Clear Coating

Sounds like the clear attacked the finish-color.. Which means it's a goner.. Happens a lot when an enamel meets a laquer, and ESPECIALY when the enamel isn't fully cured...  Usually means it was a cheap color-coat and a cheap clear-coat, too..

I've experienced that when using Tree House Clear Acrylic Laquer of Wal-Mart's "Tru-Color" spray enamel.. Cracked all the way to the styrene.. Ruined a T-6 Texan I'd been working for a Group Build..

Testor's Dullcoat, Glosscoat, and Semi-Gloss haven't attacked any enamel I've used.. Not even the Wal-Mart rattle-'namel... It really is good stuff, IMNSHO..

Ya, it is the only clear that I had around.

Do you think it is just the clear the cracked, or the whole paint job?

Can you recommend any enamel or acrylic based clear coats?

I'm curious--why a high-temperature clearcoat over modeling paint, unless it's just what you had lying around?

Anyway, the VHT line is a silicon-ceramic base product with rigorous requirements for heating and cooling cycles to get it to set up properly. (I've never used the clear version, so I'll confess I can't be sure it's the same.) I'm guessing it's a BIG chemical incompatibility issue with Testors enamels.

As to how to remove it (without damaging the paint underneath), I haven't even got a good guess. I hope I'm wrong, but I've got a bad feeling you'd just have to strip it and start over.

I'd suggest trying any clear enamel finish, something a little less "hot" for modeling purposes.

BTW, if you've used the same product before with no problems, I'd love to hear about it.

Cheers

I painted my model with Testor's enamel paints (I used my spray gun). I then tried to clear-coat it with VHT ceramic coating.

Compatibililty of clear coats has been a frequent topic in the "painting and airbrushing" forum.

It's most likely a bad chemical interaction between different kinds of basecoat and clearcoat. Let us know what you used, and it may be easier to offer a suggestion.