Hey all,
I am working on my first high sheen model, Tamiya's Red Bull RB6 F1 car and I have a few questions on painting and clear coating.
I have primed and prepped the surface with Mr., Surface 1500 grey. It is sanded extremely smooth.
I have laid down the first color coat, Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow decanted to be used in my air brush. I laid down a few light coats, sanded then laid down a "wet" coat. It looks good but has very slight orange peel.
The second color is blue and I am using ALCLAD Candy Blue. It is an enamel based paint.
My typical go to clear coat is Tamiya Acrylic Clear.
My questions are:
1 - Should I sand the color coats prior to applying a clear coat. I wet sanded the final yellow coat and it removed the orange peel but it really dulled the sheen. I used 2400, 4000, 6000, and 8000 polishing cloths. I ended up shooting another wet coat an it is nice and glossy again, but with the slight orange peel effect .
2 - Can Tamiya Gloss Clear provide a nice, polishable high sheen finish? I am very comfortable with using the Tamiya products but I typically use it for a gloss coat on military models for decaling then coat with a flat. Are there any other clear coats recommended. I've read about MM Ultra Clear and I really like ALCLAD paints so I am thinking about trying their clear? Can either of these (or even Future) be polished?
3 - Speaking of polishing, I have read here and on FSM print about the use of Novus Plastic Polish. Can anyone describe this process and which clear coates can be used with Novus? Which Novus (or other polish) is recommend by modelers?
Sorry for the long post. Thanks!
John