Be careful! I did this on a kit and it dissolved all the glue so the model fell apart. Nail polish is harsh! (At least the cheap stuff.)

I don't have that problem, at all. I guess I've been doing it long enough that I've learned how to apply paints properly.

KL

I find it easier to spray matte paint myself,adding the clear gloss hasn't presented a problem,I generally use Alclad Aqua Gloss,Testors Lacquer,or Vallejo.

If you use CA glue, Acetone dissolves it! We keep a bottle of nail polish in case we find ourselves glued to something.

That's why people who do shoot nail polish lay down a good primer coat. I've used clear nail polish on car head lights after putting down silver and sealing it with Glosscote really made the headlights jump out but that was just a tiny amount of polish.

I think the original poster had a really good point...except that, like many of you, my feeling, while not verified by actual experiment, is that gloss paints SEEM to have a thicker consistency, which would SEEM detrimental to retaining delicate detail on plastic parts. Frankly, I feel better spraying flat, and covering with a gloss coat if necessary. It's probably just a perception, but it's one that definitely is one that I have.

Since I've just begun using Mission Models paints, and their claim is that their poly additive creates an eggshell type finish in their paints, this may be an adequate finish for decals and weathering that requires something other than a matte finish. i don't know for sure, but it's a thought.

In 50 years of "modern" modeling, anything gloss has never seen armor I've built. Like others, the supplies then were way different than they are now (which is a good thing). Decals always seem to be just fine settling on the rough texture of the matte paint...sometimes using Solvaset to maybe put down a corner or two. Knowing PE needs to be primed, I then starting using primers way back when as well.

Staying with what works for me, Testor's Dullcote was, and still is, my maintaining a uniform "sealing' coat once the main portion of painting is done. Then worry free detailing, washing, takes place. Not that I'm an expert in painting by any means, its that I just found what works for me, and have stayed with it all these decades.

Grab handles and lift rings are always done with brass and/or steel rod. Just another area where it provides better security for not breaking parts off, and you can tell the difference between metal and plastic.

Headlight shells were always painted silver, then the bulb was done with 2 part epoxy. Sometimes I even 'broke' a bulb, and left a wire or two hanging out.

All in all, once I've done my painting/preps, weathering is an easier chore. No gloss ever needed.

I don't put down a layer of gloss. But matte finishes are not just about the gloss/flat coat above them. Truly scale flat paints should LOOK sun-bleached and EXTREMELY flat.

The way I have painted my tanks is use flat paint like model air,after that I use a paint brush and paint a gloss varnish only where the decals go,I then semi-gloss the whole vehicle ready for weathering and after that I lay down a matte varnish to seal everything in.