Clear Gloss Shine on AMT 2006 Camaro Black

Sounds like you are close yet missed the results hoped for.

Stick with the enamel paints and when wet sanding use 1500 or greater grit. The last layer of gloss clear is the most critical for a deep gloss. Allow  the paint to cure for a week.

Try automotive wax, buy a good quality product like Meguire's. In small areas polish on the wax and buff it off. Wax will not hide paint flaws but will deepen the gloss look.

*Always try new techniques on a practice model or plastic card first.

Good luck, hopefully this helps you get the desired results.

May or may not help...

On cars I like using clear nail polish for the clear coats. Thin with lacquer thinner. The brand I use is Rimmel 60 Second Clear. For one thing, it is clear. Crystal. Hasn't yellowed on me yet. I mix in 1 ounce bottles and I believe this comes in .4 ounce bottles. So I dump the clear in, and fill the 1oz to the bottom of the neck. Probably around 60% thinner. I normally use a medium tip bottle fed brush for clear so that's a 2/3oz bottle. Fill that bottle, mist on maybe three coats, top off what's left in the bottle about half way with more thinner and then spray 2 - 3 wet coats. Then I'll wait 15 -20 minutes, thin the clear even more and spray another 3, maybe 4 wet coats that are just on the edge of running. After you get the hang of it, it takes very little polishing to be slick. Sometimes I don't even polish. When you're working with paint that thin it levels pretty well on it's own. I normally use one bottle of nail polish but you may need a little more so it wouldn't be a bad idea to get two.

I've never sprayed it over Acryll Gloss Clear and it's too harsh to use over MM enamels but I have used it over Tamiya acrylics and it worked great. There are clears that are more glossy but I like the shine this gives. After it dries/cures it is very thin so be careful polishing if you try it. It's easy to wet sand and polish, just don't burn through.

If you really want the dripping wet look then urethane clear would be the way to go. Haven't used it myself but have seen the work of several that do. I get the impression that it builds up thicker so be careful not to over do it if you try.

Tony

I'm inclined to agree with the first reply.  I have always had more luck getting a good gloss with enamels than acrylics.  Also, Testors glosscoat, a lacquer, really makes a terrific gloss coating when used over enamel. It even makes matt enamels glossy.

Thank you for all the helpfull comments. I became a fan of acrylics because of the fumes (not an issue now I think because my new spray hood just arrived! yay!) and because of the water cleanup. Maybe I used it as a crutch because this is the first model I've made in 5+years. I should have used enamel to start on this car.

However, now that there are 4-5 layers of acrylic laid down, I think im stuck. Therefore, I'm gonna step out of the box and try the Rimmel. I will upload some pics of the build in progress. Would love some critique.

Thanks.

So I think I found a great mix by mistake. I started by buffing the base coat, then airbrushing Acryl Gloss clear. I buffed that a little then applied a wet coat of future wax. I hope in a year I dont regret it but it produced a deep glasslike shine, just enough to create that glossy ceramic look that this car exhibits in real life.

Ill post pictures when cured.