Clear coat

[Ember]

I've not used his new silk print decals Roger. I use TS13 but either over Alps printed or self printed.

Alps printed by Stubbo


Alps by Phil Kabfell


Inkjet printed by me

[RichD]

All of my cars have a few coats of Future, I started using it because Patto recommended using it on his decals before cutting them out and putting them on the car. It is true that solvent based clear coats can damage decals. Future is water based, so it can be used as a barrier to protect decals from clear coats with strong solvents. If you brush inkjet printed decals with Future they may smudge. For my own inkjet decals I use Testors decal setting spray, Krylon Crystal Clear works as well. If you are going to race your cars Future will not protect your decals very well, a more robust clear coat is needed. The most durable clear coats are the automotive type, but those can attack your paint, unless it is also an automotive type. Krylon Crystal Clear is less aggressive and I have also had good luck with Testors clear. I always top off everything with a couple of coats of Future, I just brush it on. I do not coat clear glass, but if it is scratched Future will often hide scratches. If a car starts to look a little dingy a fresh coat of Future will often make it look as good as new. One last thing, Future is known to make some types of white paint yellow. There does not seem to be a problem with Testors white, but it would not be a bad idea to do a test before using it on a car.

[Ember]

On decals I have been experiencing good success with Microscale Liquid Decal Film and a flat brush. Used it on every type of decal I've tried (just not tried Patto's new silks). I've had instances where the TS13 has caused a little bit of bleed in paint because I got a little heavy handed too quickly, but had no affect on inkjet decals coated well in Liquid Decal Film.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

It is true that Future can be glopped on too thick and ruin a good looking finish. But brushing it on solves this handily. I have used several spray-on films for strengthening decals, especially old ones. I use Future over them when they are on, just because it can be done so thin. There are a lot of situations where our use of decals differs greatly from military models, railroads, etc. Future can be too shiny for some. Future has the odd feature of being able to buff to a very shiny surface, too, and that complicates things in a discussion, too. When you see a photo of a car that looks like it was dipped in molten glass, you tend to compliment the effort to get it that way, rather than wonder about the prototypical relevance. I use Future almost all the time, but I keep three good clearcoat sprays handy.

[Ember]

You really need to do 3 or 4 mist coats and let them dry before a wet coat. It is the difference between success and failure.

[Audi1]

Will the 3-4 mist coats, followed by a wet coat (or two), work with Brain Patto's water slide decals? I'm getting ready to decal my NASCAR car for the HRW proxy and, as a new re-entry back into the hobby, I don't want to make any big mistakes..................

Audi1

[Ember]

I haven't tried Bruce's decals since he changed to 'silk print.' I'm not sure what he even means with his "Silk print." Obviously not silk-screen printed, which are extremely robust.

All I can say is I use TS13 on ink jet printed decals without them frizzling. Hopefully someone else can chime in on what they use on Patto's new decals.

[dr fabio]

[Ember]

So, basically Patto has made his decals useless to many of us by changing his printing technique and films.

There has to be something that works. And the first one that says Future gets shot!

[dr fabio]

Yep I did the exact same thing. Two mist coats and all was well but the finish looks like crap. Dull matt orange peel finish. Waited until the next day to give a "wet" coat to get a nice shine. Crap!! Money down the toilet and decals looked like drap as per the pics above.

[RichD]

If it was me I would never risk putting any solvent based clear over a decal. I put two coats of Future over the decals on this car before I shot two coats of Testors clear.

[mfogg]

...

[TuscoTodd]

[RichD]

I only put Future over the decals before I shot the Testors clear. I could just as well put it over everything I believe. Once the clear had dried I finished off with two coats of Future. The windshield had a few scratches in it and the Future hid those very well.

[bobbyraz49]

I will be printing my own decals on a decal sheet then spray the entire sheet with decal sealer.
THEN do I use the Future over it ? And by "over it" I mean brush the entire car ?
Thanks !