Spitfire finish coat

[ToonarmY]

Hi All, 

 

I am getting together the items i need before I start building a couple of Spitfires. 

 

Could anyone advise what finishing coats they have used to give the model a slight shine. I don't like the glossy look or the very flat matt. 

 

I want the model to have a little shine so that it doesn't look dull or be too glossy that it doesn't look realistic. 

 

Can anyone share any varnishes, satins or semi gloss brands they have used in an airbrush to get this finish? 

 

I have Mr color paints and MRP Mr paints i will be doing the main painting in camo, fuselage etc. 

 

Lets also try not to open up a debate over which way is the correct finish used during ww2 😂. This is purely personal preference. 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by ToonarmY

[Troy Smith]

you can always gently buff the surface with a soft cloth.

7 minutes ago, ToonarmY said:

Lets also try not to open up a debate over which way is the correct finish used during ww2 😂. This is purely personal preference.

 

this would vary depending on the age of the airframe, and where it was used.   When new., the paint, had a slight eggshell sheen, smooth, not dead matt. 

In use it became flatter.

There is a gallery here of ww2 colour images of Spitfires, which is well worth some careful study,  

https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=8270787@N07&q=spitfire

 

this famous image gives a very good idea of the paint finish, 

Spitfire in England by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

and airframes get cleaned, areas around the engine and exhaust and oil stains get cleaned off with lightly oiled rags, so the sheen can vary over an airframe, which is why I suggest a long careful look at good period colour photos,(and suggest buffing up a matt finish)  and ignore models,  though note the similarity in the above pic  finish to the Spitfire model above.

So, a new Spitfire will look different to a well used one, though very rarely do then end up looking as tatty as some modellers would have you believe...

 

 But if you are just after personal preference, then this should be in the Paint section,  not the WW2 really,  and I would suggest experimenting with different varnishes compatible with your chosen paint,  as what works for one modeller may not for another. 

 

HTH

[ToonarmY]

An eggshell finish would be fine. I just want to avoid a very flatt matt or a shiny gloss like a glass coat. 

 

Would hate to ruin a model through trial and error of various brands

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, ToonarmY said:

Would hate to ruin a model through trial and error of various brands

buy a cheap starter kit to test on,  or a scrap one,  a toy from a charity shop,   anything that that you can paint with what you want to use will do,  some folks use the back of plastic spoon for paint test shot comparisons,  as they are curved but the same shape,  

 

Paint stripper will get off any failed experiments,  and gain, not a bad skill to learn.   But if you don't try out different materials, you won't find what works for you. 

 

FWIW, I used W&N Galeria matt, which had a slight sheen, but you could vary this sheen  by mixing in a gloss. 

 

HTH

[Giorgio N]

My choice is Vallejo's satin varnish. It's not a semigloss varnish as most satin finishes are but is a flat coat with just a hint of sheen, IMHO very realistic.

Only problem I can see is that this is a water thinned acrylic-vinylic paint, quite different from the paints you're used to. It can be sprayed on top of your paints, as long as the underlying coats are properly dry, but it requires a bit more attention when airbrushing as the quick drying time can lead to clogs at the airbrush tip. This can be easily sorted by adding a couple of drops of retarder to the paint, and personally I've never had problems with this, but some modelelrs find it a bit frustrating.

[alt-92]

11 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

My choice is Vallejo's satin varnish.[...] but some modelers find it a bit frustrating.

Ditto on the retarder/flow improver. Same happens with their gloss btw. 
As for the finish itself, it really depends on the subject. 
Even restored warbirds greatly differ in finish.

MH434 / B-ZD Duxford 2019

or 

 

N-3200 / QV- Duxford 2019

[Seawinder]

Couple of suggestions from my own experiences. I too prefer a finish that is not dead matte. I often use Micro Flat from Micro Scale, which is a matte coat with a definite sheen. I like it for Spitfires. I'm in America and don't know how hard it is to source Micro Scale products in Europe. Second, if you're into Mr. Color stuff, they do very nice clear coats: gloss, semigloss and flat. I'm more and more using their gloss for pre-decal surface, and I often use them for final coats if it's gloss or semigloss. You can mix any of them together to tweak the amount of glossiness and/or matte-ness to your personal taste.

