Triarius

Immiscible: lacking the ability to be mixed. Think of it as increasing your vocabulary … :woot.gif:/>

Yes, Future can go bad. If the humidity in a closed space is high enough, long enough, Future will be adversely affected—as will most acrylic paints that are compatible with water, as Future is. This effect is sometimes not reversible. I suspect that the Vallejo acrylic paints may have out-gassed something that affected the Future when the internal humidity was high enough to affect them. The immisciblity of the Tamiya Smoke and Future may be due to the Future going "off," although it could also be due to a change in formulation of the Tamiya paint, especially if the bottle of Tamiya is rec

That's the one. Make sure you don't get the one for wood floors.

CyanoAcrylate glue, a.k.a. "Superglue." There are a number of brands available. Zap is the most common for modeling purposes. I'm fond of the Mercury Adhesives brand.

I scrape off the paint on the bonding surface and use medium viscosity CA, as only a tiny amount is necessary for a very strong bond. A useful technique: put a the CA on the model surface where the part will go, then put a small amount of accelerator on the part itself. Apply part in its final position. Instant, strong bond. For clear parts, I use Sobo Craft Glue, essentially a high quality white glue with the same properties as Micro Krystal Clear. It also sets faster than ordinary white glues.

You are getting me confused with my evil twin … (Just kidding, Don!):lol:/>

Thanks, Bob. I was in a hurry.:thumbsup:/>

To answer both your questions: What Netz said: Use a LIGHT touch—and not too much ammoniated solvent (i.e., Windex or equivalent.) Future can be sanded. Use at least 1000 grit, nothing coarser. You have to wait at least 24 hours, 48 is better. And use a LIGHT touch. You are more polishing than sanding.

Flat Base is intended to be added to Tamiya Clear Gloss, not used on its own. To answer the initial question: Yes. For ratios, see Swanny's site.

:thumbsup:/> I think people tend to obsess about every detail of airbrushing, since people who are new or have problems get told: "thinning ratio, distance, air pressure" all the time. But it's all more an art that a science. The variables can only be controlled to a certain degree. For example, I start with a very precise thinning ratio, then adjust it until it looks right. The precision is only to insure the same starting point. Same with air pressure, which is different for each airbrush and each brand or type of paint. Distance from surface varies with the airbrush, the pressure, the

:thumbsup:/> for small amounts, I use my stirring paddle, a metal rod with a flattened end, polished.

:touche:/> :popcorn:/>

Try to find one with a synthetic bulb (these are usually white). If you can't find a glass dropper with a synthetic bulb, go to the baby supplies section and find a plastic "child safe" dropper used to administer oral medication to infants. Dump the plastic tube and use the white bulb with the glass dropper. Also remember to rinse the bulb with water after use.

A dropper for every color?! Good grief, no.:o/> Use an cleaner that contains ammonia to clean acrylics, such as Windex or a generic equivalent. I have an old glass jar with a tight fitting plastic lid. I keep it full of my primary cleaning solution. After using the glass dropper to transfer paint, I immediately drop the glass portion in the jar. This prevents the paint from even starting to cure and bond to the sides. I do the same thing with all items used to process the paint for airbrushing: the mixing container I use to thin the paint, the fine mesh screen through which I filter the pa

Whether isopropyl, or any other alcohol, will dissolve and remove something depends on the composition of the target. Many acrylics are vulnerable to alcohol. As far as I'm concerned, the real work horse in Windex, or any similar mixture, is the ammonium hydroxide, followed by the alcohol, and then the glycol. Everything else is bells and whistles (except the water).

Here is the current list of ingredients for the Windex variety you should be using (for windows or scale modeling) from the SC Johnson web site. Nothing here that should not evaporate completely without leaving a residue of any kind. So if your bottle is leaving a residue, there's something wrong with it—or there's something it's not entirely removing from your windows. :unsure:/> Ingredients

Paul, that's really odd. Windex main ingredient is, indeed isopropyl. However, evaporation is inhibited by the presence of one or more surfactants, and possibly the ammonia compound. There are two versions of Windex, one does not have ammonia—and doesn't clean glass well, either. I wonder if you got a bad bottle, or the one without the ammonia component. And, like Future, there's always the chance they changed formulations since the last bottle I bought. In any event, your description of its performance doesn't match what I'm getting. I find it hard to believe they'd add a gloss enhancer. Th

I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said it was too much work!:lol:/> At least for me, under most circumstances. Car modelers routinely polish their paint, and if you want a candy-apple finish, it's definitely the way to go. What was new to me, here, was using it for decaling. Using it to change the appearance of a flat paint, without adding anything but energy to the surface, was something I knew—but had mostly forgotten … :foof:/>

My only (potential) problem with polishing flat paint—the technique certainly works—is that one has to polish the whole model. If you are willing to do that, fine. The other potential issue I see is that if you don't polish a panel all in the same direction, it may look mottled. That, in itself, may be used to great effect, just as polishing different panels in different directions may. In 1/72 scale, I can see taking the time, but not for me in 1/48 or larger. Still, it's another shot in our locker. :thumbsup:/>

Windex (the kind with ammonia, they have one without) is mostly 90% isopropyl alcohol, a surfactant, a dye, fragrance, and a small amount of ammonia ("Ammonia D"). It does not contain a shine enhancer (or it didn't last time I bought it) and I think that is unlikely, as most of those are not compatible with ammonia. If your windows look greasy after using it, try cleaning them again. Certainly doesn't do that with ours.

:thumbsup:/> I like the idea of diluting the Future for decal setting purposes.

Essentially. It is a coating intended to protect and enhance the appearance of various floor materials. The term "paint" is rather imprecise, referring more to the process than the material. As originally used (circa 500 BCE), all paints contained pigment. Coating means any material that forms a more or less rigid, permanent film on a substrate. And coatings, my friend, are anything but all the same.:rolleyes:/>

Doesn't matter whether the detail is raised or recessed, at least with any I've tried.

Yeah, that should have been my soapbox … :thumbsup:/>

That should work as well as ever.