Oh my god. Ruined a nice paint job, again!

[RGaspar]

At the advice I saw on waynes amazing PDF thread, I sprayed a final coat of 50/50 Tamiya flat base and future, except now there is a fine white haze over the entire plane I don't know what to do know. My lovely 110 was so close to being completed and now I fear it is ruined. This is the 2nd paint job I've done on it, first one I accidentally sprayed 74 instead of 75 so I stripped and resprayed and it turned out pretty good. And now this dilemma. Can it be fixed? What did I do wrong?

 

[RGaspar]

Just figured it out. Too much flat base! Il try and wipe it off with windex in the morning, and respray with a thinner mix, maybe a 3-1 future-flat base. Hope it turns out ok.

 

[fubar57]

Methinks little flat base is needed. If you have an old model, practice on it, adding more base flat as needed.

Geo

 

[RGaspar]

Methinks little flat base is needed. If you have an old model, practice on it, adding more base flat as needed.

Geo

Thank. Yeah, I'm gonna practice till I find a good ratio, then just apply the same after I wipe off all this junk.

 

[Wayne Little]

definitely the flat base, and you're on the right track reducing the ratio. I don't use future and went off the Flat base many years ago, hopefully Terry will stop in he has successfully used the mix and should be able to give you some better ratio's for the right finish.

 

[Crimea_River]

You may be able to save it. Spray a coat of plain Future over the whole thing and and it should hide the haze. Then start over.

50/50 is way too much! If I fill my airbrush cup 3/4 full, I add about 6 or 7 DROPS of flat base but you need to experiment.

 

[Airframes]

Yep, definitely far too much Flat Base!
I don't actually have any set ratios, as the FB, being rather viscous, is almost impossible to measure accurately. Instead, I decant the required amount of Future, and then add a couple of globs of FB, off the end of No.3 paint brush, and stir well. This is then brushed onto a piece of painted scrap, and allowed to dry - takes about 15 to 20 minutes. If more FB is needed, then a couple more globs arr added, and the process repeated until I achieve what I'm aiming for.
This mix is then stored in a spare paint bottle and labelled - semi-gloss, semi-matt, 'almost matt', full matt, depending on finish.
For Luftwaffe aircraft, the finish will be either semi-matt, or 'almost matt', depending on the period and aircraft type.
Every time the mix is used, it must be stirred thoroughly, and tested again - the FB can sometimes end up 'stronger' than the remaining Future once used a couple of times, so a test will show if more Future is required, or vice versa.
If I was to try to give a start-point ratio, it would be somewhere in the region of 95% Future to 5% FB, probably less. It's easier to have to add a little FB, than to have to really dilute with Future!
EDIT: Forgot to add - another clear gloss coat should cure the cloudy appearance, without having to remove the present coat. But ensure this has hardened for at least 24 hours, preferable 2 or 3 days, before applying the semi-matt clear coat.

 

[waterman]

I've had the white haze happen to me a few times too. I spray another coat of Future thinned with Windex and alcohol and it sometimes removes or reduces the white haze. Now I always make it a point to measure the ratio. Here's some info I found on the internet (http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html):


Future does produce a glossy finish so many modelers will introduce a flattening material or only use it as a pre-decal sealer. If you wish to use flattened Future as a final coat here are a couple of suggested ratios of Tamiya flat base for different effects:
1 part flat base to 3 parts Future = very flat
1 part flat base to 10 parts Future = flat
1 part flat base to 15 parts Future = satin
If you get too much of anybody's flat base on the surface of your model you run the risk of making it all go white. No thinning is required just make sure it is well mixed.

 

[Wurger]

THX for sharing.

 

[Airframes]

I 'accidentally' found out, quite a few years ago, that almost neat Flat Base can create a very convincing, worn, washed-out winter 'washable' camouflage, the type where a white distemper-type paint is applied over the camouflage colour. When really worn and almost washed-off by the elements, this looks a thin, patchy, streaky, greyish white, with the base colour(s) showing through. Ideal for armour models in particular!
But again, test and experiment first!

 

[Lucky13]

You mean, like that time, when you accidentally got gentlemanly intoxicated?

Ok, ok, I'll leave, no need for that kinda language!

 

[mikewint]

Never having used Flat Base I'm not entirely sure about it. Generally Base paints are for the adition of pigments to produce custom colors. Now I do use a 50-50 mix but I use Tamiya Flat Clear and Future and the mix has always produced a nice finish every time

 

[fubar57]

I 'accidentally' found out, quite a few years ago, that almost neat Flat Base can create a very convincing, worn, washed-out winter 'washable' camouflage, the type where a white distemper-type paint is applied over the camouflage colour. When really worn and almost washed-off by the elements, this looks a thin, patchy, streaky, greyish white, with the base colour(s) showing through. Ideal for armour models in particular!
But again, test and experiment first!

You couldn't have posted this about 4 years ago. I painted my Il-2(wait for it.........)white and then lightly dry-brushed the camo colors. For the small amount I did, it looked fairly convincing, but then I got bored and filed it away.

Geo

 

[Airframes]

Mike, Tamiya Flat base is basically matting agent, and can be added to gloss paint (acrylic) or clear acrylic varnish, the proportion governing the degree of matt or sheen.

 

[RGaspar]

Good info here guys. I've never used a clear coat of any kind before(gasp!) and heard that they can yellow occasionally so I went with the flat base. I've gotten the white haze rubbed off with a paper towel and windex, and the plane now has a worn, somewhat faded look. It's kind of nice. I wanted this plane to be my best yet, but unfortunately I've lost the rear machine gun and shell collector, broke and lost the number 3 barrel off the nose, and crooked landing gear. I'll try and get some pics up today or tomorrow and you guys can give me some criticism. I'm going to try the stretched sprue thing for the anenna wire for the first time as well.