Micador varnish - terror and advice

[Sheriff001]

Hi, I'm starting out, and I tried varnishing. I used Micador gloss varnish to prep for decals. The model was hand-painted with Tamiya acrylics. Micador is an Australian brand, marketed for conventional artists and purchased from a large Australian office supply chain. It did this:

 

Before

 

 

 

 

After

 

 

Would using Mr Super Clear have avoided this? Was it technique (I sprayed rather a lot of it), or was it climactic conditions - fairly high humidity in my part of Australia.

To try to avoid this, I am going to paint and varnish disposable sporks to test techniques. 

[treker_ed]

@Sheriff001   Not too sure what hosting service you are using but the pics are way too small to see any detail😎

 

Even when clicking on them the pics do not increase in size so cannot see what the issue is with the varnish! As a suggestion, you may want to increase to at least 800x600 pixels or 1024x768 pixels.

 

Once we can see the pics, and the problems, we can then maybe give you some help and advice

 

In the meantime...

 

 

[Sheriff001]

Let's give this a try

 

Before

 

After

[treker_ed]

First of all, I don't think you'll rescue that canopy😟 it needed to be masked before the varnish was applied to the.model. I'm not 100% sure about the frosting, but usually it's down to the varnish not being mixed enough before application, and also could be the humidity in the air as you suspect. I've only ever had it happen on application of Matt or flat varnish, and to rectify, usual solution is to apply another coat of gloss, allow it to fully cure, then re-apply the matt after giving it a thorough shaking!.

 

I'm sure others will be along shortly with other solutions, but that's my interpretation of what I can see.

[Sheriff001]

My big concern is it cut right through the paint. 

[treker_ed]

Ah... Didn't see that🥴

 

What type of paint did you use? Being in the UK, I have never heard of Micador Varnish, but from a quick google search, I see that it is a solvent based varnish. It's quite possible then that the solvents in the varnish are too "hot" for the underlying paints that you have used, and this is why it has "eaten" into the paint through to the plastic. That's the other reason for the frosting of the canopy, it's eaten away at the plastic. I would recommend some type of Acrylic varnish or specific "modelling" varnish eg Tamiya clear spray. Maybe some of our BM members from the Antipodes maybe able to assist further with local knowledge on product availability or what the product ingredients in the varnish are that could have caused this to happen. But that's my best guess.

 

@Rabbit Leader Dave would you be able to assist your fellow countryman further with this Micador Varnish problem? Thank You🤔

Edited January 7, 2022 by treker_ed

[Rabbit Leader]

The only advice I can provide is to stick to specific modelling products and don’t be too disheartened when things go wrong. Although results like this are frustrating its also part of the learning stage so thats never a bad thing. I agree with treker_ed, that canopy cannot be recovered but someone may be able to provide you with a spare. If you used Tamiya acrylics for the base paints, the next best step would have been to also use Tamiya’s range of acrylic Clears (X-22 Gloss, X-35 Semi Gloss or XF-86 Matt). There are many good brands out there, but if Tamiya is available I’d stick with them until you master them. 

 

No one creates prize winning models with their first effort. I’ve been modelling for over 40 years and still learn with every build. I also have a least one  ‘recovery’ session on every modelling project when things go wrong. Keep going and watch as many online modelling videos available. Practice will get you closer to perfection, although I’m sure I’ll never reach that limit either. 

 

Cheers, ditch that Micador crap and start another model.. Dave 

[Space Ranger]

I agree with Rabbit Leader. The best advise is to always use finishing products intended for the modeling hobby, and preferably those from the same manufacturer, as they are designed to work together in combination.