I'm in the process of painting my first airbrushed model in years. I've laid down a Tamiya acrylic primer, and now will be going back and doing the modulation and actual based coat color, also in Tamiya acrylics.

I'm a little confused about whether I should then use a gloss? flat? clear coat before moving on to the oil washes I want to do next.

As I understand (at least for a newbie who hasn't worked out a personal process):

1. primer
2. base & modulation
3. clear coat (gloss or flat??)
4. decals
5. clear coat again (gloss or flat??)
6. then washes, etc.

Is that about the gist of it?

Sounds from my forum reading that the Model Master clear coats are the best for steps 3 & 5?

Thanks!

One other question I forgot to mention... what's all this about floor wax? Is it used thinned through an airbrush? Is it commonly available in the US?

Hi Jake: For steps 3&5 you want to use a gloss clear. If you use a flat clear your decals will "silver" or they will dry appearing milky looking. To answer your question about the floor wax. Future floor wax is a modelers dream. It is an acrylic. It does not need thinning for air brushing. It can be applied over anything without worry, and it is water wash-up. Once your model is complete you can apply a coat of Testors dull-Coat for that flat military finish. If you have trouble airbrushing Future you can thin it with Windex, Fantastic, Alcohol, or distilled water. I believe in the US future is marketed as Johnsons floor wax. When you pick up a bottle of it there should be a little "future" logo on the bottle's label. Good luck. Bob

Hey Jake,
Here is the main topic listed here.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/140764&page=1
So yes, Base coat/camouflage, then Gloss coat, Decals, then reseal with a gloss coat.
Future floor wax is what most use here in the states.
Airbrush it on, no thinning necessary.

If you're using Tamiya primer, it's a lacquer base. For decaling you need a glossy smooth surface. Future (which is sold in the USA under the brand name of Pledge) works well, but doesn't give you as smooth of a surface as Testors Glosscoat. That being said, I do use Pledge for decaling, then a few heavy coats of Future over the decals, which then seal them, and the edge is blended in.

I use a gloss finish for filters, and seal between filters if I don't want to disturb the previous filter. Then I switch to Dullcoat for my washes, as it doesn't let the wash just run as freely. Again, I seal each wash as needed before the next filter.

The final sealing is with Dullcoat.
Joel

Thanks for the insight, Joel!

So for dull coat, are you using just the standard Dull coat?

Yes, the shinier the surface, the less the wash will spread out. Think of how a rain drop will sit in a tight blob on a shiny surface compared to a matt one, where it is more likely to spread out and creep across the surface.

It therefore depends on what you are trying to achieve with your wash - do you want it to collect only in the lines and ridges, like a pin wash that picks out detail, or do you want it to spread over the surface in a more general way?

I don't need to know the answer to that question by the way... I'm just responding to your term "washes etc." which is rather non-specific about what you want the wash to do.

Some modellers suggest that a satin surface is the best for washes. And some modellers think that the final coat should also be satin rather than totally flat... on the basis that real tanks are rarely completely matt.

Ensure that if, as you seem to say, you'll be doing oil washes, which will be thinned with white spirit / turps, then ensure the clear coat you're doing it over won't be dissolved by that thinner, so it should be acrylic, and indeed Future / Klear will be fine, as will any other acrylic varnish (you could even try aerosol types like Plastikote.)

Finally, I'm going to be a little controversial... if you are using decal solutions, like MicroSol / MicroSet, which I would definitely recommend, then I am not 100% convinced that a glossy surface is totally necessary - what you need is a smooth surface, and if you have a very nicely airbrushed acrylic paint job over a flat surface then I believe most decals will go on without any of the issues that people are trying to avoid by applying the gloss coat first. With decal solution, and once you've coated over the decals, they will be fine. Just my opinion...

Matt, I'm not sure I agree with your trend of thought.

As for decaling, yes you need a flat surface. The easiest way to achieve that is with a good solid gloss coat. Nothing comes close to Glosscoat. Future is close, but not in the same league. A smooth flat coat will still tend to have silvering issues of any clear part of the decal, even with the micro system being used. The glosscoat on top is to not only protect the decal, but to blend it in for that painted on look.

I use a glossy surface when I want to easily move my filters. I use a flat or matt finish so I have more control of where the wash goes.

As for the final finish, it's up to what you're trying to replicate. A museum type finish would be satin or even more on the gloss side, while a operational field model should be flat as the dust, dirt, et. would just cover any finish and look flat.

Joel