So I painted a car and wanted to prepare it for decaling. The gloss I used was nasty, and I had to strip the car and start all over again. This time, because of recommendations from people here, I used Future Floor Wax. The first coat just soaked into the flat black paint. The second coat has left it looking kinda sorta satin, but not glossy. Should I keep applying coats until I can get a gloss coat? Or if I decal it like it is now will I be able to avoid silvering? Or do I have to strip the whole thing all over again? Anyone know?
What sort of paint did you use? The future trick is from military modelers, who usually use very very flat paint. I have been using Polly scale "engine black", and by using micro set, my decals dont silver at all; they just snuggle right down. Might want to try a decal (if you have extras, that is) over the paint and see how it looks? For what its worth, you probably wont need to strip the finish; dullcote hides the floor polish well.
You should be fine. The Future will never be 'glossy' - the satiny finish is enough to fill in all the imperfections and give you a smooth surface on which to apply the decal. Avoid multiple coats of Future - or you'll start to lose your detail. Micro Set/Sol also help the decal to set smoothly.
Chaya, I just hate Future. I've never gotten good results the few times I've tried it--it's just too thick for me. I prefer spraying very thin coats of gloss coat until I get an almost glossy surface. It seems much more controllable than Future.
For this model I used PS engine black, like you. I do use both Micro Set and Micro Sol. You're saying that you don't use any gloss at all before you decal? (Just want to make sure I read that right). You're right, I should try an experiment. It's not like I can't easily take it off if it doesn't work.
I can't seem to use gloss coat. I used the Microscale stuff and it sort of globbed and spluttered. Not too badly. Two models came out fine. The next ones were awful. That's why I had to strip them. Really disappointing. I thought for sure it was because of the dryness here--but you lived here, too. Maybe MS gloss coat gets old over time? Or light ruins it or something?
Nope, I do not use any gloss, I decal and go. I was using Model Master gloss black, but didnt like how it sprayed, so I picked up PS paint and so far, no problems at all. Keep in mind I havent been doing this long, but so far, the decals look great to me! Amanda
In my experience, Microscale decals usually can be applied over Polly Scale or Modelflex without a gloss coat. But I found out the hard way this doesn't work with custom Rail Graphics decals. I've had good luck with Pledge with Future Shine applied with an airbrush straight from the bottle, also Testors Acryl clear gloss thinned slightly with Testors acrylic thinner. One light coat should be enough.
I'm thinking maybe the formula has changed since you tried it, Pete. The stuff I have is very thin, and like I said it just soaks right in. I didn't even use an airbrush: I used a quality brush that was about 1/4" wide and just painted it on. It disappeared. I put on a second coat and that almost disappeared, too. There was no loss of detail, especially compared to the Microscale gloss coat. According to Dave, though, just the first coat would have been good enough for decals. After that first coat, there was no sign that I had done anything at all.
That's good to know, Steve. When I go to decal New Mexico Central stuff I'll have to make my own decals, and I'm sure they won't be up to Microscale quality.
