How do you spray a good gloss coat?

[DonH]

I will be using Tamiya X-22 and assume that the paint surface is adequately prepared. How do I transfer the gloss coat from the paint cup to the model so that it looks glossy and perfect?

 

Pressures? I usually aim for 15psi wish

Thinners/gloss coat ratio? Generally I go 50/50

 

I also heard of someone spraying a final coat of neat levelling thinner. Is this a good idea?

[Durangokid]

I used 50/50 with leveling thinner and it worked perfectly and I think you psi is good too.  Kev and Chuck are your best sources for X-22.  I used it for the first time a short time ago and it will be my go to gloss from now on...

 

Bryan

[Lothar]

X-22 is indeed a fantastic clear coat and the above mentioned mix ratios and pressure settings work perfect

for me as well.

I gave Mr. Color 46 gloss and Mr. Color GX100 Gloss a try recently, mixed it with 50/50 with Levelling Thinner and it

gave me a very satisfying results as well. Dried rock hard within minutes and I'd rate it at least on par with Tamiya X-22.

Lothar

[LSP_Kevin]

Don, to address the notion of spraying a coat of pure thinners at the end: this is known as a 'flash coat', and is designed to help soften and level out the still-curing gloss coat. Some people swear by it; I've done it a few times, and can't really say whether it helped one way or the other. I think there are a lot of variables in play that would affect the outcome, much like airbrushing in general I guess. You could always do a quick A/B test by doing it to, say, one wing only, and seeing if it turns out better than the one you left alone.

 

Kev

[Lothar]

1 hour ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Don, to address the notion of spraying a coat of pure thinners at the end: this is known as a 'flash coat', and is designed to help soften and level out the still-curing gloss coat. Some people swear by it; I've done it a few times, and can't really say whether it helped one way or the other. I think there are a lot of variables in play that would affect the outcome, much like airbrushing in general I guess. You could always do a quick A/B test by doing it to, say, one wing only, and seeing if it turns out better than the one you left alone.

 

Kev

 

I subscribe to this statement, I tried it twice and I won't repeat it since there were no real and visible advantages.

[ringleheim]

15 hours ago, DonH said:

I will be using Tamiya X-22 and assume that the paint surface is adequately prepared. How do I transfer the gloss coat from the paint cup to the model so that it looks glossy and perfect?

 

Pressures? I usually aim for 15psi wish

Thinners/gloss coat ratio? Generally I go 50/50

 

I also heard of someone spraying a final coat of neat levelling thinner. Is this a good idea?

Don, you might want to watch some videos on Youtube of guys not making airplane models, but car models.

The car guys take painting to the ultimate extreme among all forms of modeling in terms of smooth paint work.  

 

The first thing I would suggest is replacing the Tamiya acrylic clear with a lacquer substitute, assuming you have painted in lacquer or acrylic.  The lacquer clear will not bother either of those and it goes down by far the best, dries fastest, and most important of all, hardest.

 

If you painted in enamel, forget it!  

 

A common mistake is for people to not thin the clear coat enough.  Do multiple coats, and on your last coat, add a bunch more thinner to your mix than you did in the earlier coats, so that it is really, really "wet".

 

When everything is dried, if you still don't like it, you can smooth it with very fine grit sandpaper, and give another very thinned clear coat on top of that.

 

If you employ these techniques, you can make paint look like glass.  How far you want to take this on an aircraft model is up to you!

 

Turn the pressure UP too.  If you watch guys who are masters at paint work shoot clear, it is like a cannon blast of clear coat coming out of the airbrush.  A flame thrower of paint, if you will.  LOL.

 

 

[Out2gtcha]

I tend to agree. I like X-22 a lot, and agree it works well. However, having shot very wet (thinned) coats of lacquer clear, it really is by far the strongest and hardest finish out there. I like MRPs clear, but also agree it takes a lot to cover.  Known to most, I prefer Model Masters "Ultra Gloss Clearcoat" lacquer decanted and thinned heavily through an airbrush.   Hell, I've even shot it straight out of the rattle can with decent luck:

 

 

 

 

[Gazzas]

If you want really shiny, without any texture showing, yer gonna have to sand it with micromesh and/or polish it with a plastic polish.

Just depends on the look you're going for.

[DonH]

Thanks all for your suggestions. I will give it a go in the next week or so when the base coat has fully dried (and I have the time).

[TimHepplestone]

I am blessed   / cursed with some humbrol acrylic gloss. Sometimes it works beautifully and other times it develops tiny cracks as it dries

 

[Woody V]

The trick to getting a smooth finish, regardless of the color, is to lay it on wet so it flows out.

 

I just started using Mr. Color #46 mixed 50/50 with leveling thinner (Thank you Lothar) and lacquer is definitely the way to go. Before that I was using Aqua Gloss but the extended cure time is an issue for me.

Also, spraying straight thinner over paint to get it to flow out doesn't work once acrylic or enamel has dried/cured. Of the three different kinds of paint only lacquer can be "re-wet" after it dries. Of course all of this is a moot point if you put your paint down wet in the first place.

[Woody V]

On 9/20/2019 at 1:06 AM, Lothar said:

I gave Mr. Color 46 gloss and Mr. Color GX100 Gloss a try recently, mixed it with 50/50 with Levelling Thinner

 

Is there any perceptible difference between the two? 

[Lothar]

7 minutes ago, Archer Fine Transfers said:

 

Is there any perceptible difference between the two? 

 

None that I have noticed. I've recently mixed the GX100 some leftover 46 Gloss with the

same thinning ratio and it worked like a treat. 

BTW, should you ever look for a convincing matte coat, add 1/4 of GX100 to 3/4 of GX114 and 

add 50/50 Levelling Thinner, I guess you'll love it. It's not dead flat and not shiny either, it just

adds a bit of sheen to the flat - I loved it. 

 

Lothar

[Woody V]

30 minutes ago, Lothar said:

BTW, should you ever look for a convincing matte coat, add 1/4 of GX100 to 3/4 of GX114 and 

add 50/50 Levelling Thinner, I guess you'll love it. It's not dead flat and not shiny either, it just

adds a bit of sheen to the flat - I loved it. 

Lothar

 

Yea, I noticed that Semi Gloss 181 is too glossy and considered mixing Flat 182 with it to dull it down a bit. More experimenting.

[LSP_Ray]

On 11/3/2019 at 6:06 AM, Archer Fine Transfers said:

The trick to getting a smooth finish, regardless of the color, is to lay it on wet so it flows out.

 

I just started using Mr. Color #46 mixed 50/50 with leveling thinner (Thank you Lothar) and lacquer is definitely the way to go. Before that I was using Aqua Gloss but the extended cure time is an issue for me.

Also, spraying straight thinner over paint to get it to flow out doesn't work once acrylic or enamel has dried/cured. Of the three different kinds of paint only lacquer can be "re-wet" after it dries. Of course all of this is a moot point if you put your paint down wet in the first place.

This is correct! I was forced to figure out how to get a good gloss coat while restoring a car. Had to repair a small part that had been scratched up. Took a couple tries, but learned some things. What worked was to thin the paint heavily, work from one side to the other, keeping the leading edge wet the entire time. Also, if you are using lacquer thinner, wear a mask! I thought using an airbrush it would be too little paint/thinner to worry about: I was wrong. Filled the entire garage with fumes; made me loopy.