D869Zest
Member
Having been largely silent on forums for a few years I thought I would talk about some recent varnish tests that I have been doing.
First the background...
I have had plenty of failures with finishes over decals in the past but the main prompt for doing this now has been the need to find an alternative to Testors Dullcote which is unavailable. Motivation wise I should also add a nod here to the perepetrators of the 'Central Alonso' layout. A chat about decals and finishing at Uckfield 2 weeks ago finally prompted me to get off my posterior and order some candidate products for testing. Like me, they run tank wagons decorated with custom decals done on an Alps printer by Precision Decals. These are very fine decals but super fragile so really need protection.
Dullcote has broadly speaking had excellent results for me. It is extremely flat and I have not had any durability issues. The biggest downside was that it can be difficult to control the spray volume - on one occasion I put way too much on and had it run and pool. It is also based on nasty solvents but I do all spraying outdoors so that is less of an issue.
Humbrol matt enamel varnish was my mainstay for many years with more traditional waterslides but it often proved far from flat when brushed. I airbrushed it once and the result looked like a heavy frost so that won't do. I recently tried brushing it over Alps decals and one small number transfer quickly dislodged and then broke up.
I have tried Tamiya X and XF acrylic varnishes. These go on well from my airbrush but I have had reactions with the residues from Microscale decal fluids resulting in milky looking areas so that is not good. I also used it on a loco once and tried spray on, clean off enamel weathering afterwards as per the Wild Swan book and was dismayed to see some of the decals disintegrate.
The usual recommendation is Johnson's Klear. I actually have a pack of the original stuff in a kitchen cupboard. Apparently you could also use it on floors - who knew? I have never yet tried it on a model... mainly because I am unsure how to clean brushes and airbrushes after using it.
A final honourable mention goes to AK Ultra Matte. I have tried brushing this several times but for me it ends up too uneven. I recently airbrushed one of my too shiny older vans. The finish looks nice and flat but I am unsure how well it will stand up to handling. Time will tell.
I have spent ages reading forum posts on this topic but usually found as many opinions in favour of each product as against so I concluded that I was just going to have to bite the bullet and devote some time to testing.
The tests of a shortlist of untried (by me) products were completed yesterday but I think that I have said enough for one post so more will follow another day.
First the background...
I have had plenty of failures with finishes over decals in the past but the main prompt for doing this now has been the need to find an alternative to Testors Dullcote which is unavailable. Motivation wise I should also add a nod here to the perepetrators of the 'Central Alonso' layout. A chat about decals and finishing at Uckfield 2 weeks ago finally prompted me to get off my posterior and order some candidate products for testing. Like me, they run tank wagons decorated with custom decals done on an Alps printer by Precision Decals. These are very fine decals but super fragile so really need protection.
Dullcote has broadly speaking had excellent results for me. It is extremely flat and I have not had any durability issues. The biggest downside was that it can be difficult to control the spray volume - on one occasion I put way too much on and had it run and pool. It is also based on nasty solvents but I do all spraying outdoors so that is less of an issue.
Humbrol matt enamel varnish was my mainstay for many years with more traditional waterslides but it often proved far from flat when brushed. I airbrushed it once and the result looked like a heavy frost so that won't do. I recently tried brushing it over Alps decals and one small number transfer quickly dislodged and then broke up.
I have tried Tamiya X and XF acrylic varnishes. These go on well from my airbrush but I have had reactions with the residues from Microscale decal fluids resulting in milky looking areas so that is not good. I also used it on a loco once and tried spray on, clean off enamel weathering afterwards as per the Wild Swan book and was dismayed to see some of the decals disintegrate.
The usual recommendation is Johnson's Klear. I actually have a pack of the original stuff in a kitchen cupboard. Apparently you could also use it on floors - who knew? I have never yet tried it on a model... mainly because I am unsure how to clean brushes and airbrushes after using it.
A final honourable mention goes to AK Ultra Matte. I have tried brushing this several times but for me it ends up too uneven. I recently airbrushed one of my too shiny older vans. The finish looks nice and flat but I am unsure how well it will stand up to handling. Time will tell.
I have spent ages reading forum posts on this topic but usually found as many opinions in favour of each product as against so I concluded that I was just going to have to bite the bullet and devote some time to testing.
The tests of a shortlist of untried (by me) products were completed yesterday but I think that I have said enough for one post so more will follow another day.
