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Help: Problem with artist oil wash and Alclad


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Hello all,

I realize that this will go down as a rookie mistake, and I will be able to look back and laugh. But, I'm not laughing now.

I am working on a NMF (bare metal) F104. I sprayed Alclad (a week or two ago), and did all the detail painting. Today, I applied Future to seal the Alclad to protect it from a panel wash, and let it dry for approx 12 hrs. So far, so good.

I applied the wash to about 1/3 of the model using Windsor and Newton's Payne Gray mixed with their own brand of thinner (Linseed oil, I think). Applied it, let the wash run into the panel lines, recesses, etc. About 5 minutes later (maybe a tad more), I went to wipe the excess was with a paper towel mositened (not soaked) with varsol. The varsol went through the Future and removed the Alclad. She ain't so pretty now... :bandhead2:

So, what happened?

I honestly thought that the Future would offer some sort of barrier from the varsol. I also deliberately barely moistened the paper towel, and very, very lightly wiped to remove the wash, but to no avail. When the damage was already beginning to be seen, I tried switching to turpentine (white spirit?), but this proved to be even stronger. Finally, I tried the Windsor and Newton thinner: same result.

Fortunately, the damage is confined to only a portion of the model, and so although this sets the build back, it is repairable. But, ohhhh I was sooooo tempted to launch the model against a wall!

If someone can offer some words of wisdom (and comfort!) as to what I did wrong, i would genuinely appreciate it. Perhaps NMF aircraft models are not to be panel washed owing to the delicate nature of Alclad? Or, maybe a pastel chalk wash is the only way to go? That is, unless, even water and dishwashing soap attacks the finish, sheesh!!

Suffice to say, this really dampened my modelling spirits (no pun intended). I think I will pout, knock back a bottle or two, admire others' masterpieces on ARC instead, and eventually cry myself to sleep.

Michael

Edited by 9thstormo
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Strange.

I've gone right over bare Alclad with artist's oils washes thinned with mineral spirits. I can't imagine what the problem was. 12 hours is too short for a normal wash situation over enamels or acrylics, I usually wait a minimum of 24, usually 48. However, Alclad is generally very tough. Linseed oil is not a thinner in the solvent sense but more of a way to reduce the heavier body of tube oils. It's more of a lower viscosity element of the base varnish that makes up the carrier in the oil paint. I'm not sure of the composition of Varsol, but it must be pretty aggressive. Maybe something was wrong with the Alclad; there were some bad batches floating around six months to a year ago, but it was mainly a drying issue if I recall correctly

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What is Varsol?

Use Zippo lighter fluid. No problem!

Jon

Varsol is a specific brand of paint thinner - if it's named, then it has a certain percentage of petroleum distillates and purity, as opposed to regular, generic, paint thinners. It's not a laquer thinner as these two things are different.

It's very strange that the Alclad reacted to the varsol, too, as I thought that was a laquer.... Did you apply the future with an airbrush? Perhaps the future coating wasn't thick enough and allowed the thinner to attack the alclad directly? I've read that some people recommend the Poly Scale clear coats - perhaps you can give that a go...

Good luck!

danse.

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Thank you, Danse and Dave.

I applied a couple of wet coats of Future so I think I airbrushed enough. At one point, I couldn't tell how much I sprayed on the tail and was worried about having it run (it didn't). The model was glossy, so i think I sprayed enough.

Dave,

I did spray over a primer that is meant for use with automotive lacquers, so the primer can handle any 'heat' Alclad can give it. Here is the link. BTW, this retailer supplies paints mainly matched to specific cars, bikes/race teams, but they do offer some excellent 'generic' paints and primers that apply to all modellers. Then again, if you need to match 'Leyton House' blue, 'Ducati' red, or 'Camel' yellow, look no further (excellent service too)...

http://www.hiroboy.com/catalog/product_inf...roducts_id=1050

Sadly, I think I have some bad Alclad. Thing is, this is the third bottle now. I had purchased some new product last month specifically to avoid this issue as I knew about it. Alclad is great, but it's a 'hit and miss' product, in my experience. I like Testor's MM, but like many, don't like how they go dull when clearcoated. Are there any other alternatives out there? And, any tips on stripping the Alclad-why not continue to use varsol you say?

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