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Is this a gloss clear coat?


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I can't recall why I bought this, somehow it came across me as a gloss clear coat. Is this actually that? I used it on an enamel paint job and it came out kind of matte and bumpy. 

Also what is the best clear gloss coat for an enamel job, if this one isn't good.

image_2023-07-17_134405640.png

Edited by Milo
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5 minutes ago, Milo said:

I was told that it would be fine to use if I let my enamel paint cure first, it's been a week so I think I'm good to go. Save me if I'm wrong

I wouldn't chance it, especially if some members have found it to be too hot for enamel. Besides, you can't be sure enamel has completely cured if it's only been a week. I wait at least a month for enamels to fully cure, much of that time spent in the dehydrator.

Personally, I play it safe when working with enamels. Enamel clears have a tendency to yellow over time, and sometimes come out of the bottle with a yellow tint. You can't use lacquer, so I resort to acrylic clears for enamel, usually Tamiya. It's safe for everything.

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If you get some 2k gloss clear from Splash Paints, that might work on top of enamel. The 2k clear is a type of epoxy and it doesn't really react with anything. I use 2k clear on top of nearly everything. But I don't use enamel paints, so I can't say I have tried that yet.

There are two big cautions with 2k clear though.  Test on a spare part or spoon that has enamel paint on it, just to be sure it will not react.

The other caution is that enamel paint has to cure for a loooooooong time before you clearcoat it. Like stated above, a month in a dehydrator, or maybe 6-8 weeks air drying. Enamels don't cure very fast at all.

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19 minutes ago, Bainford said:

I wouldn't chance it, especially if some members have found it to be too hot for enamel. Besides, you can't be sure enamel has completely cured if it's only been a week. I wait at least a month for enamels to fully cure, much of that time spent in the dehydrator.

Personally, I play it safe when working with enamels. Enamel clears have a tendency to yellow over time, and sometimes come out of the bottle with a yellow tint. You can't use lacquer, so I resort to acrylic clears for enamel, usually Tamiya. It's safe for everything.

Where do I find an acrylic gloss clear tamiya, every time I click a link it then says lacquer even thought it said acrylic just earlier.

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7 minutes ago, Milo said:

Where do I find an acrylic gloss clear tamiya, every time I click a link it then says lacquer even thought it said acrylic just earlier.

Search for "Tamiya x series gloss clear"

You will need to thin it. It is not airbrush ready. And since you are going to shoot it over enamel, use the Tamiya acrylic thinner.

I'm sorry, but how are you having such a hard time with finding jars of paint?

Another confusing thing is Tamiya acrylics are labeled as acrylic lacquers, because they have some solvent in them. They are synthetic and not 100% water based. Just remember that Tamiya X and XF jars of paint are acrylic..

Edited by ctruss53
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5 minutes ago, ctruss53 said:

Search for "Tamiya x series gloss clear"

You will need to thin it. It is not airbrush ready. And since you are going to shoot it over enamel, use the Tamiya acrylic thinner.

I'm sorry, but how are you having such a hard time with finding jars of paint?

Another confusing thing is Tamiya acrylics are labeled as acrylic lacquers, because they have some solvent in them. They are synthetic and not 100% water based. Just remember that Tamiya X and XF jars of paint are acrylic..

What should I thin it with, and what should be the tinner to paint ratio?

Edited by Milo
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16 minutes ago, Milo said:

What should I thin it with, and what should be the tinner to paint ratio?

 

Honestly, if you use X or XF series paint from Tamiya, you can thin them with water. about 1:1. Someone will come in here and tell me I am wrong, but I have done it for years without a problem.

Having said that, I would not use water to thin clear. I would use their acrylic thinner. Tamiya makes that.

Another option would be to try Createx gloss clear. Createx is an acrylic paint line. But again, I don't know how it will act on enamel.

Mission Models is a new line of paint. But they are also acrylic.

And then like I said above, Splash 2k clear would probably work.

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41 minutes ago, Milo said:

Where do I find an acrylic gloss clear tamiya, every time I click a link it then says lacquer even thought it said acrylic just earlier.

in some parts of the world lacquer is used to refer to the clear coat. I know when i worked in the body shop lacquer was just clear coat

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16 minutes ago, Lunajammer said:

The conversation has sorta moved past this already, but here's what happened to me when I didn't engage my brain before spraying it over enamel.

IntDoorPanelCrap3.jpg.b98d2c011f663f12e992f663c803c445.jpg

I don't know what "it" was you're referring to but what you're showing is a a good classic and repeatable example of what a reaction of hot lacquer sprayed over fresh enamel often looks like.

Edited by Dave G.
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8 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

I don't know what "it" was you're referring to but but what you're showing is a classic and repeatable reaction of hot lacquer sprayed over fresh enamel.

Yeah, the enamel was airbrushed a day or two earlier and I think there was metal flake in it too, which BTW further allows pathways for the lacquer to really get down in there. Happy mistake because the choice of color and paint was all wrong for that project anyway. To clarify, "it" is the product op shows in first post.

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I don’t understand why everybody has so much trouble using Testors clear lacquer over enamel. 
I can’t remember the last time that I built a model where half of the parts weren’t first painted with enamel and cleared with Testors lacquer.

Testors clear lacquer is in no way, shape or form a hot, automotive type acrylic lacquer.

I have no idea what the formulation of the paint is, but I have my doubts that it’s even a lacquer in the normally accepted definition of the word.

All that I “can” tell you is that I spray it over enamel all of the time, and by all of the time, I mean very frequently!

As a matter of fact, I’ll be doing it tonight over some parts for my current project that were painted last night with flat enamel, and I haven’t even the slightest apprehension about it!

 

 

 

 

Steve

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12 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I don’t understand why everybody has so much trouble using Testors clear lacquer over enamel. 
I can’t remember the last time that I built a model where half of the parts weren’t first painted with enamel and cleared with Testors lacquer.

Testors clear lacquer is in no way, shape or form a hot, automotive type acrylic lacquer.

I have no idea what the formulation of the paint is, but I have my doubts that it’s even a lacquer in the normally accepted definition of the word.

All that I “can” tell you is that I spray it over enamel all of the time, and by all of the time, I mean very frequently!

As a matter of fact, I’ll be doing it tonight over some parts for my current project that were painted last night with flat enamel, and I haven’t even the slightest apprehension about it!

 

 

 

 

Steve

Which one do you use? The #1834 Extreme is hotter than the #1261 I believe.

IMG_6431.jpeg

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1 hour ago, Milo said:

What should I thin it with, and what should be the tinner to paint ratio?

Do yourself a great big favor and start learning how to work with lacquer paint instead of enamel.

It’ll save you from having to jump through all of these hoops.

You can basically spray anything over lacquer.

 

 

 

Steve

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8 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Which one do you use? The #1834 Extreme is hotter than the #1261 I believe.

IMG_6431.jpeg

That could be.

I wouldn’t know for sure if there’s any difference between the two.

I don’t use any of that “extreme”garbage........just my opinion of course.. 😊

I guess my solution would be that if you want to use clear lacquer over enamel, just shy away from the “fancy label” and get the stuff that does the job.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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