Dupli-colour paint, clear coat question.

[W Humble]

Duplicolor colors I've bought at O'Reillys and Pep Boys work okay; mostly acrylic lacquers: dry fast but need clear coat to really 'pop'.  I use PPG Shopline (mostly) as I also do 1/1 paint jobs and worked at a PPG store as a retirement job.  Their JC660 or 661 are very good clear over-coats, but are catalyzed.  I don't think of Duplicolor as a top-line finish, personally, but okay esp for models.  I almost never use rattle-cans, nor do I use Tamaiya, Testors, or other modeling finishes if spraying.  Too much $$!

If you're an adult, try the local automotive finish stores for mis-tint and over-aged products; you would be amazed at what you can come up with, usually for less than half price, and if your personality appeals to them, FREE!  OC, means using their reducers, catalysts.  I share my finds with fellow modelers if they have the containers!  Wick  Age 76

[StevenGuthmiller]

On 4/8/2022 at 9:46 AM, crowe-t said:

How has the Duplicolor Paint Shop Clear worked out over time?  Does it hold it's shine?  Does it keep reducing down?

I found that the hobby clear lacquers tend to reduce down for a very long time but that could be lacquer in general.

I've only used it a couple of times and was not particularly fond of it.

It seems to work okay, but I find I have better results just using the "perfect match" clear in the rattle cans.

The Paint Shop clear seems to go on thicker, and I find that I like the control of the thinner coats that I seem to be able to achieve with the spray can, believe it or not.

The Perfect Match clear generally requires some polishing to achieve a really nice finish, at least in my experience, which is okay with me as I always polish my paint anyway.

 

 

 

Steve

[moparfarmer]

I've found that Duplicolor Acrylic Enamel is good but dries hard like a lacquer..I also like Steven like the Perfect Match clear..Both are good..

[crowe-t]

35 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I've only used it a couple of times and was not particularly fond of it.

It seems to work okay, but I find I have better results just using the "perfect match" clear in the rattle cans.

The Paint Shop clear seems to go on thicker, and I find that I like the control of the thinner coats that I seem to be able to achieve with the spray can, believe it or not.

The Perfect Match clear generally requires some polishing to achieve a really nice finish, at least in my experience, which is okay with me as I always polish my paint anyway.

 

 

 

Steve

Thanks Steve!  I've been usng Gunze Mr Super Clear for a while but I'm thinking of giving Duplicolor clear a shot.

Does the Perfect Match lacquer clear reduce down a lot over time?  In my experience clear lacquer reduces down a lot over time.

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, crowe-t said:

Thanks Steve!  I've been usng Gunze Mr Super Clear for a while but I'm thinking of giving Duplicolor clear a shot.

Does the Perfect Match lacquer clear reduce down a lot over time?  In my experience clear lacquer reduces down a lot over time.

I'm not sure what you mean by "reducing down", but I use multiple thin coats, (as many as 5 or 6) and once it's cured and polished, I haven't noticed any changes over the years.

 

 

 

Steve

[Jon Haigwood]

this came up on my FB feed . I haven't tried it .I have to find some first 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

On 4/21/2022 at 5:01 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

...I'm not sure what you mean by "reducing down"...

I would interpret that to mean "shrinking" over time, losing gloss and possibly showing sanding scratches. I've seen this on lotsa different lacquer clears, on real cars and models. It'll usually polish back up if there's enough material present to avoid burn-through.

But I don't have recent experience with any of the Duplicolor clears...so I'm glad to have the benefit of yours.   

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

I would interpret that to mean "shrinking" over time, losing gloss and possibly showing sanding scratches. I've seen this on lotsa different lacquer clears, on real cars and models.

Putting it that way, no, I really haven't witnessed any such phenomenon.

At least not to any significant degree.

 

 

 

Steve

[Mark]

5 hours ago, Jon Haigwood said:

this came up on my FB feed . I haven't tried it .I have to find some first 

 

I found it at Advance Auto Parts.  Auto Zone and Pep Boys in my area didn't have it, though both do carry Duplicolor sprays.  I'd guess both will eventually get it.

[crowe-t]

On 4/23/2022 at 10:54 AM, Jon Haigwood said:

this came up on my FB feed . I haven't tried it .I have to find some first 

 

I picked up a can of the Duplicolor 1K Clear Extreme Gloss and did some tests.  It sprayed better out of the spray can.  I decanted some and sprayed it with my airbrush and it didn't spray so smooth.  I even used a few drops of urethane reducer and it still went on bumpy.  This is the good part.  The down side is it has a distinct yellow tint.  I noticed the yellow on the spray cap where some dripped and when I decanted some it was yellow in the cup.  It really shows over white paint but doesn't show over a color although I'm sure it changes the color.  

It also takes much longer to cure than the 48 hours or so it says on the can.  I really like that it sprays on smooth out of the can with little to no orange peel but it's yellow. 

I also tried KBS Coatings Diamond Finish Gloss Clear in the spray can.  I got very similar results as I did with the Duplicolor 1K Clear Extreme Gloss.  They are almost the same clear.  The KBS clear says non-yellowing but it's already yellow. 

I'm going to stick with the Gunze Mr Super Clear lacquer I've been using for several years.  It's clear in the cup when I decant it and it goes on clear over white.  I decant and airbrush it but still get orange peel that needs to be polished out.  That's with all clear lacquers.

Edited May 4, 2022 by crowe-t

[Zippi]

I'm having issues with Tamiya X-22 clear so I thought I'd try the Dupli-color 2K clear.  Has anyone used this clear before?  

[Rick L]

1 hour ago, Zippi said:

I'm having issues with Tamiya X-22 clear so I thought I'd try the Dupli-color 2K clear.  Has anyone used this clear before?  

I’ve used this on a few projects with no issues. It does run a little wet but if you’re used to working with lacquer you should have no problem.

[W Humble]

It's probably been covered and re-covered in this long posting, but issue number one with using lacquers is their proclivity to lift and wrinkle layers of paint they're applied over; true in 1/1 cars also.  Lac isn't much used any more, and Dupli-Color is one of the few sources; it's good paint, meeting the professional quality standards with body shops, but has drawbacks besides the above: it isn't nearly as durable as the newer paints, and can be touchy.  Also, on 1/1 cars, it must be 'cut and buffed', or block-sanded with progressively finer grits and then rubbed out with various grades of abrasive compounds.  Thus, it must be thicker: "20 coats of lacquer, blockingout between every third coat' etc.  For 1/1 jobs, though it's usually much easier to 'spot in' when one makes boo-boos, and it dries very quickly.  A whole chapter of auto finishing in and of itself!  I find it ideal for scale models, but one has to recall the 're-melt' hazard, and use compatible undercoats.  Oh, and lac can still tolerate the old-timers 'red cap' lacquer putty, which is very verstatile on a tiny project like a model (and dries almost as fast as catalyzed putties) but is often unhappy under 2K finishes, causing bubbles and lifting.  Whew!  I prefer PPB 660 or 661 spot clear, with hardener, thinned a bit.  Ole' Wick