Jimd0586 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Morning all! This is a repost because I accidentally posted in "Diorama" the first time. New back into the hobby after a long hiatus. Currently building a Revell JU-87 G-1. I airbrushed the entire plane and then placed the decals. Having never used Future Floor Wax, I found some on ebay and airbrushed it on. I did this less for the results and more to protect the paint and decals. Now I see the glossy shine. While a floor wax should leave a gloss shine, I didn't admittedly anticipate it though I do now understand that it is a floor wax and would do this. I liked the dull look prior to its application. In the future, is there anything I can do with future to remove the gloss look but retain the protective qualities of it (thin it with windex or something?)? Is there anything I can do now to maybe get a more "worn" or "natural" feel to the model? Should I be weathering with my wash prior to the final coat of future? I am wondering if maybe "washing" it now would maybe remove some of that gloss look. I uploaded a pic. I do think the pics don't do it justice. Not that I am not an artist and I do recognize the gaps in the model, the overspray etc. I really tried to shade and weather with lighter colors in the center of the panels away from the panel lines. I hope to improve as I continue in this hobby. The canopy is coming. It was dipped in future and I am waiting on a product to mask and paint it prior to adding it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Update, the product I bought to mask the canopy is Humbrol masking cement. I read that it reacts with Future and thus I can't use it. Ideas? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Hi Jim. For many of us, it's SOP to apply a gloss clear coat to the model before decaling because they adhere better to a glossy surface with less silvering and air bubbles. We don't, however, generally want our models to end up glossy, so the final step is to apply a flat/matte clear coat. You will find about as many opinions on the best flat coat as there are modelers. Being the first to respond, I'll recommend my favorite: Micro Flat from Microscale. It's acrylic and can be thinned for airbrushing with Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner or even with water. It won't give you a dead flat. If you want that, I'm told Vallejo flat finish is very flat. For my part, if I want to go flatter than what the Micro produces, I add a small amount of Tamiya Flat Base to it. One other thing: I usually apply some gloss over the decals before doing the flat coat. This makes their surface more uniform with the rest of the model and smooths out the edges. HTH. Pip Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Thanks Pip. So, if I go over the future with a coat of micro flat or Vallejo flat finish will it potentially dull the gloss coat a bit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Jimd0586 said: Thanks Pip. So, if I go over the future with a coat of micro flat or Vallejo flat finish will it potentially dull the gloss coat a bit? Potentially a lot, depending on what product you use and how much you apply. You don't want to overdo it, however, because many if not most flat coats will start to look chalky if they're applied too thickly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 Awesome! Now it's figuring how to mask off the canopy. I guess the Hombrol Masking cement I bought doesn't work well with acrylics... and I just bathed the canopies in Future. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 6 hours ago, Jimd0586 said: Awesome! Now it's figuring how to mask off the canopy. I guess the Hombrol Masking cement I bought doesn't work well with acrylics... and I just bathed the canopies in Future. Well, that's a whole nuther topic, and you've chosen a plane with a pretty complex set of canopy panels. You're probably going to do better with tape than with the Humbrol stuff. The easiest way would be to purchase a set of pre-cut masks -- Eduard makes a huge selection, and there's Montex and EZ-Masks -- but I'm not finding any designed to work with the Monogram kit. In terms of cutting your own masks, there are a number of methods, and I suggest you do a Google search on "masking aircraft canopies." FWIW, I usually use Scotch tape -- the frosty stuff with the green label. I lay a piece over one or more panels and carefully cut along the panel edges with a sharp Xacto blade leaving a piece of tape to mask each panel. Another method, when you have straight frames vertically and horizontally, is to mask each dimension separately with strips of (Tamiya) masking tape. Not sure that's clear -- you'd maybe start by putting down strips of tape to leave just the horizontal frames uncovered, paint, then use the same approach with the vertical/circumferential frames. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Thanks for the great advice! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 A different way to do canopy frames would be to get some blank decal film, paint it, then apply canopy framing as decal strips. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 28, 2018 Author Share Posted March 28, 2018 Another good suggestion. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jimd0586 Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 I biffed the painting on the canopy. Anyone make any replacement canopies? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 5 hours ago, Jimd0586 said: I biffed the painting on the canopy. Anyone make any replacement canopies? When you say "biffed," how bad a catastrophe are you referring to? I don't know of any replacement canopies for that kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chris L Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 If you spray Acrylics , it can be cleaned up with Windex ( containing ammonia ) Dunk it if you can , otherwise it can be done with a square tip brush . Cheers, Christian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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