Lacquering?

What's the best method to lacquer a model after painting the top coat,ie one thickish coat, or building up several thinner coats?
What should the lacquer look like once you stop spraying a coat, ie should it be to the final glossy finish and it drys the very same, or should it be slightly speckly after a light coat and gets more and more glossy the more coats you apply?

Any tips to perfect this part of the process would be appreciated, as I have had some very good results and some very poor results, and have not yet worked out what I'm doing differently!

david, most of the rattle cans i use seem to have a lacquer built in as they come out as a gloss....apart from a tube of artists paint i had to get for the rear of my vatanen manta....it dried dull, had no gloss element so had to be sprayed with about 3 or 4 coats of lacquer before i was finished; to be honest, i'm still not perfectly happy with it but i know what you mean about the speckled finish......col is the man for this methinks....

I'm just trying to get consistent results Billy.

I know rattlecans are frowned upon by 'the airbrush set', but it's all I have access to at the moment. I also know that lacquer should not really be used as a substitute for getting a perfect gloss finish on your models, but it has certainly worked on occasions for me - but not everytime - so I'm just wondering if there is a tried and trusted method to guarantee the finish between different models. I know they're not all going to be identical, but I'd certainly like them to look a lot closer to each other than they are at the moment.

Also the result I get from spraying diecast metal components in relation to plastic components seems to differ as well.

Cheers for the feedback though mate.

no probs m8, i'm sure the likes of col and the rest will have the answers for you... i totally hear you about the metal/plastic differences too, painting plastic is one of the things i can never get to look even half-professional lol!!! i'll read the answers in this thread with interest too m8!

Well let's just hope there are some useful answers then mate!

David what i would do if laquering a model after painting..To get a glass look finish obviously heat all prior coats of paint ie put primer tin in warm water then apply to a heated shell..repeat as nessesary and same process with the colour...Now wait to paint hardens well..1 week imo..then get very very fine abraisive (wet and dry process ) and flaten the colour paint..wash with fairy liquid to rid the dust and so forth..Let dry i put on radiator..Warm shell again but not too hot and same with the laquer..put 3 light coats of laquer on. Then get a bit of heat to the model again until dry...The finish ive acheived in the past using this process is fantastic...like Glass mate..This is my opinion and will enjoy reading other peoples methods..BTW when the laquer is put on a model and it speckles tells me laquer and shell is too cold hence wen i mention heating both you should get a nice even clear finish..

Many thanks Gary. That sounds like an effective step-by-step process, and your enthusiasm for the final finish fills me with faith that I can match your results!

Would paint and lacquer 'dull off' and have a bit of a milky finish if it was allowed to dry in a cold environment then? It seems to be nice and glossy once it has been applied from a hot rattlecan, but then occasionally it gradually takes on a slightly dull / milky finish as it starts to dry.

Please understand me though... I seem to be able to spray one model perfectly fine from a rattlecan, but it's just getting the same standard of finish over several models that seems to be the issue at the moment.

i use mrhobby gloss topcoat
for me the best for the decals

Cowley wrote:Many thanks Gary. That sounds like an effective step-by-step process, and your enthusiasm for the final finish fills me with faith that I can match your results!

Would paint and lacquer 'dull off' and have a bit of a milky finish if it was allowed to dry in a cold environment then? It seems to be nice and glossy once it has been applied from a hot rattlecan, but then occasionally it gradually takes on a slightly dull / milky finish as it starts to dry.

Please understand me though... I seem to be able to spray one model perfectly fine from a rattlecan, but it's just getting the same standard of finish over several models that seems to be the issue at the moment.

youve hit the Nail on the head David..Its all about getting that correct heat balance..

borbase wrote:i use mrhobby gloss topcoat
for me the best for the decals

MrHobby is certainly very kind to decals..

Thank you Rob.

Thank you Gary - I'm going to do some 'field trials' this weekend!

David,

I'd go along with the advice of our veritable colleagues above. I'm not afraid to use a very very fine grade paper (circa 2000 grit) to gently smooth down anything less than perfect between paint coats or lacquer coats.

Like you, I use rattle cans and am working my way (slowly) through a large can of lacquer from Halfords. Seems to work well and of course, helps protect the paintwork and decals, which can't be a bad thing!

Happy rattling.... and don't get 'lacquered'! Steve

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Ah painting is a ballix, people have their different way of doing it so it's all about finding a way that suits you the best,


Gary has hit the nail on the head there David, heat is 1 of the main things to getting a good finish when lacquering or painting with gloss,
Heat, spray/mist flow and presure are the magic 3

When you heat the aerosol up it does a few different things to it
1 heats the lacquer
2 thins the lacquer making it a finer spray/mist
3 adds more pressure inside the can giving you a more constant flow,

This finer/warm lacquer + a constant slightly higher flow helps to give you a more even spray giving you a better coat and finish on the model,
If you play about doing a few test runs you will find the sweet spot and this will give you the more constant finish you are looking,

Heating the model up first helps the lacquer to stick or set on the surface + heating it from the inside forces the solvent out before the lacquer skins over,
When I say heating from the inside I mean the warm metal putting heat out through the lacquer instead of heating from the outside ie heat gun,
You can use a heat gun but you need to be careful as the lacquer will skin over trapping the solvent in and this could cause solvent pops,
Solvent pops are very fine pin holes and can make the lacquer look textured or give a satin finish,



The slightly dull/milky finish sounds like the surface of the lacquer has bloomed.... tec term this is mainly caused by a damp or cold atmosphere,
If you spray on to a cold surface or with cold paint then heat it up the change in temperature causes the blooming,
It's a ballix as you can't see it when the lacquer is still wet, it only shows up as the lacquer starts to dry or skin over,



The key things to do are heat the aerosol so it's warm in you hand and heat the model just enough to take the cold out of it,

Best of luck with this David, and again just try a few tests first, it will not take long to find a way that suit you



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Great detail Colin..sure David can follow your instructions better than mine lol..You have described what i was trying to say. Alway good to have Colin on here a real asset to the site..Instructions always clear, takes the time to explain things properly (unlike me lol ) and on occasion he puts up little tutorials on how to do something..Really good to see someone dedicating the time to helps others..Im sure everyone will agree..TOPMAN...

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Thanks for the kind words Gary

When I first signed up to the other site and then when we moved to our new home here I was always getting and still am getting tips from other members,
If I can give any tips back to the forum then this is my way of saying thanks to the members for all their help over the years,


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Your welcome mate...

Future floor polish.

GMR..Models wrote:Great detail Colin..sure David can follow your instructions better than mine lol..You have described what i was trying to say. Alway good to have Colin on here a real asset to the site..Instructions always clear, takes the time to explain things properly (unlike me lol ) and on occasion he puts up little tutorials on how to do something..Really good to see someone dedicating the time to helps others..Im sure everyone will agree..TOPMAN...

Well said Gary, great tips/advice Colin

Top Man indeed, Colin. Thanks for sharing your hints and tips, always very useful. Cheers, Steve

Colin, that 'little' tutorial sounds stunningly helpful, and I see no reason (at present!) why I should be troubled by the paint / lacquer / heat process ever again!

Your guide seems very thorough, and I'm pretty sure that the blooming I experienced was down to the paint / lacquer drying in too cold an atmosphere. I knew all about heating the model and the rattlecan beforehand, but not the item itself after it had been sprayed!

I was hoping to get a few field trials done this weekend, but what with me having what could be classed as, a very good night out with my son on Friday, and then it being our Wedding Anniversary yesterday - I thought it best not to rock the boat too much under the circumstances!

You are indeed a TOP MAN Colin, and many thanks for passing on the benefits of your experience!