Recommended Clear Coat Time Frame

[smoosh91]

Hi this is my first post so delete if I'm in the wrong area. I sprayed a '53 ford victoria with Model Master Aqua enamel. I tend to NOT clear coat my projects because honestly I'm too scared lol. Anyways I do have some Testors Clear Spray and was wondering:

When is the appropriate time to Clear? Within a few hours or after a good cure of say 24-48hrs?

THANK YOU GUYS!

I will post pics of all my models after my photoshoot this week. I have done about 10 in total. 

[JollySipper]

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Edited March 6, 2023 by JollySipper

[StevenGuthmiller]

Testors clear lacquer will work fine over enamel.

However, Testors enamels, (and most enamels for that matter) cure very slowly.

I would let the color coats cure for at least a couple of weeks before clearing with the lacquer.

 

Avoid Testors clear enamel.

It's not clear.

It's more of a clear yellow.

It will yellow lighter colored paint pretty badly.

 

A couple of illustrations.

I used Testors clear lacquer just in the past couple of days over several different kinds of enamel, (MCW, Testors, Rustoleum) while working on the engine for my current project.

It will not harm the enamel in any fashion.

I use it for over coating enamel all of the time.

 

 

 

As far as Testors clear enamel goes, you can expect it to have a yellow tint directly from the can, and it will yellow even more as time goes by.

It's for this reason that it makes a good product for doing some jobs such as aging transparent steering wheels such as manufacturers like Pontiac and Mopar offered on some of their vehicles in the 60s, but other than that, I wouldn't use it on a body, unless it's a very dark color to begin with.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bills72sj]

Steve give excellent advice and has the results to back it up. I too am gun shy about clearing my paint jobs. Clearing with Future will have ZERO chemical reaction with enamel as it does not have solvents in it to react with the base color paint. It also has the advantage of being able to removed with household ammonia if you are not absolutely pleased with the results. It is so forgiving and self leveling, you can apply it with a 3/8 wide paint brush. Just do not stroke it for too long. You can dang near drown it then wick off the excess with a paper towel. One bottle can cover years worth of builds.

[smoosh91]

Thank you for the reply's Steve and Bill. I wish i could find some future or pledge but as everyone knows its just not available lol. I have some "quick shine" but once again too scared to brush it on ha! I usually put the paint on nice enough for my own taste and then argue by myself if a clear is worth doing.

Steve that's a beautiful dash and sets the standard high with those fine details. I'm going to let this car cure for awhile and start something else in the meantime. I use Tamiya cans religiously but the "'50s Aqua" that my local Hobby Shop had was such a good match for the '53 Victoria. The roof i already shot with some Racing White/Wimbeldon white from Tamiya.

I have a love/ hate with enamel. Good quality and durability but also a pain with the dry times and clean ups. FWIW The Testors Clear Lacquer says wait 24 hrs before topcoat but I definitely felt that was a little too soon thus leading me to post here. Thanks Again for replying!!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Another advantage of using a clear coat over something such as Future is it’s ability to be cut and polished.

I realize that polishing is often viewed as something to be avoided by many modelers, but in my opinion, it’s an essential process to a flawless and realistic finish.

I don’t mind taking that extra step to achieve my objective, and I do it on every build whether it needs it or not.

Clear coats are exceedingly helpful if you choose to polish your models.

Not to say that there’s anything wrong with avoiding the polishing process, but achieving a perfect, flawless paint job is not particularly easy, at least in my estimation, and clear coating, followed by cutting and polishing is a way to get that perfect paint job even if you have difficulties obtaining one straight from the can or airbrush.

 

 

Steve

[smoosh91]

14 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Another advantage of using a clear coat over something such as Future is it’s ability to be cut and polished.

I realize that polishing is often viewed as something to be avoided by many modelers, but in my opinion, it’s an essential process to a flawless and realistic finish.

I don’t mind taking that extra step to achieve my objective, and I do it on every build whether it needs it or not.

Clear coats are exceedingly helpful if you choose to polish your models.

Not to say that there’s anything wrong with avoiding the polishing process, but achieving a perfect, flawless paint job is not particularly easy, at least in my estimation, and clear coating, followed by cutting and polishing is a way to get that perfect paint job even if you have difficulties obtaining one straight from the can or airbrush.

 

 

Steve

I agree 100 percent. You need that extra layer of gloss to work with. Im a little familiar with wet sanding/buffing then a final polishing,  but only with a life size car lol. I guess you have to make mistakes to learn from them and I believe most things are fixable if you somehow screw it up . With that said I'm just trying to get a few more builds under my belt to learn the different paints before I go "all out" on one. The projects are so small and I have a heavy hand sometimes lol Hate to burn through some clear and into the paint/primer. I do have to start somewhere though thanks for the encouragement!

 

[ctruss53]

I have learned to avoid enamel paints all together. They take way too long to cure.

Like Steve said. If you use enamel for your color coat, you are going to need to wait weeks to make sure it is cured. 2-3 weeks at a minimum.

If you switch to lacquer paints, you can apply clearcoat in 24 hours if you are in a hurry. 2-3 days is better for curing though.

As for clearcoat. It is expensive, but I love Mr Hobby Super Gloss Clear, UV Cut. I have an airbrush, and I have 2k clear, and I still use this Mr Hobby clear in a spray can. It is that good.

I apply 1-2 very light coats, wait just a few minutes to let them get tacky. They I apply 2-3 heavy coats and it always comes out smooth. Then I let the clear cure for a whole week, and polish it out.