Smooth gloss finish

you dont need to achieve the perfect finish during the spraying, it is made after by sanding and polishing. this is what creates the perfect like glass  finish.

pick up some fine sandpapers, 2000, all the way to 20,000 if you want, I find 2000 is all you need.  sand your finish until there is no more "glossy" areas,  this is how you know it is perfectly smooth, then go pick up some meguires scratch"X" and polish away. you could also use tamiya compounds, etc whatever you prefer.

same as doing a 1:1 car paint job

Yes, the risks are high.  The secret to a good gloss coat is brinkmanship- putting down the last coat so wet that it is just seconds away from runs.  How do you know it is just seconds from running?  Experience and a good workbench light, preferrably positionable.  You must position the light so you can see the reflection of the light in the painted surface.  It will start getting wavy just before it runs.  Getting a good gloss finish is harder than a matt finish. I think this is why so many aircraft modelers shy away from civil aircraft or autos- they would have to master a gloss finish.  Like anything else with an airbrush, it takes practice.  The easy way out is to get a dryer, less glossy finish, sand with 1000 grit or finer, and glosscoat with a clear coat.  Not as nice as a true gloss pigmented finish, however.

I've had pretty good luck with Model Master High Gloss Clearcoat.  But as Don indicates, you have to get almost to the point of runs, but not quite.  Luckily, with the MM stuff, you can be a bit further away from the run stage and still get good results.  

Gene Beaird,

Pearland, Texas

After painting, leave it to set for 7 days (and totally gas out)

then get a polishing kit

I use micro-mark's set of 8 or so grits and some plastic polish #2 from novus. start with the roughest grit (2500) and work with each grit up to 12,000 (don't skip any grit) in the same direction each time. then polish with novus 2 and a soft cloth. result should be glass like finish.

you can also get a clear gloss and polish THAT out for great results too. (i only clear coat newer cars, as they didn't use clear pre-1990s)

I highly recommend Model Master Ultra Gloss clearcoat. This is Ultra Gloss over Duplicolor with absolutely no polishing done.

i208.photobucket.com/.../IMGP4995.jpg

LMAO!!  Nice one, Mr. Moto....that thing (Caddy???) looks great!  And yes....normally, the worse it smells, the better it works.

Some use Future floor wax as well.

I use a lower paint/thinner ration in my airbrush for gloss paints:  3:2, rather than the 2:1 I use for flats.  I'll do mulitple thin coats, applied as soon as the previous coat flashes over.  I'll also add a bit more thinner for each successive coat so the last few coats are close to 1:1. 

Mark 

IMHO the best way to apply a smooth, glass like finish is to first, apply a gloss color paint (I like Model Master) over a smooth primer (sanded as smooth as possible, wet sanding works the best).  Next, I apply two or three coats of Testors Gloss Coat Lacquer.  Yes thats right, Testors has changed the formula of this product and it is now actually lacquer.  I then lightly wet sand this in areas where any decals are to be applied and polish the area with Novus 2 Fine Scratch Remover.  One the decals are applied, I again apply more coats of the lacquer being careful to fog on the first coats over the decals so it doesn't craze them.  I usually use approximately 5 to 8 coats of the clear lacquer thinned with a good quality automotive lacquer thinner (I'm presently using Dupli-Color lacquer thinner available at Advanced Auto Parts stores).  The purpose of all of these coats is to build up layers of the clear lacquer over the paint and decals.  I very lightly wet sand the lacquer between coats to eliminate as much orange peel as possible.  Once the lacquer is completely dried and cured, the final step is to rub out the finish with the Novus 2 scratch remover.  I like to use an old, cotton t-shirt for this procedure.  As you rib-out the finish you will notice the orange peel start to disappear and the surface will become smooth and glass-like.  That's the advantage of using lacquer, it can be rubbed out.

Be careful around raised detail like panel lines and rivets, to much rubbing will remove the lacquer and paint.  When rubbing-out the finish I use a q-tip to get into corners and around raised details.  Any small rub-throughs can be touched up with the color paint using a fine brush.

dmaastr

 Next, I apply two or three coats of Testors Gloss Coat Lacquer.  Yes thats right, Testors has changed the formula of this product and it is now actually lacquer.  

