New found respect

P mitch

! I don't suppose being white helps

actually, white is better than some plastics, like RED, which can bleed through layers of paint, turning your nice white paint job into pink!!!

i find it just as easy to use flat paint and then give it a gloss clearcoat it if i want  a gloss finish. flat paint is so much easier to use.

I can relate.  I just got back into doing autos myself.   I started with a Revell Dart, but quickly switched to a Jeep. Trucks can have a semi-gloss like finish and get away with it.  

I need some more practice under my belt with glossy paint.

 Another thing that got me was engine detailing. It looks easy in the magazine articles. In practice, spark plug wires drove me nuts and I never did get it to look as good as I would like.

Oh yes, Mr Squid.....you are so right.  Hey - I don't build armor....or helos.....but I frequent those forums because there are some incredibly talented people creating amazing models.  You can ALWAYS learn from someone....eve if it's nothing more than how NOT to do something....all you gotta do is listen.  I try to listen as much as I can.

P mitch,

How nice of you to tip your hat to those outside of your main genre of modeling. I've always jumped back and forth between all of the catagories and find that the "best" modelers of any given segment can teach me something applicable outside of where they may have displayed it as well.

One has the same problem with civil aircraft.  Glossy finish is harder to do that a flat finish, no question.  One has to put it down VERY wet, and you need experience then to prevent runs- you need to stop just before it runs, and the experience to know what it looks like just before it runs :-)

tamiya ts26 rattle can over tamiya white primer (leveled with micromesh)gives a great finish, so good you may not need a clearcoat or polish. The bike on my profile pic was done with it. 

caution tamiya rattle cans throw out paint at a prodigious rate!!