Canopies, Future, and Painting?

[dneid]

Hey, All,
I am about ready to get the Revell P-47 into final finishing. I was about to dip and cure the canopy in Future when the question hit me. Do I use Future BEFORE I paint the canopy frame with the zinc chromate/olive drab combination? I would assume the sequence is:
1) do the liquid mask thing
2) brush on the zinc chromate
3) brush on the olive drab
4) let it all dry for a day or two
5) remove liquid mask
6) dip the whole thing in Future
7) attach to the plane with Gorilla Glue (love this stuff so far)
8) finish the plane as planned with the decals, weathering, and flat finish.

Does this all look like the "correct" sequence?

Thanks,
Dale

 

[Crimea_River]

Dip the future first and let it cure fully. Then mask and paint.

 

[dneid]

Thanks, Crimea

 

[Rogi]

It takes about 2-3 days to cure completley, you could use it before (future) like a 1 day drying, but its only in extreme circumstances. Same with the final dip in future.

 

[Crimea_River]

Just a caution here. I've not used liquid mask over Future, just tape. May want to check on compatibility.

The reason I say Future first is, well, that's the common way to do it but there are advantages:

- if you mask and paint before, there are ridges of paint that may collect the Future, creating a meniscus and potentially distorting the clarity.
- if you dip after painting the frames, you're pretty much committed to having highly glossed canopy frames which may be ok but not always the finish you want.

 

[DarrellC]

Don't mean to hijack this thread...But what is the purpose of the Future?

 

[Wurger]

The Future is nothing more like an acrylic varnish. It has a nice feature of making of all surfaces looking very smooth. The varnish can be used as the undercoat for decal markings making better sticking of them and limiting the silvering effect. All clear parts of a model , especially cockpit conopies become more clear ( transparent ) and getting better nice appearance. Also its price is good comparing to other brand-name products offered by paint manufacturers. The Future is offered in big bottles contrary to those branded varnishes selling out in quite small cans or bottles.

 

[Wayne Little]

Wojtek!