 Testor's Glosscote and Dullcote were always lacquers.

I ruined a few finishes as a kid in the 70's  by to not waiting a few days for enamel to fully cure before top coating with Glosscote or Dullcote.  ...Crinkle city. 

It's great stuff, I still use it all the time, just wait for enamels to fully cure first.

Testors came out with an enamel clearcoat also.  For a period you had your choice. I personally did not like the enamel version.

You can cut down on Gas Out time by placing you freshly painted model into a Food Dehydrator.

Hey All,

I would say gloss finish can be a nightmare. I have been doing scalemodeling (bikes and cars) for quite a while. Per my own experience after testing almost all the brands and types, NOTHING works like POLYURETHANE (2k) gloss. They are usually come in 2 to 3 bottles to mix before use. ( one gloss, one thinner and one activator). go 3 4 light coats with 10 mins gap between each. put a wet heavy coat at the end and let it dry for few DAYS. dont worry about any bulbs or dents since the final coat will cover them all. I use Gravity color 2k gloss but their business is pourly run and I had to open up a case with paypal every single time. My secret which is not a secret anymore is to sand off  wavy parts and possible orange peels (3200 -12000) and shine with triple polish compounds. if you want a real shiny seemless car dealership like gloss, dip your parts in FUTURE/PLEDGE varnish, tilt and let a pieace of tissue absorb the exessive dripping and let them dry in a %100 horizental position. Just to let you know I'm a perfectionist and this method has never turned me down!  I have posted a video with my name (Samin Kalhor) on youtube. You may get grasp out of the final results.

Hey All,

I would say gloss finish can be a nightmare. I have been doing scalemodeling (bikes and cars) for quite a while. Per my own experience after testing almost all the brands and types, NOTHING works like POLYURETHANE (2k) gloss. They are usually come in 2 to 3 bottles to mix before use. ( one gloss, one thinner and one activator). go 3 4 light coats with 10 mins gap between each. put a wet heavy coat at the end and let it dry for few DAYS. dont worry about any bulbs or dents since the final coat will cover them all. I use Gravity color 2k gloss but their business is pourly run and I had to open up a case with paypal every single time. My secret which is not a secret anymore is to sand off  wavy parts and possible orange peels (3200 -12000) and shine with triple polish compounds. if you want a real shiny seemless car dealership like gloss, dip all your finished parts into FUTURE/PLEDGE varnish, tilt and let a pieace of tissue absorb the exessive dripping and let them dry in a %100 horizental position. Just to let you know I'm a perfectionist and this method has never turned me down!  I have posted a video with my name (Samin Kalhor) on youtube. You may get grasp out of the final results.

When I was eleven years old back in 1963, I laid down a gloss coat of rattle can Candy Apple Red that was the equal to anything that I have seen you guys polish out on here! No Future, no sanding, no polishing...just shine. Took first place in a model contest. I still have the trophy, but, the car is long gone.

Over the years I have gotten away from high gloss coats and chrome. The shine takes away from seeing the model, not to mention that it doesn't look real.

Well, I don't know if this will be helpful. I read somewhere that for metallic paint, using a flat paint is easier to make glossy, easier to paint, can clear coat, sand down easier, ect. It was in FSM a while back.

Zombie alert!

You can put Model Master enamel down very smooth and wet with the right thinner combo in there, then just polish with something like Formula 1 Scratch Out after a week or so of curing. You can see yourself in the finish if that is deep enough for you but it still looks like paint , like old cars were painted. I'm not a fan of some of  these glass like finishes everyone is after when putting that down on old cars, yes the real ones were shiny and even deep but not like a custom car finish with tons of clear on it. Now on a custom car that is another story, you need to sand and polish clear coat to get that ( usually anyway, some of the candy clears flow out pretty nice though). Even today if you look close at a modern car finish, which today all are clear coated that I know of ( base coat clear coat finishes), you will see texture in the paint, look close at some real cars you will see it there. The clear is producing the shine, the base coats are in fact usually pretty flat.

