Which gloss does everyone use?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

It's not isopropyl or ethanol. It has a very distinct smell - which is less harsh than most alcohols. Maybe methanol? It has similar working properties as windshield washer fluid, but mixes better with paint and has lower viscosity.

[dmidkiff]

I've always had great success with Future. It took a bit to figure out how to spray it well. The thing I like best about it is how the decals melt into the acrylic finish and then a second coat of Future melts into the first coat. I follow that up with a final clear coat of Model Master Semi Gloss and I get a very nice sheen.

The other nice thing about Future is if you mess up the first coat, a wash with Windex or some other ammonia cleaner will take it off without damaging paint. Decals are a lost cause if you have to wash the Future off...

Doug

[briggsmodels]

MicroScale always. It is the strongest and toughest and to date had not once given me any problems. I go over it with Testor Acryl flat if I want flat.

[JMaurer1]

I use paints (Accu Paint, Tru Color Paint, Scalecoat II) which have semigloss sheen, ready for decals, so no need for gloss clear

Second this. I never use gloss, I don't like the final finish even after sealing everything with Dullcoat. Micro-Sol is your friend.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I use paints (Accu Paint, Tru Color Paint, Scalecoat II) which have semigloss sheen, ready for decals, so no need for gloss clear.  But if I had to use gloss I would likely use Testors Glosscote. But I use an airbrush, so I'm not sure if this info will be helpful to you.

And if they sing have a gloss available, just mix in some. A single coat with the right sheen is always better than a clear coat after.

[briggsmodels]

At risk of offending someone by posting a photo of a model I manufacture.. I used Testor Acryl custom mixed paints on this model, with no primer except light grey in the orange areas. I then used miscellaneous decals, applied MicroScale gloss finish, then masked and sprayed the patches on the unit, weathered a bit more, then used Testor Acryl flat to finish. To my mind, this is the best system, because decals go on top of gloss finishes best anyway. I like Testor Acryl paints because of how amazingly they mask and dry. They dry quite  :?glossy, which is how the prototypes started. I even the surface post-decal with the Micro Gloss, then add the weathering, which I consider the flat finish part of. I often don't spray the entire unit with flat finish, because if you look at prototype units, there are only flat areas if the unit is quite dirty, or in specific areas that get hotter or wetter.

[peteski]

I addressed a similar question in the dry transfer thready, so I figured it is worth mentioning here too:

Most factory finishes are smooth enough for decals to be applied without a gloss coat.  Using setting solution should aid the decal snug down tightly over the paint.

Also not all decal application over flat finish are failures.  I have built a 1:48 scale SR-71 aircraft and painted it with Testors flat black spray paint.  I have then decaled it - they went on just fine.  Since the decal film is shinier than the paint, they did not perfectly blend-in with the paint.  But there was no silvering.  So some combinations of flat paints, and certain brands of decal can be workable.  Not all decals are the same.