Topcoat Question

Most everyone sprays Future straight from the bottle, psi will be whatever gives you a decent pattern out of your airbrush.  Let it dry for a couple of days, apply decals.  Another coat of future then do whatever washes/weathering you want, and a final dull-coat.  I'm partial to MM rattle can dull-coat, as well as their gloss coat rather than future. If your gloss coat is enamel or laquer, then you want your washes to be acrylic, and if the gloss is acrylic, then go to oils, etc.  for washes

As to canopies - varies with the builder.   Some dip them in Future, wick off the excess from a corner, and let dry in a dust free area.  Then they install either before or after paint depending on the fit and if they need work to fit nicely.  If installed prior to painting, mask and paint the framework at the same time as the bird.  If after paint, can mask off the sections that remain clear and either AB or brush paint the frames....if the inside color of the cockpit is different from the outside, paint the inside color first, let dry, then the outside color.  That way when looking at it the inside color is correct as is the outside color/colors.

One tip is to mask the inside to keep overspray from working under the edge if painting off the bird.

A big "DITTO" to all that great info that Goldhammer gave you. Can't go wrong with that.

Jim  

Here's a few examples.  I shot the Future on the spit, applied decals, did some pastel weathering (not pictured ) then dull coated .  For the Cal Fire bird, I did a light coat to seal the decals.  For the Airliner, a heavy coat.  Regarding clear parts - I prefer dipping.  I tried spraying on the spit and ended up with a bit of fogging as you can see.  I shot Future over the Lotus after decals as the base color was a gloss.

Keep in mind that future is not the only glosscoat available. If my subject needs to end up with a matt finish, I will be needing to put a matt clearcoat on after decaling.  Personally, I like to use the same clearcoat chemistry (enamel, lacquer, acrylic) for both the gloss coat and the subsequent matt coat.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I posted the question then almost immediately went on a vacation and forgot all about it. I still haven't gotten a chance to put the coat on but the tips are really appreciated.