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Varnishing, advice needed


willsm

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Hi all,

 

I am new here, first post!

 

I am currently building a 1:48 Hasegawa F14-A Tomcat. I have largely finished the build and am on to the painting. And here is where I need some advice.

 

So I have used Mr Hobby color AQUEOUS acrylic paints for the pre shading and the subsequent coats of aircraft grey. Looks great! Now, I wish to apply decals, so I have varnished the paint with some Humbrol enamel stuff out of a can (i did not want to get water on to the acrylic paint through fear of damaging the paintwrok, hence the varnish coat).

 

Looks good, then I have put some decals on, all good (except for the Humbrol decalfix actually attacking the surface!). Now I wish to varnish it again and then apply some further weathering on the panel lines using oils.

 

If I use another layer of Enamel varnish I am under the impression the turps I use to dilute the oils and clean up around the lines, will attack the enamel varnish. So am I better off using an acrylic varnish over the top of the enamel varnish, the apply the oil weathering, then a coat of acrylic varnish to finish off?

 

I am also under the impression that getting water on the surface of the aircraft, after a coat of acrylic varnish, would attack the varnish...Is this correct?

 

So, to summarise.,...Will enamel varnish be attacked by turps? What about acrylic varnish?

 

PS the acrylic varnish i have is Windsor&Newton Galleria

 

Thanks !

 

 

 

Edited by willsm
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Welcome to the forums @willsm. This is a question that is regularly asked and for all the good reasons. Many years ago I was told that the best way to go about mixing paint and varnish mediums is to follow this simple rule. Always apply the paint medium that sticks to the surface best - first. So depending on what you plan on using start with a lacquer product, which can be overcoated with an enamel product, which can then be overcoated with an acrylic product. Try to avoid applying any of these in the opposite direction. Now there will be many examples when you will get away with an assorted of paint types, however this is a simple rule that ‘should’ work each time. It is also a good idea to test your theory on a scrap model or bits of plastic. If it works on the test pieces, fingers crossed it will have the same effect on the model you’ve been pouring hours into. 
 

Cheers and good luck.. Dave 

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59 minutes ago, willsm said:

So in relation to turps on acrylic varnish.... Any thoughts?

It should be OK, however like all things go easy on the stuff. I would try a gentle swipe with a clean paper towel first to remove the majority of the wash residue. If there's a few stubborn bits, use a small amount of turps, but never flood the surface or it will cause harm. Trial and error will get you there, but there's many products and good tutorials online available that will hopefully result in less errors and more success. 

Cheers and good luck.. Dave   

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1 hour ago, willsm said:

So in relation to turps on acrylic varnish.... Any thoughts?

 

Define "turps"?

By this, do you mean Turpentine, turpentine substitute, or is this just a general term for white spirit.  

They are different chemicals, and so can behave differently...

 

If you have a paint mule, try techniques on that.   

Personally,   when I (shock horror) built something to completion, used a wash made of artists oils thinned with lighter fuel,  it really volatile, makes very thin finely flowing wash, and evaporates very fast. This means it is less likely to attack a previous finish.  Compared white spirit is thick greasy gunk! 

 

I used it over Kleer, and found that I could wash it off using a brush dampened with the lighter fuel, making it quite controllable.   

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob/&do=findComment&comment=3296243

 

I also used a dirty grey, which I was really pleased with, as black is often too harsh.   

 

Best thing is try some techniques on scrap first,  as what works for me may not work for you.

 

HTH

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Hi I mean odourless turpentine.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on it, I think a Mule is needed to test it out. I have a crappy old phantom f4 I ruined a while back, I can use that.

 

I just don't want to trash what I have spent months building / painting by a school boy error if you know what I mean!

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1 hour ago, willsm said:

I just don't want to trash what I have spent months building / painting by a school boy error if you know what I mean!

Exactly,  problem with a good build, the more you put in, the more nervous you get.

Do try lighter fuel, it will also thin enamel the same way as oils, to a very thin wash. 

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To thin oils and enamels I'd recommend artists odourless solvent.
 

It's more expensive than some other products but it's nowhere near as "hot" as turps, white spirits or lighter fuel.. so you have much less chance of damaging your finish 

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5 hours ago, Calum said:

To thin oils and enamels I'd recommend artists odourless solvent.
 

It's more expensive than some other products but it's nowhere near as "hot" as turps, white spirits or lighter fuel.. so you have much less chance of damaging your finish 

That's interesting, I'll look them up. Never heard of that stuff before.  I applied some Humbrol decal fix for the vertical stabiliser decals and the stuff daged the finish. The grey went speckly as the chemical attacked it. It actually got throuh the enamel varnish! I realised that I shouldn't be using it neat, lesson learned. Once I diluted the stuff it didn't react with the enamel varnish or underlying acrylic. Didn't say dilute it on the bottle mind..... Now I just gotta airbrush the messed up parts.

I'll post some pics at some point. Thanks for all the advice.

 

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