Has anyone had this happen? I sprayed my base camo layer using Tamiya acrylic rattle cans, then sprayed on my glossy clear coat-model masters gloss lacquer, I believe..I assume that this and Testors Dullcoat, which also says "lacquer" are actually acrylics... A week later I finally got around to doing my oil paint fading with raw turpentine, and it made the clear coat all gummy and the clear coat started peeling in spots, and then the underlying camo started to come off in a spotty sort of pattern as well. Did I not apply enough clear coat? it looks like perhaps I need to use odorless white spirits instead?
http://armorama.com/forums/213011&page=1

I've heard from so many other modellers the dangers of using
turpentine- mineral spirits work best. Also, consider using Future acrylic floor polish for your gloss coats. It will stand up to a mineral spirit wash,as well as giving the model a durable coating. One bottle will last you years.

First you should be 100% sure that your clear coat is acrylic, otherwise it will be affected by turpentine.

Then it may be a problem also with turpentine itself, time ago I used one from a hardware store and it was too strong.

And finally, be careful not to soak the paint... too much turpentine on a small area may go through the clear coat.

Thank you. I'll try Future for my next try, then, and see what happens..

I've used the "Mona Lisa" brand of "Odorless" thinner with oils before and achieved great results over enamel base coats. I let the enamel cure for a month, but that brand of thinner is very mild.

Don't use turpentine. Use turpenoid. You can get it from Michael's, hobby lobby, or AC Moor (chain art supply stores). Mineral Spirits from hardware stores work fine too

I had a similar incident occur last night on a commission build, but I think I didn't put a thick enough layer of Future on and the thinner I was using went through and lifted even the primer. Fortunately it was just a single hatch that was affected, but it is in a crap location to have to repaint and match back to the surrounding 3-color camo.

Bleah.

that sucks, I had my camo start to lift off on top of the turret. I was avoiding Future because I have no airbrush and will have to brush the Future on, and I am afraid that the Future will fill all the details/low spots/panel lines, or will leave visible brush marks. I will practice on an old crap model first..The turpentine also remove the AMMO filter I had applied on top of the clear coat as well, fyi.

I generally brush Future on my armor rather than spray as its a pain to clean up compared to my acrylic paints - gets all gummy as it dries and you gotta run Windex through and blah blah. I don't have an issue with it filling details as you can suck up a little with a bit of paper towel as it settles into place. Brush marks should level out as long as you don't go back and forth over it too much. My issue I think is to how I propped up the hatch while it dried, which was on its edge. I think too much ran off and what was left was more an advertisement for Future rather than the real thing.

I think I may end up painting the hatch in new paint and tell the customer the original was shot off by an AT round and this is an OEM replacement, and THAT'S why it's missing the bits of camo on one half.

Could happen, right?

I'll second the Mona Lisa brand odorless thinner. Works great with all paints-acrylic and enamel, thins oil paints without destroying them and hasn't attacked any finish I have done. Turpentine will remove everything on the plastic, and eventually the plastic.

Why would you assume something labeled lacquer is actually an acrylic? I've used Dullcote in the bottle and the spray can for years, and they are indeed lacquers. A strong enamel thinner can cause them to lift, though this usually doesn't happen after they've had a week or so to harden through. Apparently turpentine is too harsh.

When painting weathering coats over a clear flat, I like to use artists watercolors with a little flow enhancer added. They come in the same colors as artists oils, they're very forgiving, don't attack the finish coats, and you can rinse them off and start over if you don't like an effect. Overspray with clear flat when you're satisfied.

Because sometimes "lacquer" is used erroneously as an interchangeable word for "clear coat" (which could be acrylic or lacquer), or so I have heard on the interwebs. I went with the future for try #2. I will see if Tamiya or someone makes an acrylic clear coat spray. I am finding in the hobby world that paint and weathering products are sometimes not even labeled as to whether they are acrylic or enamel, etc. Needless to say, I won't be using my Testors spray gloss coat or matt/flat coat "lacquers" ever again. So often people just say "paint the camo coat "and then protect with gloss coat" or "protect with clear coat" , without specifying the actual clear coat type.

I have read again your post and now I think the problem is the turpentine for sure. It may be *also* the clear coat, but the turpentine is too strong. I have used Tamiya in the past and currrently Vallejo and never sealed them. Odorless thinner with oils have never affected the base.

Odorless thinner, here I come!

Not sure if this helps much. I did a solvent test on a piece of styrene. The solvents i tested were:

1. Home Center Odorless Mineral Spirits
2. Winsor & Newton Artists' White Spirit
3. Winsor & Newton Sansodor (smells same as AMMO Enamel Odourless Thinner)
4. Winsor & Newton Distilled Turpentine

I primed, painted and clear coated the styrene all in acrylic mediums. Vallejo Surface Primer, AMMO Acrylic Color and Liquitex Matte Varnish. I waited 24 hours between coats and 4 days of full curing.

I divided the painted area in quadrants and placed one drop of each solvent in the individual squares. After 20 minutes the mineral/white spirits and sansodor had evaporated and dried with no effect (as seen in the inserted pic) on the acrylic paint. The turpentine had almost completely evaporated, but "ate" into the acrylic paint.

So for all my oil rendering and enamel weathering I will use mineral spirits or sansodor. I'll leave the turp for cleaning brushes.

Many of today's paints are not straight lacquer, enamel or acrylic but hybrids. The paint behaves better but requires that you test the effect/technique you want before committing to your model.