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I am trying to make my own Metallic Clear Coat.

I tried to add very fine glitter to bottle of decanted Clear Coat, decanted Minwax Polyurethane and Future.  The glitter just sank to the bottom of the bottle. Is there any type of carrier that would suspend the glitter ?

Any ideas?

Mike

 

 

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I am trying to make my own Metallic Clear Coat.

I tried to add very fine glitter to bottle of decanted Clear Coat, decanted Minwax Polyurethane and Future.  The glitter just sank to the bottom of the bottle. Is there any type of carrier that would suspend the glitter ?

Are you really using "glitter"? I'm thinking that it might be heavier than what manufacturers usually use in clears... Perhaps you should try PearlEx, which is a very finely powdered metallic additive - you might have better success with it. I have used it in Testors 1-Coat Clear, but I remember how it does still separate from the clear and pile up on the bottom. Just have to shake it up occasionally while using it...

Edited by fseva
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You're going to find that most "glitter" is going to be really too coarse for scale use, and will also clog up your airbrush. Pearl-X, as mentioned by Frank, works very well, and is very fine for the most part. Their "sparkle" metallics are a bit chunkier that their regular pearls, but they only come in gold and copper. They also have a macro pearl that is a white color, but under a candy/transparent color topcoat, it makes for a very chunky metalflake. So far, other than Pearl-X, the only other glitter/metalflake I've found in retail that seems to spray well is Recollections Extra Fine, which so far I've only found at Micheal's. It does ok through an airbrush, but takes lots of coats to really get any sort of noticeable effect, and will take several coats of clear over that to smooth it out.

My clear of choice when using any sort of powder additive is Duplicolor Paint Shop, it seems to hold the powder in suspension a little better. even then, it still needs agitated every once in a while shooting to keep it mixed. I tend to use the old "hold your finger over the tip and shoot some air" trick, which backflushes the airbrush back into the cup/jar. I use the air to agitate the paint.

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This one is done using Pearl-X Interference Red mixed into Paint Shop clear. It also has some Cherry Red Recollections flake added in, and is shot right over the black, no different base coat under it. Not really the effect I was after, but it turned out ok.

 

works in progress 001.JPG

Edited by Longbox55
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I'll cast another vote for Pearl Ex. I mix it in Testors Clear Gloss Lacquer. It comes in bottles so no decanting necessary. I haven't had any problem with settling, I just swish the airbrush bottle around a few times before I spray. It stays mixed pretty well as long as you're spraying. It sprays about like Testors Metallizers.

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