Americana Gloss Sealer/Finisher

[aurfalien]

Hi,

A buddy of mine gave me a new can of America Acrylic Sealer/Finisher Gloss.

Is the stuff safe to use on lacquers, acrylics, decals?

Pic attached for ref.

[aurfalien]

AVOID, repeat AVOID.

Looks very nice on bare plastic however has a shockingly HORRID effect on lacquer based paints.

It says acrylic but whatever. At this point I won't even go Pledge Floor Care, it will be only hobby specific and expensive clear coats for me.

[fseva]

A buddy of mine gave me a new can of America Acrylic Sealer/Finisher Gloss.

Is the stuff safe to use on lacquers, acrylics, decals?

The Americana line is "craft paint", and the finishes should no doubt only be used over their paints. I have doubts that you'd be happy using this stuff on a fine lacquer paint like Testors or Tamiya. I've never seen a craft-type acrylic that could actually produce a real gloss, let alone a deep one... Even Alclad's Aqua Gloss doesn't really produce a deep, glossy shine, and as far as I know, there is no way to truly "polish" an acrylic finish, to get a deeper shine, without damaging the product in the process.

Edited May 25, 2015 by fseva

[aurfalien]

Well, a VERY painful lesson indeed.

I had no idea one could not buff acrylic.

The Simple Green usually take 2-3 days to strip. I tried mineral spirits a while back and rubberized a few smaller parts!

Talk about everything that could go wrong.

Still what a great learning experience its been. The 908 is chugging through though, it will eventually get done.

[jeffbrad]

Another clear that I have not seen mentioned on this board is the water based polyurethanes. I used it a lot and always had good results. Dries hard and fast and can be sanded and polished if needed. Carver Tripp is what I used Thinned with windshield washer fluid.