How to get a shiny paint finish

If you are using a metallic color, do not polish it, clearcoat, then polish. The polishing cloths will smear the metallic particles in the paint. On solid colors, I don't clearcoat usually, I polish the paint itself. If you have anymore questions, I'll try to help.
Lee

My experience is that a nice finish starts with the prep/primer, not the clear coat.
- put a coat of primer on the body and wet sand it with a fine grade sandpaper to get it as smooth as possible
- wipe the body with tack cloth to get all hair/dust/etc off the finish (washing with mild soap/water is good too.)
- put several 'light' coats of paint on and wet sand in between coats to eliminate any bubbles or imperfections. Keep putting 'light' coats on until you have complete solid coverage of the body after it has been wet-sanded (ie. no primer or body spots showing through)
- put a final 'wet' coat on (slightly heavier) for the final touch. This should be heavier than the prior coats and look quite glossy when done. The danger her is in getting 'too much' paint on and causing runs. Once this coat is on, cover the model and let the paint totally cure.
- after that, you can assess the final finish and determine whether or not you want to polish and/or clearcoat. Some guys can lay the final layer on so it looks perfect. Unfortunately, there are so many factors that affect this, that most people will rarely ever figure it all out. Sometimes I get lucky, but other times I just get out the polishing kit.
- Some guys like the looks of polished 'paint', and some like the look of a clear coat that's been polished. They are slightly different.

Hope that helps. The cleaner you keep your surface *throughout* the paint process, the better the end result will be...

M.

I'm building a car kit now as well and painted the shell gold.
I was told by the local model shop that i should spray a clear coat on it first.. then polish it using the Gunze Mr. Rubbing 1000.
do u guys agree with this?

Or should i use Future isntead of the Tamiya clear coat? but i don't have air brush so wonder how good the finish will be if i just use brush to paint it (i'm not very good at using paint brush)

also, how many days i have to wait until i can apply the clear coat?

Hey there yellow15, I would use Testors clear enamel, you can spray it straight from the can, make sure the can isn't too cold, spray in light coats, and polish it out when dry. What brand of paint is the gold paint? Most paints you should be able to clear coat over in 3-4 days or so, depending on temp and humidity. Let me know.
Lee

I'm using the Tamiya spray paint.

I've bought some Future yesterady (called Kleer here) and tried to brush it on some testing piece of plastic. However the result isn't so good, i got heaps of bubbles and other artifects must be my poor brushing skill but i don't think i'm comfortable to paint the bodyshell using Future because of it. Is there any tips on how to paint the future using paint brush so there will be no bubbles ?
Also, how do you guys polish the clear coat? is 1200 sandpaper wet sand ok?

I would ditch the future unless you have a airbrush. Use Testors Gloss Enamal from the can like I mentioned before. Brushing on paint just doesn't look well. I would buy a polishing kit from Micro-Mark. They advertise in FSM. That's what I use along with Novus #2 polish. Good luck.
Lee

I agree with midnightprowler. The easiest thing is likely to buy a spray can and use that.

If you get 'bubbles' in the future, you're likely applying it too aggressively. Don't shake it or 'moosh' it around too much because it will do exactly as you've found. I've found that if you use a 'make-up sponge' to apply the future, you can get a pretty nice even finish. The key is to apply it, then just let it dry thoroughly. DON'T try to go over it with several strokes of the sponge or brush, it will just mess it up.

M.

Thanks for the advice guys.. but the problem is I'm living in New Zealand and here i don't see any Micro-Mark or Testors Gloss Enamal you mentioned .... :(
know any website that do interenational delivery at a reasonable price?

Micro Mark advertises in FSM. They should have the polishing kit. I'll look and see if I can find any mail order for paint.
Lee

Yellow, here's a few thought:
1. if you can get in touch with any other modellers from NZ, do it. They likely have sources for stuff that you are just not aware of yet.
2. Gloss Enamels come in lots of different 'brands' . You can find them at your general hardware store in the paint aisle. The problem is that there are so many 'brands' and it's hard to tell how one works vs. another. Some of them might 'yellow' over time, so it's a bit of a crap-shoot. I'd suggest buying one or two common brands (in NZ) and shooting a couple of test pieces with it. You might have a readily available source right in your own back yard and just not know it...
3. A true polishing kit is a good thing to have. If you want something on short notice, go down to a drug store/pharmacy/grocery store and find the 'cosmetics' section. Look for 'nail buffers' that have 3 or 4 different grits on them. These usually have the same (or similar) abrasives on them and can be used for polishing. A polishing kit has more differnet grits, but the nail buffer will do the trick in a pinch.

M.

Yellow, I just started looking at this thread so you might have this info by now, but Micro-mark has a website (www.micromark.com) and I think they ship international as well. They do have a good selection of polishing supplies but paints are limited. You could also try Testors web to purchase paint from them (can't remember the URL,sorry).

Testor's site is simply www.testors.com.
Lee