SPA Modeler

Why is that, Kari? How come such a discussion causes so many emotional outbursts?

Mr Leveling Thinner CAN attack Tamiya Acrylics so be careful. It may be specific to my usage since I use VERY HIGHLY THINNED coats of Tamiya acrylics for my camo jobs. I'm usually thinning the paint at a 4:1 thinner to paint ratio in conjunction with the mottle pre-shading technique that I use. I've found that using Mr Leveling Thinner with the clear will bring the pre-shading up through the camo colors.

If you can't find Future locally, check out Alclad Aqua Gloss. It is an acrylic clear gloss that works similar to Future. You can even dip your clear canopies into Aqua Gloss with similar results to Future. I like Aqua Gloss alot. It sprays better than Future, dries fast and strong. It won't give you a mirror-glass finish but works excellently as a base coat for decals and washes. And yes... it is not clear in the bottle... milky white.

jkim wrote:Mr Leveling Thinner CAN attack Tamiya Acrylics so be careful. It may be specific to my usage since I use VERY HIGHLY THINNED coats of Tamiya acrylics for my camo jobs. I'm usually thinning the paint at a 4:1 thinner to paint ratio in conjunction with the mottle pre-shading technique that I use. I've found that using Mr Leveling Thinner with the clear will bring the pre-shading up through the camo colors.

If you can't find Future locally, check out Alclad Aqua Gloss. It is an acrylic clear gloss that works similar to Future. You can even dip your clear canopies into Aqua Gloss with similar results to Future. I like Aqua Gloss alot. It sprays better than Future, dries fast and strong. It won't give you a mirror-glass finish but works excellently as a base coat for decals and washes. And yes... it is not clear in the bottle... milky white.

Glad I asked. I’ll check out that Alclad. Thank you!

You'll find that Alclad also makes lacquer based clears (Klear Kote Gloss, Klear Kote Flat). I love the finishes that these produce but I've had past experiences with them not drying, even after weeks and weeks. I gave up on them and started looking for other clear finishes before settling on Alclad Aqua Gloss for my gloss coats and Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer for my flat coats.

jkim wrote:You'll find that Alclad also makes lacquer based clears (Klear Kote Gloss, Klear Kote Flat). I love the finishes that these produce but I've had past experiences with them not drying, even after weeks and weeks. I gave up on them and started looking for other clear finishes before settling on Alclad Aqua Gloss for my gloss coats and Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer for my flat coats.

There is such wisdom here! Thank you, John, Kari and Kenny. Model Master Flat Clear is amazing. I like using that, but as was initially answered, you want to keep acrylics protected by an acrylic based clear coat... which is why I suggested Future—now called “Pledge Floor Care Finish,” I believe—as a possible choice. I was not really aware of an active debate over its merits, however I was aware by modelers whose work I follow that this was another finishing method. I use it to make resin rocket bells shine like metal. It works. Have you ever seen video of elks locking horns... a few individuals use the internet to smash other individuals for expressing an opinion, because they will make themselves feel good by thrashing around from their own frustrations. We all are aware of this. However, my point is to use the internet access to try new ideas....