Clear Coat TROUBLES!!

Welcome to the forums.

Yes, Tamiya X-21 must first be mixed with a gloss paint (or clear) to make the gloss "flat". One part of X-21 to four parts of the gloss paint (or clear) will give you a flat finish.

Do not use X-21 on its own as a clear flat coat - that's not how it's meant to be used, as it's an additive rather than a "paint" in its own right. Using X-21 on its own will give you a model covered in a translucent white goo.

Hi,

Can you tell me how to use Tamiya flat base x-21? Should it be mixed with Tamiya gloss paints and then applied or applied as an overcoat to dull a gloss finish?

DanTHEMan wrote:

Good point, Ive used future before and I guess it would make sense but I was thinking it would make everything too shiny, im not sure. I guess doing a final coat of whatever maybe a semi would get rid of that. Now talking about future, do you use it out of the bottle or thinned, and if so with what??

I know what your saying, but the X-22 gives just as shiny a result as the Future...  you can always go over the future with a Dull Coat...   I finish all my projects with a coat of Future then a coat of Tamiya Flat Clear.  As for the future, you can airbrush it straight out of the bottle, just make sure you clean the brush well afterwards- Windex works very well for that.

DanTHEMan wrote:

Good point, Ive used future before and I guess it would make sense but I was thinking it would make everything too shiny, im not sure. I guess doing a final coat of whatever maybe a semi would get rid of that. Now talking about future, do you use it out of the bottle or thinned, and if so with what??

Dan, welcome to the forum. See this post about use of Future. For more comprehensive discussion, go to Matt Swan's Complete Future.

The Tamiya X-21 Flat Base (Not XF-21, it was a typo in the earlier post.) comes in two sizes bottle. You will want the larger 3/4 oz., 23 ml size one, #81021.

I've never had a problem with X-22 Clear.

Your white spots may be related to temperature/humidity or water in your air line. If you're painting in very cold conditions it may be related to condensation on the surface as/before the paint dries.

To clear up any confusion over what you're using:

X-20A - Acrylic thinner
X-21   - Flat Base
X-22   - Clear (Gloss)