store paint (voice of experience; some are fine, some are not).

But: test everything , in an out-of the-way spot. Even the Testors.

Staying within a brand, whenever possible, is always best. Test that too - again, experience.

Metallics are often more volatile, in my experience. Different solvents?

Here is some of my work using Future:The resolution does not allow you to see how the decal edges disappear, but I guarantee it takes magnification to see those edges.  Future was applied with a Q-tip, one direction only, over the entire body.

Here is the almost-damaged T1 - Williams, seriously modified:

Here's a link:  http://nswbgmodelling.airleagu...heCompleteFuture.htm  for the various uses and mix formulas of "Future" floor polish.

It's rather lengthy/detailed but is good info from other modelers. (IPMS...International Plastic Modelers Society).

I have the current "Future" product, look for "Multi-surface finish" on the front label...small type.  Purchased mine at Walmart. 

Been in IPMS for over 30 yrs.

I only use Future for gloss.  Never an issue.

great surface for decals, some setting solution, and they look painted on.

car model guys swear by it also.  I've saw some beauties over the years, and I'm a "real" car guy -hard to impress me with models but they always do!

buy an airbrush-cheap ones can be bought at Harbor for pennies on the dollar and for most needs, will be adequate.  

My Badger is 30 yrs old-and still works great.  Won a lot of contests with that single action beauty!

Thanks for the link. Read every word of it.

Did you note the comment about "rock hard silver finish?"