Scalefinishes

[Miatatom]

Just ordered some paint from Scalefinishes. The Scalefinishes home page says that their gloss enamel is an automotive acrylic enamel. What types of primer and clear coat can I use with them?

[64SS350]

Automotive grade primer, like Duplicolor.

Clear should be acrylic enamel also to reduce any chance of problems.

Best answers will come from Scalefinishes as to what they recommend for their paint.

[Mike Chernecki]

You can purchase both primer and clear coat from Scale Finishes. I use Tamiya primer under Scale Finishes paint with no problems, for both their enamels and base coats.

[BigTallDad]

3 hours ago, 64SS350 said:

Best answers will come from Scalefinishes as to what they recommend for their paint.

Since Scale Finishes offers both a primer and a clear coat, I think I can guess what their response would be.

[Ace-Garageguy]

On real cars, many people try to save money by using no-name cheapo clears over their basecoats.

In the majority of cases, it's a false economy. I see many cars EVERY DAY where the clear on certain portions of the car that have obviously been "worked on" has failed.

This is an extreme example, and not related directly to models, but in general USING EVERYTHING FROM ONE MANUFACTURER IS YOUR BEST BET if you haven't tested all the materials thoroughly.

On the other hand, there are some modelers here who use Scale Finishes colors with other manufacturer's primers and possibly clears. Stephen Guthmiller is one such, and the quality of his work speaks for itself.

I'd believe anything HE says on the subject.

 

[curt raitz]

For Scalefinishes paint, the primer I use depends on wether I'm working with resin or plastic.

I use Duplicolor primer on resin, I've found that Tamiya's primer does not adhere to resin very well. Nothing as enjoyable as removing masking tape from a multiple paint job and having the paint/primer peal right off the resin body. And yes I do clean the resin body and lightly scruff it up before spraying the primer.

On plastic I use Tamiya's primers, both the gray and white.

I have not had any problems with Scalefinishes paint (both the enamel and base coat) on any of these primers.

I use ModelMasters UltraGloss Clearcoat and/or Tamiya TS-13 Clear over Scalefinishes paint without problems with either.

Can't tell you how automotive paints react with his paint, don't use them and probably never will.

Edited April 24, 2018 by curt raitz

[Miatatom]

1 hour ago, curt raitz said:

On plastic I use Tamiya's primers, both the gray and white.

I have not had any problems with Scalefinishes paint (both the enamel and base coat) on any of these primers.

I use ModelMasters UltraGloss Clearcoat and/or Tamiya TS-13 Clear over Scalefinishes paint without problems with either.

Can't tell you how automotive paints react with his paint, don't use them and probably never will.

I'm using the exact same products. Thanks for sharing!

[Art Anderson]

I've never used a clear coat over Scale Finishes paint, actually--just polished out the paint, waxed it, and that's it.

Art

[Miatatom]

31 minutes ago, Art Anderson said:

I've never used a clear coat over Scale Finishes paint, actually--just polished out the paint, waxed it, and that's it.

Art

That'll be my initial strategy, Art. Just wondered about the clear, provided that I feel I need it. Both of the colors I ordered are metallics.

[BigTallDad]

30 minutes ago, Miatatom said:

That'll be my initial strategy, Art. Just wondered about the clear, provided that I feel I need it. Both of the colors I ordered are metallics.

You might want to make the "to clear or not to clear" decision before you apply any wax.

[Miatatom]

3 hours ago, BigTallDad said:

You might want to make the "to clear or not to clear" decision before you apply any wax.

Yeah, that's a given. I typically don't use wax. I've got some but with race cars, the finish should be shiny, but not too glossy. Race cars are about 90% of my inventory.

[droogie]

Scalefinishes over Tamiya primer cleared with Testors Metalizer sealer:

[Miatatom]

Nice!