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Drying time for Vallejo Clear Gloss?


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I've used Vallejo's clear gloss for a few models and have noticed that I can still leave fingerprints in the finish even after a week of letting it dry.  It's not particularly cold, warm, dry, or humid where I airbrush (70 degrees 50% humidity on average), and I've only thinned it with Vallejo's own airbrush thinner when spraying it.  I remember having a similar problem years ago with a different brand of clear coat (Maybe MM Acryl?  Maybe Tamiya X-22?).  Another thing I've noticed when applying weathering and decals is that the gloss coat doesn't feel tacky when I first begin handling the model, but after half an hour or so of constant handling, it begins to feel slightly tacky, and then I start leaving prints.  Any ideas how I can avoid this/fix the issue?  Thanks!

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Lucas:

 

Wow, that is an amazing problem - fingerprints a week later?  I use Vallejo almost exclusively and for the clear, gloss I've been masking and decaling within 8-12 hours with no problems (and I'm not that far away from you, I'm near Ashburn!).  If I leave it for 3-4 days it gets rock hard.

 

I'm grasping at straws here but how much thinner are you using with the clear?  I thin the clear with maybe 10% thinner and a drop of the Vallejo Flow Improver for every 8 to 10 drops of the clear.  I'm spraying with an Iwata HP-CS which is a .35 needle (at 18 psi).

 

What are you doing with the model after you spray it?  To be honest, I don't do much with mine - pretty much leaving it in the spray booth for an hour or so with the fan running, then overnight just sitting there.

 

Chris

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I don't use very much thinner with it, but I don't measure it out precisely, either.  Sometimes I spray it near (for small parts).  Afterward I simply leave the model in the spray booth or off to the side for a while (sometimes partially covered with tupperware to minimize dust on the finish).  I only have one bottle of the gloss coat, so I guess it could be a bad one.

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6 hours ago, Lucas C. said:

I don't use very much thinner with it, but I don't measure it out precisely, either.  Sometimes I spray it near (for small parts).  Afterward I simply leave the model in the spray booth or off to the side for a while (sometimes partially covered with tupperware to minimize dust on the finish).  I only have one bottle of the gloss coat, so I guess it could be a bad one.

 

Yeah, we do the same things including the tupperware thing.  COULD be a bad bottle - worth trying a new one I guess, but if you had the problem with the Model Master Acryl before I just wonder.  Do you spray various different paints?  Acrylics, enamels, lacquers?  I just wonder if there might be some residue from previous jobs or maybe come cleaner left over?  Like I said, grasping at straws here.

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37 minutes ago, CANicoll said:

 

Yeah, we do the same things including the tupperware thing.  COULD be a bad bottle - worth trying a new one I guess, but if you had the problem with the Model Master Acryl before I just wonder.  Do you spray various different paints?  Acrylics, enamels, lacquers?  I just wonder if there might be some residue from previous jobs or maybe come cleaner left over?  Like I said, grasping at straws here.

 

I used to spray all types several years ago, but now I'm only spraying acrylics (Vallejo, AK, Ammo, and, every now and then, Tamiya).  Maybe my gloss coats are too thick?  I tend to have to put down multiple coats to get a good gloss and avoid pebbling.

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12 minutes ago, Lucas C. said:

 

I used to spray all types several years ago, but now I'm only spraying acrylics (Vallejo, AK, Ammo, and, every now and then, Tamiya).  Maybe my gloss coats are too thick?  I tend to have to put down multiple coats to get a good gloss and avoid pebbling.

 

Could be.  When I spray Vallejo (which at this point is about 95% of the time) I tend to do a mist coat first, the follow up with another and then a quick 'wet' coat.

 

This is what my gloss coat looks like - not sure if that helps or not. A few decals in place.  No silvering and these were all large decals with extensive clear areas (the flaps, for example, are one decal for the three letters and the red outline).  

 

I don't think you need a very heavy gloss coat if you are doing decals or washes.  MxjmAH.jpg

 

Sometimes I'll add a few drops of gloss clear to my color coats to help with smoothing them out for decaling and washes.  But I don't really lay down a heavy clear coat.  Maybe try a few light coats, see how they look after a few minutes, then if it doesn't look glossy enough hit it again?  I've also sprayed Vallejo gloss coats over Vallejo color coats that I had sprayed 10 minutes before with no problems.

 

And the matte/flat coats are very thin - just a mist and it seems to immediately take the shine off.

 

 

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  • 5 years later...
On 10/5/2018 at 12:36 PM, Lucas C. said:

I've used Vallejo's clear gloss for a few models and have noticed that I can still leave fingerprints in the finish even after a week of letting it dry.  It's not particularly cold, warm, dry, or humid where I airbrush (70 degrees 50% humidity on average), and I've only thinned it with Vallejo's own airbrush thinner when spraying it.  I remember having a similar problem years ago with a different brand of clear coat (Maybe MM Acryl?  Maybe Tamiya X-22?).  Another thing I've noticed when applying weathering and decals is that the gloss coat doesn't feel tacky when I first begin handling the model, but after half an hour or so of constant handling, it begins to feel slightly tacky, and then I start leaving prints.  Any ideas how I can avoid this/fix the issue?  Thanks!

Couple of question:

Did you use the vallejo premium gloss or the resin gloss?

How did you thin it and the ratio you use?

What PSI did you use?

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