Glosscoat Troubles

[Zippythehog]

I think this goes here. I ran out of Testors Model Master gloss coat. I tried Valejo gloss coat. I have a mess. I've had great experience with the subject, the Airfix new mold A6M2 21b. The Valejo is all orange peel and dimples.
Any suggestions for corrective action?
Thanks.
tim

 

[fastmongrel]

For safeties sake I never mix different makes of paint and varnish, it generally works out but I have ruined several paint jobs.

I think your best option is get some fine abrasive pads start with 2000 grit and 4000 grit to finish, a bowl of warm water with a drop of liquid soap in it and carefully sand the plane. Wash the abrasive in the water regularly to prevent any clogging, don't do straight lines little circles is the trick. Stop and examine the surface regularly you don't want to remove paint just the dimpled finish.

It's slow and boring but you should flatten the surface eventually. If you feel any dragging STOP the abrasive should slide gently over the surface the water is a lubricant and the soap breaks surface tension.

When you have a flat matte surface get a nail buffing stick from your local beauty aisle and go very gently over the surface the buffing stick will be about 10000 grit and will polish the surface without removing any paint.

Wash and dry the plane leave it to dry for a few days then recoat with the varnish you know will work.

 

[Donivanp]

I use pledge. It's acrylic and Testors gloss coat is enamel. Drying and curing times for enamel and lacquer finishes are much longer than acrylic.
Follow the above advice and you should be fine. You can use a car paint rubbing compound or a fine grit tooth past and a soft rag. Gentle circles don't press hard. Checking constantly. Warm water. Gently. Did I say GENTLY.

 

[Zippythehog]

Thanks to you both. I'll give it a try.
The Testors I had was Acrylic.

 

[fastmongrel]

Thanks to you both. I'll give it a try.
The Testors I had was Acrylic.

Not all acrylics are the same. I am not familiar with the Testors brand but the Vallejo is water based whereas Tamiya for example is alcohol based. They can argue and not work together particularly if a Tamiya coat is not fully cured, it can seem dry but it takes up to a week to fully harden.

 

[Donivanp]

Stu is correct. As I mentioned earlier, I used Pledge floor polish. sprays out of the bottle with no thinning (already water thin), dries fast and cleans up easy. It is the old "Future" brand. and a bottle will last near a life time!. I use it to decal prep. the flat I use a number of products but I like Micro scale flat coat.

 

[fastmongrel]

Just had a thought were you applying the gloss coat over aluminium natural metal finish.

I have had problems with glossing over Vallejo aluminium paint I resorted to gently rubbing over the aluminium with a cotton wool bud dipped in warm water with a drop of soap in. It takes some aluminium particles off but seems to help the Humbrol Clear Gloss spread flat without any orange peel effect.

Metallic finishes can sometimes be a bit greasy plus they are a magnet for finger prints.

 

[Zippythehog]

No, it was Mission Models Zero tan under Valejo gloss. I think it just wasn't thinned enough.
I know what you mean about metallic finishes. Perhaps somewhat ironic, the Tamiya aluminum finish on the prop and spinner looks fine.

 

[Crimea_River]

It may not be a reaction at all. Orange-pealing is often the result of applying too thick a coat.

 

[Wurger]

Or of incorrect pressure when airbrushing.

 

[skyskooter]

A day or two ago I was using Mr. Color RLM 81 through an airbrush. I always like to thin it a little so there is no possibility of a clog mid spray. I was out of Mr. Color thinners but I had Tamiya acrylic thinners which I used instead. I started spraying and in a second the airbrush clogged. To my horror the paint had almost gelled and separated from the thinners. I had assumed that Mr. Color is pure acrylic but perhaps it is not. As somebody said earlier don't mix brands.

 

[fubar57]

Mr, Hobby paint comes in Lacquer (Solvent based Acrylic) or Aqueous Acrylic. If it's got an H in front of the number, it's the acrylic, If it's got a C or no letter, it's lacquer

 

[CATCH 22]

Mr, Hobby paint comes in Lacquer (Solvent based Acrylic) or Aqueous Acrylic. If it's got an H in front of the number, it's the acrylic, If it's got a C or no letter, it's lacquer

Or with pictures.
This is H (water based)

This is lacquer (solvent based) - NO WATER BASED THINNER!!!!

Unfortunately I had to learn it the hard way. The old Aqueous-bottles are with blue labels and very similar to the above one, but when I tried to dilute Mr. Color with water+spirit. BANG!