Matte then future or just gloss?

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Gauge
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 4:50 pm
Location: Right of Center

Matte then future or just gloss?

Post by Gauge »

Which would be easier and just look better? The surface I'm working on needs to be "shiny" in the end. Should I go with a gloss then move on or matte then cover in future? No decals involved. The over all kit is to be gloss, no decals.
Much Thanks,
G.
"There's only ONE ~'Return'~,.. and its NOT ~'Of The King'~... its ~'Of The Jedi'~.
Confucius 479 B.C.E
seam-filler
Posts: 3914
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2003 11:05 am
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland

Post by seam-filler »

Why apply a matt finish over a gloss finish only to cover it with Future (which is gloss)??

Why not just one coat - gloss or Future?
"I'd just like to say that building large smooth-skinned models should be avoided at all costs. I now see why people want to stick kit-parts all over their designs as it covers up a lot of problems." - David Sisson
kenlilly106
Posts: 1302
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 12:18 am
Location: in the mountains

Post by kenlilly106 »

To me, matte paint covered in Future looks like matte paint covered in Future instead of the gloss paint look you're after.

Really about the only way to get the depth and sheen of gloss paint is to use it, problem is that gloss paints don't cover as well as their flat counterparts so it can be tough to get coverage without flooding the paint on and covering details or worrying about drips, etc.

What I've started to do when I need to use a gloss paint is to apply a coat of flat paint in a similar (but lighter) color than the finish coat, make sure you have good coverage with the flat coat. Let it dry then apply the gloss paint, the flat paint will help keep the gloss coat from pulling away from the corners and will also help to provide the color depth needed.

Example:
One of my favorite modeling subjects are the USAF Century Series aircraft (F-100 through F-106), several of them were painted in gloss ADC Gray (FS16473), it's hard for me to get this color on evenly without runs or orange peel or flooding it on, one day I figured out that if I sprayed a base coat of Ghost Gray (FS36375) and made sure it was smooth then thinned the ADC Gray to almost a glaze, I ended up with a nice glossy finish of ADC Gray that was smooth and had that "depth" that only gloss paint can provide but at the same time I didn't have to worry about detail being lost.

Ken
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