Hi everyone,
could someone tell me to which percentage the microscale flat coat should be thinned (with water, right?) so it can be airbrushed? And should I mask clear parts or will they be improved like when using future? I need to seal a tyridium model. Thanks for any help!
BTW, same question about the gloss coat?
Don't use it myself, so I can't answer the question about thinning, but I can tell you that yes, you need to mask the clear parts. Any dull or matte coating will frost the clear parts. This is inherent in a matte coating - you're placing a layer of granules on the surface to break up and diffuse the light. This is what makes the surface dull.
Gloss coats on the other tentacle, lay down an ultra-smooth clear layer which transmits the light sharply and well as creating a reflective surface. One note: many gloss coats are lacquer based, which will etch and frost clear parts. Future is acrylic, which is why it's safe for clear parts.
The best bet is to always test on a piece of sprue or a spare part from the kit - a part from another kit may not give the same results as the plastic formulation may vary.
Well I just tried the flat recently, unfortunately it really isn't flat. I wonder if I could add Tamiya flatbase in it. I can't say about the thinning ratio, I thin stuff by eye pretty much. I think I thinned it too much though. I am going to try thin it less and add pressure to see if I get it flatter.
didihno wrote:Argh!
I've frosted my window on a starfury with damn acrylic matt varnish.
How do I fix it?
Buy a new window... Or can that stuff be removed with alcohol or something?
Sdf-1, what did you use for thinning? On the bottle the text says thinning should be done with water or alcohol, will it work equally well or is alcohol better? And if, which alcohol should I use?
Even it it isn´t flat, the Tyridium has got large surfaces so I´ll "polish" the model with fine steel wool, that should remove all gloss.
Any info on mixing ratio/water/sort of alcohol?
I used to thin it 20% with alcohol, and spray at around 25-30 PSI. any higher and it would dry before hitting the surface and cause orange peel.
TBH, I have never really found an acyrilic flat that is a really flat, yet tough finish. MM Acyrl and Polyscale are pretty flat, but also scratch very easy.
I use Micro-Scale Flat and Satin all the time; they have become my do-everything clear sealers. I spray straight from the bottle, no thinning needed. I use a gravity-fed Badger with a medium tip, at around 20 psi. Clean up with Windex. If you will excuse the non-sci fi subject, here's a Corsair I finished with Micro-Scale Flat; plenty flat enough for my taste:
Or can that stuff be removed with alcohol or something?
But is there a cheaper variant? Although if I just use it after spraying microscale coats...nah it´ll work. Thanks! 