The Little World

Do you remember my series of tests done to find out which acrylics, enamels, and lacquers would spray best? And the subsequent quest for clear coatings that would let me do decals and then protect the models? Well I looked out my sample tablets today and reassessed them.

The local version of a floor polish seemed to be problematical – I couldn’t convince myself that it would do what Future or Pledge is said to do. So it was rejected out of hand.

The other alternatives – Mr. Hobby, Mr. Color, Tamiya, etc. were good, but they come in 10ml bottles that cost $ 5 each. That’s $ 5 each added to the cost of a kit…And the rattle cans of these sprays are even dearer.

But I did have a litre tin of automotive clear acrylic bought from Supercheap Auto Supplies sitting there calling to me. The tablet tests for it were inconclusive – save that they showed the Supercheap lacquer thinners to be too hot to spray on many plastic surfaces. However, Mr. Color Self-Levelling thinner is now back in stock and it doesn’t assault other lacquer paints that have cured already…

So I took my heart in my mouth and my mixing spoon in my hand, and ran up a batch of 1:1 clear Supercheap/Mr Color. It did not pass happily through the old trigger gun, but when I reloaded it into the Procom WA airbrush…WayHey!

the results are quite the glossiest and thinnest coating so far. I shall leave it set for eight hours before I try adding decals. I suspect that it will be bombproof after that and I can then decide whether to semi-matte or gloss the final surface.

This is a whole new era of confidence.