viscount806x Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Could I ask a few of you to share your experience of spraying Johnsons Klear? I have just had a go after years of using a brush with it. I had hoped to get a nice thin coat on some decals by airbrushing but seem only able to achieve a strippled surface finish (albeit very finely). I am spraying at around 15psi and the Klear is unthinned.Should I use more pressure or should I thin it down a bit (I was thinking of using iso alcohol for the latter)? I want to limit the number of decal sheets I am wasting hence the query! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Could I ask a few of you to share your experience of spraying Johnsons Klear? I have just had a go after years of using a brush with it. I had hoped to get a nice thin coat on some decals by airbrushing but seem only able to achieve a strippled surface finish (albeit very finely). I am spraying at around 15psi and the Klear is unthinned.Should I use more pressure or should I thin it down a bit (I was thinking of using iso alcohol for the latter)? I want to limit the number of decal sheets I am wasting hence the query! Thin it down with a small amount of acrylic thinners, works ok for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandX Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Thin it down with a small amount of acrylic thinners, works ok for me Is Tamiya X-20 OK for this purpose? (I asked this in a thread on another site but never got a response, presumably because Americans and Canadians are obsessed with using Windex...!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 (edited) The thing with Klear is you have to leave it quite a while between coats. When you first put it on, it can look quite uneven. I usually keep building up the coat until it just starts to look wet, then move on. Not so much that it starts to run though, that's bad news! It should flatten itself out overnight. I don't thin it either, just spray mine neat! Edited May 5, 2012 by Doug Rogers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I've had the best success by thinning it with Windolene, ca. 30-40%. Low pressure, stay close to the model (so the droplets can't dry in the air). Your first coats should be very thin mist coats, don't even try to achieve an even cover at this stage. Let it sit 10 minutes and then put one or two heavier coats on. Your last coat should be a wet coat, but stop before you see any sagging or heavy build-up as this might result in runs. Depending on a lot of factors (airbrush, temperature, moisture, age of the Klear bottle...) Klear can in theory be airbrushed without thinning. However I found that thinning with Windolene eliminates most if not all problems. You also get less build-up on the needle tip. Thinning with acrylic thinner works most of the time as well, but if your Klear is a little older and thicker I found you achieve quite the opposite result - it starts to goo up and becomes a mess. Windolene contains ammonia, which is kind of a "solvent" for Klear and not found in acrylic thinner. Cheers Jeffrey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 You don't need to thin Klear, but there's a knack to it that can take a bit of getting initially. The first few coats should be sprayed on dry(ish), and won't look very shiny. Once you've got coverage, you can spray it a little more wet, going over again until you've got the shine you wanted. I usually only Klear over decals to hide the carrier film, which works after a few coats due to its self levelling properties If you're running out of Klear, I can recommend Alclad's Aqua Gloss... works almost exactly like the old Klear did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Have thinned mine with just water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdriaN (MLT) Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Spraying Klear is a mystery! till this day i havnt found the proper way to spraying. I never thin it. i spray very close to the model, moving fast, and spraying heavy wet lines. when i spraylight coats i just get a dotty finish and never seem to built up its shine. What i hate about clear coats (like Klear) is, you cannot see when you are spraying (since its transperant)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted May 17, 2012 Author Share Posted May 17, 2012 Thanks guys, since I posted this I have messed around a bit and had some success. One downside (today actually) was that I printed up a sheet of Cambrian decals and after I 'Kleared' them, one of the two sheets (and the Experts Choice one at that!) went pear shaped on me by curdling the images. So perhaps I should use Microscale Decal Film on the next one I try of the latter brand (quite expensive). Next question:- What do I thin Microscale D. Film with with in order to spray it? It smells strongly of Iso Alcohol already so maybe I should use that ? Incidentally, the Experts Choice paper is shorter than A4 and therefore you must have the top and bottom margins on any images quite generous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 If you're running out of Klear, I can recommend Alclad's Aqua Gloss... works almost exactly like the old Klear did Major difference is that the Alclad product will not resist spirit based washing, it will dissolve back off, Klear seems to stay put, so if you like putting oil washes over your decalled model . . . . . Si. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Personally, I don't spray Klear - I brush paint it as that seems to give a thicker layer and since it is self levelling it gives a very nice finish after even just two coats. I've got some neat ammonia that I wash my brushes it - if I was thinking of thinning the Klear I'd probably mix the ammonia 50/50 with water and use that to thin the Klear. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Next question:- What do I thin Microscale D. Film with with in order to spray it? It smells strongly of Iso Alcohol already so maybe I should use that ? Cellulose thinners seems to work well. Having said that, I seem to get great results just brushing it on - it dries very thin. Cheers Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted May 18, 2012 Author Share Posted May 18, 2012 Personally, I don't spray Klear - I brush paint it as that seems to give a thicker layer and since it is self levelling it gives a very nice finish after even just two coats. I've got some neat ammonia that I wash my brushes it - if I was thinking of thinning the Klear I'd probably mix the ammonia 50/50 with water and use that to thin the Klear. I have also brushed it for years but having a go at decals didn't work by brushing, tending to 'drag' the ink which is why I went down the spraying road. Updating on todays antics, noticing on another similar thread that someone had used Halfords Clear Lacquer, a cellulose rattle can jobby, I gave it a go this afternoon. Perfecto ! I,ve now got 3 sheets of nice glossy transfers on Experts Choice paper and bypassed the airbrush cleaning out task. Just hoping that the decals work OK but nice to see that it in no way attacked the images or the paper surface and it dried really fast. Got the dog stoned on the fumes though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The original Kit Builder Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Anyone got any idea whether the new Klear, with Johnsons Wax is usable, or have they ruined the formulation completely for this type of use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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