To me every single model shouldn't have the under glass wet clear coat look if to replicate old style finishes on say classic cars. Back in the 60's actually the factory paint jobs were pretty crappy actually. If you went to a museum you would see say 1930's Packards and Cords etc in hand rubbed lacquer ( usually old Duco nitrocellulos lacquer) and alcyd enamels back then. Guess you had to be there to get that what I call an "organic" feel. Now we shoot clear, everything ends up a product of clear coat. Not saying that's bad, just if you want to reproduce old cars ( for instance) that wasn't the process used.

German Armour

Well, I don't know if this will be helpful. I read somewhere that for metallic paint, using a flat paint is easier to make glossy, easier to paint, can clear coat, sand down easier, ect. It was in FSM a while back.

 

I would agree, especially with acrylics, then clear coat for the gloss and shine.  Flat and satin acrylic metallics lay down better than gloss imo.

Hi Bockssuv :

    Well, what I do is this .I make sure the object is covered well .Then I let it gas out for at least a month . Well protected from dust . Then I check it for flaws .If there are any or not the next step is crucial .I WET sand the model with 3 or 4 thousand grit wet or dry paper .Gently now ! Don't press so hard you go through on the high spots .Then air - dry for about three or four days . Now get out the Novus Polish . It's two parts,use  the coarser version , one time gently, to smooth everything out  and then the fine polish to bring out that exquisite paint job .Then, Get the polish rag and using a clean one, buff gently till it shines .

    If you want it to look like glass then you want a custom paint look .That's where many clear-coats come in .No stock automobile, even a Bentley or Tesla looks that good ! Also remember the real things you see in ads whether in print or film have been polished and detailed to the highest degree to make them an object of desire . T.B.

SammyGuy

if you want a real shiny seemless car dealership like gloss, dip your parts in FUTURE/PLEDGE varnish, tilt and let a pieace of tissue absorb the exessive dripping and let them dry in a %100 horizental position

I ruined a perfectly fine paint job on a model car body last year trying this. Got spiderline cracks or microcracks or whatever you call them for some reason. Looked good before the cracks formed, though!

Just sayin'

Welcome to the forum and yes, this thread is pretty old but amazingly most former contributers are still here. How cool is that?

plasticjunkie

Zombie alert!

Now THAT'S comedy!

T e d

Greg

 

 

SammyGuy

if you want a real shiny seemless car dealership like gloss, dip your parts in FUTURE/PLEDGE varnish, tilt and let a pieace of tissue absorb the exessive dripping and let them dry in a %100 horizental position

 

 

I ruined a perfectly fine paint job on a model car body last year trying this. Got spiderline cracks or microcracks or whatever you call them for some reason. Looked good before the cracks formed, though!

Just sayin'

Welcome to the forum and yes, this thread is pretty old but amazingly most former contributers are still here. How cool is that?

 

My thoughts are that I did not let the base paint cure long enough. I think I only let it cure for one day.

How many color coats do you do to sand that much?  If I do two or three coats, I can easily go through the paint and I am VERY light with pressure.

Slambo,

It depends on what you use to apply the paint.  I normally use a Tamiya rattle can so my layer of paint will be thicker than one applied with an airbrush. I mist on the initial coats so that the color coats will have a base with some tooth so that they won't pull away from the panel edges. After the mist coats are applied (usually takes three to four coats, depending on how close I spray), I'll apply a smooth, medium wet coat, wait about 15 minutes then apply a wet, glossy coat. If I plan on buffing it out, I'll apply another coat or two within two hours of the initial wet coat.  After that, if I'm shooting lacquer, I'll let it set for a week or two then start to buff it.  If I'm shooting enamel, I'll let it set for 4-6 weeks before working on it. In answer to your question, on one of my models there's usually 6-8 coats of paint.  The only color I don't like polishing out is white, because if you rub through the paint you have to go back to primer and start from the beginning.  I've never been able to fix a rub through in a white paint job.

Slambo239

How many color coats do you do to sand that much?  If I do two or three coats, I can easily go through the paint and I am VERY light with pressure.

 

What grit are you using?