Flat paint - Starting to wonder why I bother....

Thanks to all for your comments.  It's obviously not as simple as I imagined.  I now use mostly Tamiya acrylic paints (they're easier for me to get at the LHS), but I do remember that when I was using Gunze paints, getting a flat finish was almost impossible--- semi-gloss was as close as it got.  Interestingly, back in those Gunze days when I hadn't learned about the importance of laying down clear coats at different stages, I didn't do so, except for a final clear flat coat if that was the finish I wanted--- but now in retrospect I realize that I rarely had any trouble masking, decaling, or weathering directly on those Gunze semi-gloss base coats.  Lots to consider, obviously.  But that's what makes this hobby so interesting...........

TomB

jwb wrote:

hkshooter wrote: Damn, Tri. You are a walking encyclopedia aren't you. LOL I'm glad he is though- certainly learn a lot! I think he was the person who introduced me to the term "bindery snot"..... truly a cool term.

Youse c'n call me Britannicus… 

And Jon, it wasn't me! BTW: what is "bindery snot"? 

It should be noted that most of Gunze's acrylic "flat" military colours come in a semi-gloss finish, even though the FS numbers (where applicable), indicate a flat colour.

hkshooter wrote:

Damn, Tri. You are a walking encyclopedia aren't you.

LOL

I'm glad he is though- certainly learn a lot!

I think he was the person who introduced me to the term "bindery snot"..... truly a cool term.

Damn, Tri. You are a walking encyclopedia aren't you.

Glosses dry more slowly because the gloss is the result of the binder, not the pigment. Glosses often have a lower pigment load (hence poorer hide, or ability to cover). Flat paints also have a much higher surface area, and thus dry faster. Curing takes about the same amount of time, but is slightly faster because it starts sooner (after the solvent has evaporated) and there is often less binder to cure. To develop the shine, the binder in a gloss has to polymerize more slowly, as well.

Another factor is that some gloss paints contain additives called gloss enhancers. These migrate to the surface during and for a short time after curing. They make the surface very slick and slippery, often interfering with bond of overlying materials and decals. Most clear coats used in scale modeling do not contain such additives. 

Tom, what you say makes perfect sense but as others have posted there are drawbacks which may outweigh the advantages.  If you really want to try, XtraColor makes a wide range of gloss enamels in military colors.  They are fairly popular in Europe but difficult to find in the USA.  The LHS used to stock them but discontinued due to low sales volume.

Regards,  Rick

As mentioned, gloss paints dry more slowly than flats. I have noidea why, but I'm sure someone could explain it. It's also prone to orange peel, which is hard enough to polishh out on the relatively smooth surfaces of a car model, but would be a horror show on a tank or plane.

As mentioned before, most of the colors we use plain and simply come in flat only. You can use what you wish ofcourse. Me, I prefer to buy my medium green or olive drab and light sea gray premixed instead of trying to mix it from gloss colors.

What kind of flat coat are you using? I use Poly Scale and it never fails to completely cover any gloss left by my gloss coat. MM dullcoat does a good job as well but is a little more risky to use.

sure you make tons of sense...however if you use gloss coats it is harder to tone it down for that natural look.  The only "real life" subjects that have gloss coats are museum pieces.

Hi Tom.

Well for one, the military colors of aircraft and vehicles is normally in flat colors.

The most important factor though is that flat colors dry fast and are not affected nearly as bad by dust and dirt as gloss colors are. Flat colors are almost dry to the touch within several seconds and that is a big plus to keeping dust from adhering to that nice paint job.

  depending on what you model (armor acft cars ships)it has been my observation that the selection of paint is somewhat predetermined(armor acft flat to semi gloss,cars all high gloss,ships?)by the paint manufacturer,or is not available in a convenient medium(pen, bottle or rattlecan).i have done both clear overcoats and local clearcoats for decals with little difference in results.to try and answer your question,its mho that flat paint drys faster and there is less chance of leaving a fingerprint in an inappropreiate spot.keep practicing and good luck.