Would you clear coat over a "pearl" color?

Good question that I really don't know the answer to, but as no one else has replied I'll give you a suggestion. Make a test on a spoon or some other smooth piece of plastic. Use the same pearl paint, and then put a coat of the clear gloss finish on it. If you like the way it looks, you can go ahead and use the finish on your model. If you don't like the result, leave the model the way it is. Good luck!

In addition to the above suggestion, maybe do another test spoon and just polish the blue pearl without using a clear coat. Do more than one test and go with the one you like the most.

'Real world' clear coats are applied to give surfaces protection or (occasionally) optical depth. Model surfaced are generally subject to less abuse...so if you're happy with the way it looks, you're not required to clear-coat it unless there's a good reason to.

Pearl, 'candy' and metal-flake coatings can often benefit from the 'optical depth' notion I mentioned, simply because one or more clear coats often make them look richer or more lustrous.

Having said that, the 'spoon' test mentioned above is always an excellent check for any coating or combination of coatings.

I just deleted 1-1/2 paragraphs on this topic and reduced it down to agreeing with the other posters, do some test shoots. That's ultimately what I do and have done with pearls but my pearls are not Testors. Great topic by the way, pearls are an interesting paint !

Thank you everyone. I will do a test!

Depends on the subject.  If it is a show car, or very new factory stock I probably would.  If it is an older car or a competition car, probably not.  If it is a plane, again depends on model.  Only planes I might glosscoat would be show planes, racing planes or such, not any operational aircraft or airliner.  Even for showplanes it depends on whether original was glosscoated.  I have seen some small craft, especially restored old cruisers and speedboats that were glosscoated.  Basic answer- it depends on the prototype you are modeling- was it glosscoated.

BrianK

Thank you everyone. I will do a test!

 

Let us know how you make out.

I'll just go on to say now that the pearls I have are all some variation on white, I may have pink or light red too ( been a while since investigating that as it was used in the sides of fishing lures lol). And they dry basically satin that I have clear coated using Pledge to very good effect. I've more used them as a white base coat though to go under color coats, then clear the color coat with lacquer or Tamiya acrylic. At any rate the clear imo, never hurt anything. Just depends on the look you want.

Now color shift paints after clearing by comparison, in my observation, take a bit more accute angle to see the shifts take place. They do still shift though, just more lively about it without the clear.

Here is the results of the test. I hope the photography is good enough to show it.

Spoon on the right was clear coated.

The car body is not clear coated.

I find I like both for different reasons but at the moment lean to not clear coating, this time anyway. (Also am not sure if the car body should be smoother, resulting from my level of airbrush skill. But even if so, I still like it

(Side note: I have since discovered that the windshield is scratched right out of the box/bag.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!At4YT26Q09I_hv1UZO8q_GIM61ThLg?e=of51Iz

https://1drv.ms/u/s!At4YT26Q09I_hv1VOzlJyFqboudsUg?e=Zvxzeb

BrianK

Here is the results of the test. I hope the photography is good enough to show it.

Spoon on the right was clear coated.

The car body is not clear coated.

I find I like both for different reasons but at the moment lean to not clear coating, this time anyway. (Also am not sure if the car body should be smoother, resulting from my level of airbrush skill. But even if so, I still like it

 

(Side note: I have since discovered that the windshield is scratched right out of the box/bag.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!At4YT26Q09I_hv1UZO8q_GIM61ThLg?e=of51Iz

https://1drv.ms/u/s!At4YT26Q09I_hv1VOzlJyFqboudsUg?e=Zvxzeb

 

Depending how bad the windshield is scratched you may be able to dip it in Future/Pledge and have it good as new if not better when dry.

Sounds like you've decided on the paint so I won't go there.

I thought about the Future for the windshield. I might do that. (Watched a video about buffing out such problems but am not up to going that far.)

When I have done that, scratches or not, I have had trouble with teeny bubbles. What might I be doing wrong. Maybe need to wait a while after pouring it into a container?

I am going to start another topic asking about fabricating one.

Some folks prefer brushing future onto clear parts, one good wet coat. I don't know why you're getting bubbles though. Best I can tell you, maybe someone familiar with Future and bubbles will chime in.

Hi Brian;

 Is this the 1/25 model? If so I would use a clear frost coat only. Pearl has a tendency to gain a yellowish cast over time without it. Is this the car you also have windshield problems with? If so, Definitely use the .010 sheet for a new windshield.

      Plain and simple I love the old A/C Cobra ( The Flat fendered ) version with the 289 and that clear  A/C-Cobra influence.

Yes, Revell 1/25 Shelby Cobra Series 1. And it is its windshield is the marred one out of the box.

I looked for replacement part service on the Revell website, but it says "Please note that currently no spare part orders can be delivered to the USA. Since the shipping has been stopped by the service providers. This is in connection with the COVID 19 virus. Enquiries are therefore currently not being processed. Please try again at a later date."

Interesting. I wonder if that means they are not shipping kits to the US also, or if that is somehow a different situation.