Future questions

I live in Costa Rica and can´t find FUTURE under any name. It is not allow to bring it on an airplane from U.S.A.. Is there any thing on the market even if it is more expensive, that could be used with the same results as FUTURE.
GONZALO MONGE CORRALES
COSTA RICA

can i brush it on???

Pledge-one-go is not the same as future. It is similar, but is not the same as future. I have had problems with it on acrylics. It is excellent for dipping clear parts in but, makes them very clear. Apparently, the smell is alot different too. Another member of this forum (Tweety1) got some of the stuff and said it smelt very nice (which is something I wouldn't say about pledge).

I definitely will let you now how I get on. I will get some One step and try this (even if I have to buy an acrylic to overpaint!) before taking you up on your offer as surely we are not so isolated (even in Perth) that we can't get Future or its exact equivalent. As I've never smelt the real stuff I can't comment on the smell but I will bear its pleasant smell in mind when I next go shopping. Fortunately the whole house is tiled so I might just be accumulating brownie points with the wife - exchangeable against models! Watch this space.

hey simon, thaks for the replies...
i too felt the same when i read the article and found out that we have something similar over here to the wonder struff called future, but even before using it i was worried about the strong amonia smell coz i paint mainly with acryls.... i think that the end result of pledge is the similar to future, but theyre not the same products, if ya get what i mean... and pledge has a yellow tinge to it ive noticed (probably why my clear parts came out yellow!! hehe) while future is krystal clear hehe. also future has a nice, pleasant smell to it, which pledge doesnt....i dont feel comfortable contradicting swanny, coz his site is da bomb!,and im just a newbie, but theyre not the same...
i remeber looking at diff brands of floor polish when buying the pledge, but i didnt take much notice of them, and now that i have the future, i wont be trying anything else for a while ;) also, i just saw a thread about productsa similar to future, so u may wanna keep an eye on that, and see if any of that stuff is avaliable here...
keep us posted on how u go with the other brands,a nd if u want i can give u the guys email and u can get some from canada, its cheaper that from greatmodels.com, and u get a 750ml bottle aswell ( and its prob cheaper than experimenting with other polishes, unless u gotta a lot of tiled floors at ur place hehe ;))
anyhows, im smell yall laters ;)

Just stepped back into "The Complete Future" trying to clarify the Oz situation. Pledge One Go is stated there as being good on clear parts and when used with acryllics though it is only described as similar in composition to Future. Pledge One Step (I think this was the other product I saw but it didn't register as the article is then talking about South Africa) is however described as identical in composition. Maybe we do have a real source of Future after all. Feeling slightly happier now even if I might need to spend more money!

Dear Tominator, I read with interest your comments on Pledge One Go. I haven't used it on clear parts to date and am trying to reduce my stock of enamels (childhood modelling days!) before investing in some good acyllics. As a top gloss coat over these matt enamels prior to decaling it has worked as I had expected. I bought the product only after like yourself being frustrated at not being able to find branded "Future" here in Oz and reading "The Total Future". Was it the "One Go" that you tried as they do a similar vinyl floor product under a slightly different name which is not compatible with their "One Go". There is no information on the packaging as to whether it is ammonia based though the smell is very ammonia like - very reminiscent of high school Chemistry in fact! You have definitely got me thinking about using it however! Anybody else had experience with different "brands"?

thanks guys, getting my 'office' hehe setup 2day, hopefully be able to spray some...thanks 4 the help

simon u: i got some of that stuff, but i dont think its anything like future, coz it made my acrylic paints run (they had been curing for over a week) and when i paintyed it onto clear parts it gave them a yellow tinge.... i think pledge is amonia based while future isnt....
have u ever used it on clear parts?

1. Yes, but it depends on the wash thinning agent. When I've made washes with regular thinner, no problems. In fact, it makes a nice buffer to protect the enamel. On my last project I used turpentine (big mistake) and it ate through the clear and into the enamel underneath.
2. Certainly it will not harm the decals. In fact, I find that the decals seem to blend better if the model is overcoated with future after applying the decals prior to the matte coat.
3. You don't really need to thin it. When I have thinned it, I have used Tamiya acrylic thinner, which smells as though it is alcohol based, with no troubles.

One handy tip of which you might not be aware, is that you can mix it with Tamima's X-21 Flat Base at about a 4:1 ratio of Future to Flat Base to make a really nice flat finish. You can also naturally tweak the mix ratio for a satin to semi-gloss finish.

Just a quick note to say you can get Future here in Oz. The only problem is that it isnt called Future but rather "Pledge One Go" made by Johnson. If you have read "The Complete Future" then you knew this anyway! It is a shame that the product is only widely known as Future in the modelling community and press when it is marketed under many names worldwide. I just bought a 500ml bottle for $5.90 AUS from Action (it wasn't available at Coles). Anyway it sprays well and gives a nice even gloss, my only concern is knowing when the airbrush is clean after use!! Hope this helps for future (pun intended) purchaces and any other Aussie plastic fanatics out there.

1. Yes, it is an acrylic. I've heard a lot of people say you can use enamel washes over it without any problems, but I won't try it. I occasionally use a Q-Tip moistened with mineral spirits to get off stubborn acrylic wash and have had it remove the wash itself as well as the Future. To each their own, but I'll stick with my acrylic and water color washes.

2. No.

3. You shouldn't need to thin it at all. Windex will certainly remove Future, but as to thinning it I don't really know. I've never thinned it.

You got it pretty much. I could go into it but this is the place to go.http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html