I painted my Panther in Tamiya acrylic spray paint and by hand. I then applied a coat of future, then decals, followed by more future and waited about 3 days for the future to harden. I then attempted my first ever filter to blend the camo together. This filter was made out of about 95% isopropyl alcohol and 5% water.









As can be seen by the photos it looks terrible in places , is there anything I can do to remove the filter and try again, or should I just repaint the entire model?

It looks to me like you may have to repaint. From the looks of it, the alcohol has react with the Future. I tend not to use alcohol to thin anything, as I have had bad reactions. It should also be known that even cured Future can be removed with alcohol.

I would suggest that you use enamel filters and washes over Future.

Thank you for the reply that is the response I was afraid of. Should I do anything before reprinting in terms of stripping the old paint?

hi, I have had this problem before.
Try painting a test patch of future over the affected area, sometimes this will get rid of the white and return your paint to where it was, might save you from stripping the paint.

Hey,

Thanks for the tip, if this doesn't work how can I go about stopping the paint?

Future is water based. So you need to use enamels and thinner over it. If it were me.. Before you re-paint. I'd sprat anther coat of future over it (after the alcohol has definitely dried out) and use an enamel wash over it. It may just blend it all together perfectly and save you from repainting. Should give you a nice weathered look too.


EDIT: Sorry forgot you don't have an airbrush. Just brush another coat of future on and try the enamel wash.

Obviously the final decision is yours, but you may be OK once a matt coat is applied, or may be able to patch up certain areas. Also further weathering may render the problem mute. Check out some pictures - real tanks, especially in wartime, can be pretty messy! It is sometimes a fine balancing act between making a realistic looking model or a good looking one.

I am going to try reapplying future and then doing a wash, I don't have enamel paints, would oil be okay? If so could I use yellow ochre?

In addition in some areas the wash filled in the zimmerit giving a dusty appearance, I can't decide if I like it or not and I am looking for opinions (pics below)

Oils would work if you have the proper thinner. Do you have any pigments? They can be thinned with enamel thinner. What about enamel paints? The same applies.

I do not have enamel paints but I do have some oil paints and could pick up mineral spirits to thin them. Would yellow ochre be a good colour to blend tritonal camo or should I pick up a different colour?

No more yellow. I would mix a very thin grey with small amounts of brown and green in it. One of your issues is that many of the nooks and crannies in the zimmerit are full of yellow.

Try it in a small area and see what you think.

Gaz

I doubt alcohol is the culprit here, especially since it has been 3 days curing time for Future.

The whitish / creamy color -- isn't that the filter color that you've put on?

It looks terrible in places because filters should not be applied on glossy surfaces. You don't have control on how the filter covers a glossy surface. A satin or matt surface is required for a filter. Tone done Future's glossiness by mixing with Tamiya X21 Acrylic Flat Base. You can start with a 50-50 mix and adjust as the flatness as you see fit.

Now if it were a wash you are trying to do, then a glossy surface is required -- thus apply Future as is.

Alright folks the future seems to have worked! I will try the grey filter once that has cured. Thanks so much for all the replies

Sorry one further question, could I touch up parts of the zimmerit that got filled in by the yellow or would this be a bad idea?

I definitely would touch up that yellow in the Zimmerit. If yellow were to show through the brown or green, it would be on raised ridges where the brown or green had worn through.

Gaz

Would you do this with thinned paints built up in really thin layers so as to not make it obvious that it was touched up?

I would do everything in thin washes at this point. You don't want to glop it up and lose fine details.

Gaz

To do the green and brown washes should I do an acrylic one thinned with water since I don't have enamel or oil pints that match the underlying acrylic base coats

I wouldn't use water on the future.

Hmm I'll have to think something up then!

Once cured, future is pretty tough. I use artist acrylics from a tube, thinned with Future to paint. Then once cured I use water thinned....very thin...for the washes.

I made the mistake once of thinning my wash with Future. Water wouldn't get it off. I had to use glass cleaner.

Even cured Future can be easily ruined by turpentine or other solvents.

sometimes you gotta try different methods, especially if you can't afford to buy every type of paint or every solvent, or the newest novelty.

Thanks for all the tips guys, you all saved me from having to reprint and buy new decals

I'm glad you found the answer that worked. Looking forward to seeing it complete.

Gaz