future ???

I usually spray my Future from a distance of about 12" or so from the model...very quick/light passes, and I also paint with MM enamels as my preferred medium. The key is multiple quick light passes and pauses in between the passes so that it has a chance to dry a bit and not "pool" like you would get in a single heavy/wet pass. The goal is to build up a fraction of a mm coating, not a thick hard shell, just enough to protect the underlying paint work.

No need to cut Future with anything, spray it straight from the bottle, and make sure you've got a good amount of PSI as well...I typically will shoot Future at about 25 psi and use an Aztek airbrush fitted with a wide bore nozzle (the orange tip) to help get a nice mist "flare" at the desired distance. If you're shooting the Future through a narrower tip/nozzle, you will need more distance between the airbrush and model to get that "mist" effect.

malone duke

 Either way nice to have folks that don't poke at you for asking simple questions. Not much of a scene here. Can't find any clubs or anything so thanks again for keeping me company.

I know there is an IPMS Chapter somewhere in San Diego but not sure how convenient that is for you in IB. There is also a "cross border" modelers club in your area that is out of TJ/San Diego area. Those guys are great! They come up here to the local AMPS chapter in Orange County on occasion.

TankBusters

 I have a Future question. I want to start using Future after my build has been painted and cured. I use MM enamel through my airbrush and I allow the paint to dry for a day or two, I tried spraying Future on an old build that had been sitting around for months only to have the Future pool on the surface. No even flowing. It looked like a thousand small puddles after it dried. I'm leary about spraying a new model with it. I 'd appreciate some sage advice on spraying Future, such as straight from the bottle or cut with something, air pressure, distance from model, etc. I have always used it for clear parts and would love to put it to any other good uses.

                                         Thanks...   TB

Straight from the bottle is preferred, even when airbrushing - I've heard that cutting it with anything will generally speed up the dry time, making it less likely to self-level. As far as the other airbrushing questions go I'm not sure as I almost always brush it on with a good wide brush (most of my builds have been 1/72 scale) The only thing I can tell you for sure, if it is pooling on you it's being applied too heavily. Just like paint, you're better off with a couple of light coats rather than a single heavy coat.

Glad it worked out for you duke...........

 I have a Future question. I want to start using Future after my build has been painted and cured. I use MM enamel through my airbrush and I allow the paint to dry for a day or two, I tried spraying Future on an old build that had been sitting around for months only to have the Future pool on the surface. No even flowing. It looked like a thousand small puddles after it dried. I'm leary about spraying a new model with it. I 'd appreciate some sage advice on spraying Future, such as straight from the bottle or cut with something, air pressure, distance from model, etc. I have always used it for clear parts and would love to put it to any other good uses.

                                         Thanks...   TB

Yes but you then don't throw additional petrochemicals, solvents, and other various elements at your kitchen floor after you've mopped/waxed it either. Future is a pretty tough sealant though...and once it cures it's virtually impervious...it's one vulnerability is ammonia (you do have to be able to "strip" a floor after a while to clean it and re-wax/polish it!), so anything that has ammonia in it will strip it clean as a whistle no matter how long it's cured. That's why I use Windex to clean out my airbrush after sparying the Future coats...one paint cup full followed by a regular water cup full and it's as if the Future was never there.

malone duke

....Either way nice to have folks that don't poke at you for asking simple questions. Not much of a scene here. Can't find any clubs or anything so thanks again for keeping me company.

Anytime malone duke, glad we could help,

stikpusher

If you plan on using any decal setting/sovent solutions, wait at least overnight. If not, an hour or two should suffice. Do not use Solvaset with Future. It melts the Future and turns it white where it makes contact.

I have experienced this whitening in some of my models with future and solvaset. Since I need to use solvaset, I switched to Tamiya clear (I use Tamiya enmels) and I'm quite happy with the result.

DoogsATX

 

VanceCrozier:

 

And I have also never seen my micro sol react badly with Future - I generally let the Future coat cure for at least a day though.

 

 

I have. Painted my Mosquito NF.II with Vallejo paints. Sealed with Future. During the decal phase, Micro Set (not even Micro Sol) started sloughing away the Future AND the paint underneath, all the way down to the primer. Ended up having to sand and repaint the entire area. 

