Anyone use Microgloss/MicroFlat by Microscale?

I used the MicroGloss/Flat religiously for years until I recently switched to Testors Acryl Flat and it is excellent paint to work with. The thing is, I used it with an airbrush so I'm not sure how it'll work brushed on by hand. I guess as long as you thin it down and apply in thin coats, you should be fine. This is especially true with the flat as applying too much too soon can lead to white chalky spots forming. BTW,to the Forum.

microgloss worked fine for me but microflat wasn't really flat at all.  this was brushed on btw.  i like polyscale acrylic gloss and flat coats.  i spray them directly out of the bottle or brush them on.  the gloss is glossy and the flat is actually flat.  no problems so far.

Like GoatMonkey, I used MicroFlat and did not find it to be particularly flat.  It seemed to be somehwere between a satin and a semi-gloss.  On the bright side, I found that I could mix it with ground pastel chalk to make a pretty decent mud for armored vehicles.

I tried Testors Gloss and DullCoat lacquers but wasn't totally happy with either.  I found it difficult to to lay down a smooth gloss coat.  The dull coat had a tendency to have batch to batch variation in flatness, sometimes flat and sometimes satin.

I currently use Future for gloss coats and Future/Tamiya X-21 Flat Base(4 parts Future to 1 part Flat Base) and have been quite happy with the results.  I haven't used it long enough to speak from experience about any yellowing effects, but from the concensus of what I have read on the subject, I am not worried about it.

Andy  

Thanks for the replies guys! much appreciated.
I'll look into pollyscale, otherwise I guess I'll just use future.

Welcome to the forum! 

I have used Microscale clear finishes with no real problems years ago.  I applied them with a wide #12 Shader brush.  To minimize brush strokes, I thinned them with distilled water per their instructions.  I know you mentioned you'll be brushing them on for now, until, I'm assuming you later purchase an airbrush.  Now-a-days, I still use Microscale for some models, however I airbrush them with a very inexpensive Paasche-H single action airbrush.  As a future reference, the Paasche-H can be had at several online web stores, such as; Dixie Art & Airbrush Suppliy Store, www.dixieart.com .  Bear Air, www.bearair.com .  Good luck and welcome back to the hobby!

I used Testors dullcoat for a while and the finish itself wasn't bad but the lacquer had a tendency to melt the acrilyc paint.  After one time where a fine misting of paint for dust got washed down to the bottom of all the vertical surfaces forming what looked like sludge, i pretty much quit on that one.  I'm sure it'd work much better if you used many lighter coats instead of dumping the whole can on the thing like i do but you don't have to be that careful with something like polyscale flat and that's why i like it.

I've used them extensively and have allways gotten exquisit results.  MicroGloss over matt paints for decaling, then MicroFlat to seal the whole thing.  I've used them with a brush and with an airbrush and they work very well with either and are very forgiving either way.  As mentioned the flat is not totaly matt but I actually like the very slight velvet finish it gives.

I used them for years until I noticed the older models (5+ years old that is) were noticably yellowing. Switched to Future and MM enamel semi-gloss and dullcote and haven't noticed the yellowing problem since.

Interesting, even though the bottle says 'non-yellowing'?
Thanks alot for the info! I guess I'll give the Future, Future/Tamiya Flat treatment a try.

i just used microflat on my moogle figure and the stuff cracked up big time.  think that's the end of me using THAT...  going to go see if i can smooth it out with some water or something...

update:  nope, smooth it out with water and it just cracks back up...  time to strip the paint and start the paint from scratch!

Sorry to hear that goatmonkey, but thanks for passing on that info.
I plan to give Future/Tamiya Flat a try. I'm also gonna try to mix Tamiya Clear/Tamiya Flat (haven't seen too many people use this combination) - it should give me a flat clear coat, shouldn't it? we'll see how it goes.
Cheers