do you recommend polishing before putting on future?

[foxbat426]

i just did a shell with water based acrylic. this is my first time using acrylic paint. i used createx paint and while the paint job through the airbrush came out great the finish is dull.

In your opinion, should i cut with compound to shine it up first before airbrusing a coat or two of future, or should i just spray the future and that will give me my shine? also how long will a future shine last and will it yellow?

thx again, john

[Chief Joseph]

Hi John; what you're basically doing is a basecoat/clearcoat with acrylics instead of solvent paints. If you have any dust or trash in your color coat, you should lightly sand it out with fine sandpaper and then when it's nice and clean, shoot your Future clearcoat. I would not attempt to use any type of rubbing compound before applying the Future. Future will shine for the life of your model, and although it is not supposed to yellow, I would avoid placing the model where direct sunlight might affect it. Sunlight can do all kinds of funny things to paints and coatings over time.

Regards,

Joseph

[Dr. Cranky]

Ditto.

[foxbat426]

thx,

joe and cranky!

also do you bare metal foil the trim before the future clear coat, after the clear coat or does it matter?

thx, john

[Harry P.]

After the clear. The foil will not stick well to a flat (matte) finish.

[Aaronw]

You don't have to buff the underlying paint to a shine, just make sure it is relatively smooth. Future will make flat paint gloss but it won't hide major flaws in the paint job.

As far as foil goes, I Future before and then afterwards put a coat just over / near the foil. The first coat helps protect the paint, the second coat helps secure the foil and blend in any scratches or other marks left by tools.

[martinfan5]

I have put future on after polishing and both times it cracked everywhere. So I wont be trying that anymore.

[Jeff Johnston]

definitely don't polish before future.

[Aaronw]

I've polished before using Future, but you need to wash the parts afterwards to remove any residual polishing compounds. You also need to ensure the paint has had plenty of time to cure before applying the Future (I've had the cracking issue when not allowing a few days for the paint to cure). Acrylics are not much of an issue but I usually try to allow at least 3 or 4 days for spray paint, and usually wait about a week just to be safe.

[my66s55]

I paint mostly with acrylics and finish with Future. As stated before, make sure that the paint is completely cured. Just because you can handle it doesn't mean it's cured. I put mine in a dehydrator over night to cure it and then let it set for a day before I sand. If you wet sand and do it too soon, the water can wash away the paint. When you do sand, use 4000 grit or higher to remove any imperfections. Be sure to put it in a sealed container after applying Future or it will attract all kind of dust, etc.