sanding/clear coat

[FreddyB.]

Hello guys,

Just a quick question, I've heard that you don't need to polish/sand metallic finishes on the body. Is that true? I put two light coats of tamiya metallic blue. It came out perfect, so my question is to sand or not to sand? And do I clear coat/polish? If I need to what grit? Type of clear/polish. Thanks guys, I love this forum everyone always gives great advice, oh and this is my 2nd build

Freddy B.

[Foxer]

Some of the better painters may correct me on this, but it's defiantly a no-no to polish metallic paint directly as you expose the fine particles in the paint. I add some clear coats and then you can polish as you are only removing material from the clear paint.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Foxer

[mikemodeler]

Freddy,

Mike is right (aren't all Mikes right????) about the sanding metallics. Lay on some clear as that Tamiya lacquer needs a couple of coats to hold the shine in. Use either a Tamiya clear coat (for compatibility reasons) or try using Future floor wax. I have recently tried it and love it. It is very easy to use and can be brushed on or sprayed through an airbrush. A big bottle will last you a long time. Check out this section for more info on the Future wax thread.

[Zoom Zoom]

Some of the better painters may correct me on this, but it's defiantly a no-no to polish metallic paint directly as you expose the fine particles in the paint. I add some clear coats and then you can polish as you are only removing material from the clear paint.

Correct. I even did a spoon test to prove this and show it to club members at our last meeting. Real cars painted in metallics/pearls have a dull finish before clear. It's okay if the paint is reasonably smooth, the clear is what adds the gloss.

If you want smooooooth, wetsand the color and then shoot a thinner coat of the same color through an airbrush, then apply clear.

[Mike Kucaba]

I've always added some clear to the metallic paint in the bottle as I'm building up the color. This helps just in case some oops like dust or whatever falls on the model. You can usually sand that out and re-shoot with out much drama.

[bigmikevee]

Right!!