Future and flat base problems

Ant wrote:

tried to use futre and tamiya flat base for the first time last night. i mixed the flat base in at a few drops at a time until i had the flat i wanted, so i dont think i used too much. i thinned the flat base before use as it was very thick, used water. idea's please? as you can see by my other posts i just dont seem to be able to do anything with future without a problem.!!! might be time to go back to using enamel gloss and dullcoat

Have you read Matt Swann's "The Complete Future" ? If not, read it. If you have, read the technique sections again.

At least one of your problems is due to thinning the flat base. Don't. The stuff is thixotropic and will liquify with stirring. Adding water will create havoc with both the flat base and Future, as neither is formulated to be reduced with water. Use 90% isopropyl alcohol for thinning Future.

Also, I don't recall you mentioning what paint you were covering. Both enamel and acrylic gloss paints sometimes have "gloss enhancers" (usually a silicone) that will play hob with adhesion of overlying coats—hence the crazing. To overcome this, wash the surface with ordinary soap (like Woolite) and deionized or distilled water. Do not use detergent. 

Ant wrote:

idea's please?... dullcoat

K.I.S.S. This has worked for me for years without a problem. Little bit of Dullcote in the color cup, couple drops of dollar a gallon thinner and I've got a nice even flat finish over enamels, oils and acrylics.

Like the others have said....

Mix your Future and Flat base with nothing else.  A 4 to 1 ratio of Future to flat base is about as flat as you want to go.  Any less Future to flat base will result in a white powdery finish.

Ant,

IIRC, you're using Pledge One-Go, a local formulation which is similar, but not quite the same as the Future that everyone else is using.

There may be other additives which affect how it responds. It's brown in colour, compared to the "original" Future which, from what I can see, is crystal clear. The label suggests that it also contains cleaning agents. In my limited experiments, it works fine as a clear parts dip but only "ok" as a clear coat. I haven't tried this with flat base yet, so I can't really comment on that.