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Dupli-Color Acrylic Lacquer Clear Coat (What's up with this stuff!)


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I applied this stuff 4-5 days ago over some Dupli-Color Color Match paint and it never did feel completely smooth (slick) to me, it was glossy but felt like a thin rubber coating to the touch. I wanted to show it to a friend today and wrapped it in some toilet paper so it wouldn't get scratched, upon arrival and taking it out of the box there were paper fibers all over it, so , I washed it off. For the journey back home i wrapped it in a paper towel and found upon my arrival there that the 'basket weave' pattern of the paper towel had attached itself to the surface along with more paper fibers. That was it, the body is in an alcohol bath. Does this stuff ever dry hard? If so, how long does it take? I've never used this stuff before, and , at this point I'll 'never' use it again.

Can_zps1ghg0ndm.jpg

Edited by Speedfreak
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How was the humidity in your area when you sprayed it? I recently ran into the same issues on a build from last week I was trying to get finished before a club meeting. didn't get fully dry until the day after the meeting (2 full days after last coat) after the humidy dropped a bit. I had never had problems with that clear before.

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Bill, the humidity was high when I applied the stuff, but , that was 4 days ago, and , since then the body has been inside my air conditioned home.

So, you've used it before with success? I love Dupli-Color paints and am disappointed about this outcome. I'm tired of paying $7 for a 3oz can of Tamiya Clear!


I've ruined two WIPs by using that stuff..... That's been several months ago, and those bodies are still tacky......

LOL! Yikes!

Edited by Speedfreak
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I applied this stuff 4-5 days ago over some Dupli-Color Color Match paint and it never did feel completely smooth (slick) to me, it was glossy but felt like a thin rubber coating to the touch. I wanted to show it to a friend today and wrapped it in some toilet paper so it wouldn't get scratched, upon arrival and taking it out of the box there were paper fibers all over it, so , I washed it off. For the journey back home i wrapped it in a paper towel and found upon my arrival there that the 'basket weave' pattern of the paper towel had attached itself to the surface along with more paper fibers. That was it, the body is in an alcohol bath. Does this stuff ever dry hard? If so, how long does it take? I've never used this stuff before, and , at this point I'll 'never' use it again.

You have my sympathy - I've had lots of problems with Duplicolor products, and in my case it had a lot to do with the fact that I was trying to dry it in a food dehydrator! I finally realized that these products were made to be air-dried, which is logical when you consider they were created for automotive work by amateurs who don't have the cash to build paint rooms. Anyway, you can give yourself a headstart on the use of Duplicolor finishes by abiding loyally to the instructions on the can. Do that, then leave it alone in a dry room of your house at least overnight, and you may be surprised... :o

Oh, and by all means, make sure the paint below the clear is fully cured before applying the clear!

Edited by fseva
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I've never had any problems with their products....however they're getting hard to find in my area.

Humidity is never an issue here (except during our all too brief rainy season) and thier car paints dry almost instantly here.

Edited by mike 51
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You'll have better luck with the Duplicolor clear that's specifically designed to be used over their car colors.

99984738_dpl_BCL0125_pri_larg.jpg

Testors lacquer clears work very very well too. Never any issues, ever.

I agree with you, Bill. I only had the acrylic lacquer on hand for use on a different non-model project that I used their black acrylic lacquer on. I gave it a try on a body I painted with Perfect Match partially just to test it out, and it seemed to work fine. Used it on later build that needed a clear, but I didn't want to fool with getting the airbrush out to use my usual Paint Shop clear (which also works great with Perfect Match) without issue. Only thing I can think of that was different was the high humidity, and perhaps that I was rushing the job a bit. It did cure fine after an extra day of cure time. However, it will not be my "go-to" clear for sure. More like "last resort".

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Bill, (Ace) , they didn't have the 'Perfect Match' clear at the O'reilly where I've been buying my Dupli-Color auto paint, soooooooo , I thought the stuff I got was all they (Dupli-Color) had. I'll have to change auto parts stores and look for the ' Perfect Match' clear, which 'is' what I wanted to begin with, thanks.

James, whats the drying time on that Acrylic Enamel?

Edited by Speedfreak
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Do you have a Meijer store in your area? I can't speak for all of them, but the one near me does carry a small assortment (popular colors) of Perfect Match, including the clear. Prices are reasonable, and they do run 2 for 1 specials with some regularity.

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Do you have a Meijer store in your area? I can't speak for all of them, but the one near me does carry a small assortment (popular colors) of Perfect Match, including the clear. Prices are reasonable, and they do run 2 for 1 specials with some regularity.

Wow - we've got one near us that is just about ready to open! Thanks for the tip! BTW, where would I go inside the store - do they have a hardware/paint or automotive department?

Edited by fseva
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Bill B., There are no Meijer stores in this area that I know of. I have three auto parts chains within a mile of my house; O'reilly's, Autozone, and, Advance Auto Parts. I typically go to O'reilly's because it's the closest, I'll check the others for the 'Perfect Match' clear, one of them should have it in stock, I hope. Thanks to everyone for all the help!

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Frank, it's AUTOMOTIVE paint, so it would be in the "automotive" department. I hope this helps.

Not necessarily, considering Meijer's is first and foremost... a 'GROCERY' store! :lol:

It's also a... 'PAINT'... so, it must be in their paint department...

And some stores lump paint in with 'HARDWARE'... so, it must be in the hardware department!

Regardless, only someone who had actually found this item in a Meijer's would know where to find it again... Duh... :wacko:

Edited by fseva
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BCLO125 is the part# you want

The DAL1695 product actually works pretty well on wood, but yes it does take a long time to dry and even then it isn't super-hard but it does polish out okay

I used it on these grips I made:


post-10837-0-92693200-1435299788_thumb.j

Edited by Mike_G
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