I've since stopped using Future as a general purpose gloss coat...

Man that's weird! I've been using Future as a clear coat ever since I first saw it in FSM ?? years ago. I've used it over Model Master and Humbrol enamels, and more recently Tamiya's acrylics. I seem to get bogged down at certain steps though, I bet if I kept a timetable I'd see that I end up with 3-4 days between coats sometimes. I wonder if the paint underneath was dry but not done off-gassing when you hit it with the Future?? Something like that could change the chemistry of the Future & in turn cause it to react differently with the -sol, even after the Future was properly dried...

(Yes, I took just enough chemistry to be dangerous to myself!  )

VanceCrozier

And I have also never seen my micro sol react badly with Future - I generally let the Future coat cure for at least a day though.

I have. Painted my Mosquito NF.II with Vallejo paints. Sealed with Future. During the decal phase, Micro Set (not even Micro Sol) started sloughing away the Future AND the paint underneath, all the way down to the primer. Ended up having to sand and repaint the entire area. 

I've since stopped using Future as a general purpose gloss coat...

BaBill212

How bad is the "non-conforming"? I have attacked similar issues up to, maybe, 10 times (micro sol, solvaset, etc.). A little help from a sharp #11 blade can be of assistance too. A gentle poke here or cut there may do the trick. I've actually shaved off some stubborn wrinkles and done some creative paint touch up on some decals.

...

If I happen to be running decals across a panel line, I usually run a sharp blade through the decal following the line before applying the first coat of micro sol to help it snuggle in. (Hey, paint on the real thing won't bridge a gap, right?) And I have also never seen my micro sol react badly with Future - I generally let the Future coat cure for at least a day though.

Give the blade a try,,,  gentle persuassion

Best of luck

stikpusher

If you plan on using any decal setting/sovent solutions, wait at least overnight. If not, an hour or two should suffice. Do not use Solvaset with Future. It melts the Future and turns it white where it makes contact.

How bad is the "non-conforming"? I have attacked similar issues up to, maybe, 10 times (micro sol, solvaset, etc.). A little help from a sharp #11 blade can be of assistance too. A gentle poke here or cut there may do the trick. I've actually shaved off some stubborn wrinkles and done some creative paint touch up on some decals.

Again, it depends on how bad the situation is,,,,  (??)

Last resort is opting for a completely new decal (in my opinion).

malone duke

Thanks guys I appreciate the help. Decals went down really well with no frosting. Now I'm just trying to get a couple to conform better with the micro sol. One thing though should this take just a few layers or several. I'm on the third round and they're just not right yet. At what point do I give up and go for a replacement decal?

Sometimes it takes a few coats sometimes, keep at it. I sometimes use a qtip that is soaked in said solvent and use ti to GENTLY rub the decal into the details

I agree with Stik and Bill - - wait 24 hours, just to be on the safe side.

I have to disagree somewhat with stik's advice regarding Solvaset and Future. I use Solvaset all the time with Future and don't have any issues with it melting or crazing the surface. It does cause the decal itself to merge with the underlying slight textured surface that Future has, but that's what it's designed to do.

Of course, I always allow a 24 hour cure period for the Future first before I add the decals and Solvaset, apply the Solvaset only to the decal itself (vs wetting the surface with it first and then adding the decal as it provides more flexibility IMHO from a decal placement standpoint), and use a small piece of paper towel to wick away excess Solvaset where needed after the decal is in position. Only time I've had the Future turn white was when I hadn't allowed for enough cure time and was in a hurry, but I've had the same thing happen with ordinary water too and don't chalk that up necessarily to the Solvaset alone.

Future is an acyrlic medium and while it may be "touch dry" within a short space of time (remember the stuff is designed as a floor polish!), to fully cure it needs at least an overnight period depending on your geography, relative humidity, etc. There's no real way to accelerate the curing process that I know of, so a little patience goes a long way. I always apply a 2nd coat of Future to seal decals and give that another 24 hours to cure as well before I start in on the weathering process.  

If you plan on using any decal setting/sovent solutions, wait at least overnight. If not, an hour or two should suffice. Do not use Solvaset with Future. It melts the Future and turns it white where it makes contact.