Possible Future alternative in Oz

[Mike C]

I've been wondering about all this fuss about using Future ever since I started trolling through this modelling forum. But I have not been able to find any retailers locally that sell Future (or whatever the supposed local Australian name for it), so have not used it.

I went to the supermarket tonight with SWMBO to get some stuff for our picnic tomorrow, as well as floor cleaner. I picked up this Pledge Wood Magic, since we've got timber flooring. When I got home, I was curious if it might be similar to Pledge OneGo (which is supposedly the "new" name for Future in Oz), so I decided to do a bit of experiment.

First off, here's the picture of the floor cleaner. BTW, it smells nice. A bit like apple.

Here's the victim before dipping it. It's from Italeri Tornado Black Panther that I abandoned.

I used a little plastic tub from play-dough set to dip the canopy in. The fluid was quite bubbly, which somewhat worried me a bit. No matter how careful I dipped the canopy, some bubbles still ended up on the canopy. But, good thing is, after about 10 minutes, the bubbles on the canopy seem to disappear by themselves.

Here's a picture of the canopy around 30 minutes after dipping. Seems that the bubbles manifested themselves into those little spots that I did not notice with naked eyes.

In my eyes, seems to work OK. But then again, I've never worked with Future before, so.... I defer the judgement over to the experts...

[Zotted]

Hi Mike C,

Can you give a pic of the bottle back label and I can confirm. I managed to find a Coles store that stocks the OneGo white bottle.

It should have ammonia and styrene as the main "active" ingredients.

BTW a bit off topic do you work at Melb Uni? There is another famouse Mike C at the CS Department, just wondering if it's the same guy.

Edited April 24, 2011 by Zotted

[Big Kev]

It's a perennial problem trying to find Future equivalents or alternatives outside the US - particularly here in Australia. I started out using Shine Magic, but it's ammonia-based, so you have to be very careful using it over some acrylics. It also smells awful, and wasn't compellingly effective, to be honest. I managed to score a bottle of the real stuff from an acquaintance in the US. It's markedly different from any of the alternatives I've seen proffered on the web. It's clear, thicker than Shine Magic, and smells like green apples. It works OK, but to be honest, I think the only advantage using a floor product as a gloss coat has is price. I think the dedicated modelling products still produce superior results. I still use floor polish for canopies though.

Kev

[Mike C]

<snipperoo>

only advantage using a floor product as a gloss coat has is price. I think the dedicated modelling products still produce superior results. I still use floor polish for canopies though.

Kev

The only reason I'm experimenting with this is for canopies. I still prefer using Tamiya/Gunze gloss clear for clear coating models.

[Mike C]

Can you give a pic of the bottle back label and I can confirm. I managed to find a Coles store that stocks the OneGo white bottle.

It should have ammonia and styrene as the main "active" ingredients.

The bottle does not mention any active ingredient. It only says that it should not be used in conjunction with OneGo.

Here's the back label:

BTW a bit off topic do you work at Melb Uni? There is another famouse Mike C at the CS Department, just wondering if it's the same guy.

Nah... Never work for Melb Uni mate. Have always worked in commercial, never in education or government. Coincidentally, though, my high school mate is now a professor at Melb Uni Computer Science. Not sure what he's lecturing though.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Mike C

[a4s4eva]

You want pledge One go

I actually find it better than the the US Future for canopies. But Like you I don't rate it as a clear coat for decals preferring Tamiya gloss.

Edited April 25, 2011 by a4s4eva

[Wege]

I find that stuff better than the Future/Pledge from NZ..

I got a couple of bottles sent over. :)

[Big Kev]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with recommendations of Tamiya Clear Gloss for non-canopy work. It's great stuff. I suspect that any of the floor polishes in the general 'Future' category would work well for canopies. I have to confess that I haven't tried the real deal yet for canopies, only as a gloss coat. I'm still using Shine Magic for the glassware, only because I've got a jar of it already decanted and ready for dipping. Guess I should try the real stuff and see if it performs any differently.

Mike, if you're handy to me, I can put some in a container for you to collect?

Kev

[Mike C]

You want pledge One go

I actually find it better than the the US Future for canopies. But Like you I don't rate it as a clear coat for decals preferring Tamiya gloss.

I don't remember ever seeing this thing in either Coles or Woolies that I frequent. Might look out for it at Bunnings the next time I go there...