Mr. Super Clear question

[peekay]

I already asked this in the "How Do I" section but my post sank without an answer. So since there's more traffic here....

Is anyone familiar with Mr. Super Clear from Mr. Hobby? Can anyone tell me how to apply this stuff? My results have been very inconsistent.

(I believe it is a solvent-based synthetic lacquer, not dissimilar to, but hotter than Tamiya TS13. So alternatively, how do you apply TS13? Like how thick/thin should it go on, how long between coats etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[crazyjim]

TS-13 is Tamiya clear in a rattle can, isn't it? Never hear of Mr. Super Clean.

[Agent G]

First off Mr Hobby products (Gunze) are no longer readily available in the states. This means very few folks here have experience with the product. I also do not.

If it is hotter than TS 13, my advice is to "sneak up" on it by using multiple light coats. TS 13 easily screws up a base coat if it isn't completely dry, so this will do even more damage.

Sorry Mate that's all I got.

G

Edited November 27, 2011 by Agent G

[peekay]

Thanks for the input. I suspected this product wasn't available stateside because it never gets mentioned.

Nevertheless, if anybody has tips about applying ANY brand of acrylic clearcoat I'd be grateful.

[Junkman]

Apart from the modelling paints sold worldwide, there seem to be fundamental differences between what is sold in the States and what is sold in Europe. I don't know what the differences really are, but usually what is recommended by fellow Americans in this forum will not work with European paints, or only in a translated sense.

For example, I don't understand the difference between acrylic and lacquer. We do not make this distinction, so my guess is that one of the two is not available over here.

In Europe, you deal with basically two paint systems - what we call "acrylic" and what we call "artificial resin". Acrylics have the characteristics of (European) automotive paint, artificial resins have the characteristics of enamel. Hence you need two types of clear, depending on which paint you used. Acrylic clear, basically (European) automotive clearcoat, or artificial resin clear. You cannot use acrylic clear on artificial resin paints, but you can use artificial resin clear on acrylics. I don't recommend doing the latter however, because artificial resin clear has a long curing time with all the disadvantages this implies. It's advantage is that it is not aggressive at all, hence it can be used on anything without danger, even enamels. It also has a more 'vintage' gloss than acrylic clear. Acrylic clear will inevitably react with artificial resin paints and wrinkle them.

I can make a recommendation, but for that I need to know what paint you used so far.

[peekay]

Thanks (again) for your help Junkman.

I used to use automotive polyurethane clear with good results. But 18 months ago I lost a whole lung to cancer and have been trying to use "healthier" paints since. I've been using Zero acrylic colour coats and like them very much. They go on very smoothly but with a matt to satin finish which has to be clear coated. I didn't have great success with their clear though and Tamiya TS13 doesn't seem to dry hard or smooth enough. (Do they have a different formula for Europe?)

All these problems could be due to my technique - I apply all coats in one session, only waiting a few minutes between coats, until I have a wet look. This method used to work fine with polyurethanes and Humbrol enamels but could be completely wrong for Mr.Hobby or Tamiya. These shrink over a period of weeks from a high gloss to a puckered satin finish which doesn't react well to fine sanding/polishing.

Any ideas??

[Junkman]

The Tamiya is the same formula everywhere and I don't use it for pretty much the same reasons you stated.

I'm sad to hear about your lung and at the same time this makes it difficult, since none of my recommendations are even remotely healthy (like a friend of mine always says: If it's supposed to work well, it must be seriously poisonous.).

I use (European) automotive clearcoat (which is acrylic) on anything with acrylic properties. Either from a rattle can, or from those repair sets for metallic paints, where you get a small bottle you can decant into an airbrush. For all other stuff, I use high gloss artificial resin clear ("Kunstharz") which is available in large rattle cans in DIY shops.

For the application, I do heat the cans and I mean it. I boil water in a pot, take it off the stove and put the cans in it until they are so hot that I can just about handle them without gloves. I then shake the living daylights out of them, at least a cigarette length of vigorous shaking, not just the 3 minutes it says on the tins. I then spray the clear in fairly generous coats, with no more than ten minutes between coats. Don't worry about the coats building up too much, just avoid runs. The clearcoat will in the end appear to be way too thick, but it really does shrink a lot within a few days. I leave them to cure for at least a week, after which the thick layer of clear has become a thin but oh so glossy coat. I hardly ever have the need to buff or polish the paint jobs done this way.

[peekay]

Thanks Junkman. I'll give that a try.

BTW, I've built myself a walk-in spray booth with very good ventilation so I don't feel I'm at any great risk - but I do avoid 2-part polyurethane, which really requires a seperate, external air source to breath with, plus good eye protection. Too much trouble for me.

My cancer came from smoking anyway, so I'll be timing my rattle-can shaking some other way than you do!

Thanks again for your time and suggestions.