Decals before or after application of testors gloss cote

muir318 · Post by **muir318** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:03 am

Hello again guys!
As i have said in previous posts i am new to the hobby and before i start on my various star wars kits i have bought i thought i would practice first on a generic plane kit to practice my seam filling, puttying,sanding etc etc,

My question is do i add the decals before or after i add a spray of testors gloss cote?

Thanks in advance for all answers!

Scott Hasty · Post by **Scott Hasty** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:34 am

Gloss
Decal
Gloss
Dull

This can vary depending on how you weather your model

irishtrek · Post by **irishtrek** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:55 pm

Testors or just about any brand of gloss coat will yellow over time, and about the only exception to that is Future floor polish. It costs about 5 or 6 dollars for a good sozed bottle and it cleans up with water because it's acrilic based and it can be run through an airbrush.

southwestforests · Post by **southwestforests** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:36 pm

Reason for glosscoating before decals is that matte, flat, paints have a surface which under a microscope looks like sandpaper - that is how they break up light reflection.

Laying a decal over that is like laying a sheet of paper on a gravel road, it only touches the high points - that is what causes what is called 'silvering'

Gloss has a smooth surface which allows decals to make contact at all points.

Agent Orange · Post by **Agent Orange** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 1:33 pm

is that why some decals crinkle when sprayed with a gloss-coat sealer?

Steve

Glorfindel · Post by **Glorfindel** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:39 pm

Agent Orange wrote:is that why some decals crinkle when sprayed with a gloss-coat sealer?

Steve

No, they crinkle because the chemical composition in most clear coats like Tamiya Clear Gloss is made mostly of acetone....nail polish remover....it kills decals. That's why Future is applied over the decals as a gloss coat for weathering, then a dull coat to flatten out the sheen and pull everything together.