[tank152]

I notice you use MRP, and why wouldn't you, they're superb,so just use their Semi Matt clear. 

[ToonarmY]

1 hour ago, tank152 said:

I notice you use MRP, and why wouldn't you, they're superb,so just use their Semi Matt clear. 

Thanks everyone for you input and experience. I couldn't initially find an MRP satin or semi matt but will take another look.

 

Alot of people have suggested W&N Galeria matt in other topics i searched however i found the example completed models using it looked incredibly flat

[Work In Progress]

One way to do this, which I find looks excellent, is to do the whole thing in the flattest final coat that you will want for any part of it and when it's had a few weeks to cure properly then use car wax, in my case Autoglym Super Resin Polish, to lift certain areas to more reflective levels as required. Cotton buds and a fine clean toothbrush are helpful.

[Dana Bell]

Back when I still had the time to build models, my favorite technique involved spraying thin coats of lacquer-thinned enamels, allowing the paint to dry for a day or two, then polishing the surface with old nylon stockings.  If, by chance, I overbuffed a section, a thin touchup coat seemed to work just fine.  This was similar to the technique used on the actual aircraft, and gave a great final effect on 48th and 32nd scale models.

 

BTW - make sure your lady is really through with those nylons!

 

Cheers,

 

 

Dana 

[NorthBayKid]

Neither a blindingly glossy finish nor a completely dead matte finish is generally accurate for a real airplane.  Super high gloss for anything but a brand new airliner or a racing plane makes a model look like a toy, and there are virtually no real airplanes that have completely flat finishes.  And if they do, they don't stay that way very long when they are operated.

[Procopius]

7 minutes ago, Dana Bell said:

BTW - make sure your lady is really through with those nylons!

Alternately, you can consider some bold new fashion choices for yourself, and take control of the supply.

[malpaso]

I usually use Galleria Matt on warplanes, but have done some post-war ones with Galleria satin which gives a nice finish too.  To be honest my last was the Airfix 14 and I left it in the Future gloss used to seal the decals, and I rather liked the shiny warbird look!

[OneEighthBit]

Didn't Edgar find the official wartime instructions on the factory paint finish? I remember it saying something about making sure everything was smoothed over to help reduce drag.

 

I would assume this gave it some sort of "sheen" though I guess in most service pictures their a bit mucky and look more matt.

[Rolls-Royce]

IIRC, the MAP directed the change of camouflage colors to a smooth finish rather than the rougher matt finish fairly early in the war. Although only Sky is described as "Type S" by some sources, all the permanent finishes eventually became "Type S"

[Troy Smith]

On 15/01/2020 at 11:58, ToonarmY said:

Alot of people have suggested W&N Galeria matt in other topics i searched however i found the example completed models using it looked incredibly flat

I suggest buying the matt AND gloss, and then mixing together for required glossiness,  also to try buffing the matt varnish, 

On 15/01/2020 at 10:25, tank152 said:

I notice you use MRP, and why wouldn't you, they're superb,so just use their Semi Matt clear.

which is you like MRP, is most likley the answer, though you can mix different types varnish to get your desired sheen.

18 hours ago, OneEighthBit said:

I would assume this gave it some sort of "sheen" though I guess in most service pictures their a bit mucky and look more matt.

why guess.  I linked to a flickr gallery.  

 

On 14/01/2020 at 21:02, Troy Smith said:

There is a gallery here of ww2 colour images of Spitfires, which is well worth some careful study,  

https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=8270787@N07&q=spitfire

 

[ToonarmY]

I actually managed to get in touch with the guy that built a competition winning model that i was trying to replicate the finish of. 

 

If anyone is looking for othet options they used Dullcote Lacquer in a bottle mixed 50/50 with a lacquer thinner

[woody37]

I tend to just use matt and apply it thinly. The more you put on, the more Matt it goes. This gives the ability to vary the sheen across different surfaces too. If you want a sheen, just don’t put as much down.