Polishing Future

[m408]

Just put two coats of Future on a metal flake painted body. Would like a little better shine. What do you guys recommend? And, will it really make that much of a difference?

[wdcav]

Just put two coats of Future on a metal flake painted body. Would like a little better shine. What do you guys recommend? And, will it really make that much of a difference?

My gf recently painted a small R/C car and then cleared it with future. One day I got my polishing pads out and had at the roof. By the final 12000 pad, it was looking very nice indeed. I was under a multi bulb hanging light, and on the other parts of the car, you could only see the light as a whole gleaming off the surface. On the area I polished out, you could see the reflections of each individual bulb. It looked spectacular, and I'm going to try it again on a 1/24 car in a day or two. Admittedly, hers hadn't self leveled very well and had some texture to it beforehand. The car I'm looking at trying it on setup like glass.

[Zoom Zoom]

It's not a miracle elixir, you have to put enough on there to really shine, and you have to polish it out. It goes on in thin layers, and metalflake has a lot of texture. Keep going, don't give up!

[m408]

It's not a miracle elixir, you have to put enough on there to really shine, and you have to polish it out. It goes on in thin layers, and metalflake has a lot of texture. Keep going, don't give up!

O.K. Bob, it does have a lot of texture. Next coat going on as soon as I finish this.

[935k3]

Try applying ZYMOL brand wax over the Future, it deepens the gloss annd improves the shine. Other waxes seem to remove the Future.

[Zoom Zoom]

Try applying ZYMOL brand wax over the Future, it deepens the gloss annd improves the shine. Other waxes seem to remove the Future.

Polishes seem to work better than waxes, except in the case of Zymol, as most waxes, even The Treatment, have chemicals that can soften various finishes. Novus #2 didn't seem to affect the Future, and I think Tamiya compound worked on it as well. Always test small areas.

[CAL]

negative ghost writer.

It is very thin and requires many coats to get to a glass finish, but one you get there you cannot beat the shine or depth.

I did try Zymol, which is the best car wax in the world - it's the only thing I use on my real cars. Maybe I didn't let the Future cure enough but I got streaking. In the end it wasn't worth the effort as it didn't drastically improve the finish.

But, Bob is correct in that it is not a miracle elixir. It will not fix problems in the paint itself.

Dale is correct that near almost everything else I tried, and I tried quite a few different things striped Future right off, but Zymol didn't.

It does sand easy thought, and I might consider taking some fine micro mesh to it, but even after 12000 you still might end up with a haze and swirles.

[CAL]

Just put two coats of Future on a metal flake painted body. Would like a little better shine. What do you guys recommend? And, will it really make that much of a difference?

simply more coats.

[Aaronw]

In the Complete Future article Matt mentions using simple green in the Future, says it makes an amazing finish, but attracts dust like crazy so you have to be extra careful about dust when you put it on.

Future and Simple Green

Future is great for creating a good medium gloss finish and with repeat layers and light sanding at 800 grit between layers can generate a fairly high gloss but if you want something truly outstanding then you need some Simple Green. Simple Green is a household and industrial cleaner found throughout the United States. It can be purchased in concentrated form or premixed. Most grocery stores carry the pre-mixed variety. In a small cup mix three parts Future with one part pre-mix Simple Green. Apply to your model with an airbrush using 15 to 18 psi pressure and about four to six inches of distance. Apply an even slightly wet coat then immediately cover the model with a large bowl or clean box because this will be a major dust magnet. Allow to cure overnight. When you remove the cover your model may appear to be wet still but no, this is the finish that is achieved – a STILL WET LOOK! You can apply a second coat if needed but be sure to cover the model again during the cure process. I failed to do this with one of my cars and it attracted a collection of fine dust particles and they really show up on such a high gloss finish. The Future seems to dry with the same hard finish as when used normally. Due to the high gloss aspect fingerprints will show up very easily so keep a lint free polishing cloth handy for when you cannot resist touching it.

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

[m408]

In the Complete Future article Matt mentions using simple green in the Future, says it makes an amazing finish, but attracts dust like crazy so you have to be extra careful about dust when you put it on.

Future and Simple Green

Future is great for creating a good medium gloss finish and with repeat layers and light sanding at 800 grit between layers can generate a fairly high gloss but if you want something truly outstanding then you need some Simple Green. Simple Green is a household and industrial cleaner found throughout the United States. It can be purchased in concentrated form or premixed. Most grocery stores carry the pre-mixed variety. In a small cup mix three parts Future with one part pre-mix Simple Green. Apply to your model with an airbrush using 15 to 18 psi pressure and about four to six inches of distance. Apply an even slightly wet coat then immediately cover the model with a large bowl or clean box because this will be a major dust magnet. Allow to cure overnight. When you remove the cover your model may appear to be wet still but no, this is the finish that is achieved – a STILL WET LOOK! You can apply a second coat if needed but be sure to cover the model again during the cure process. I failed to do this with one of my cars and it attracted a collection of fine dust particles and they really show up on such a high gloss finish. The Future seems to dry with the same hard finish as when used normally. Due to the high gloss aspect fingerprints will show up very easily so keep a lint free polishing cloth handy for when you cannot resist touching it.

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

Wow Aaron, nice tip. I'm sure that a lot of the better builders will find it usefull. However, my skills are not such that I am looking for the "perfect" finish, just a little bit nicer than the standard Future finish. When and if, I can get my painting skills to another level, I'll surely try the Future/Simple Green combo.