Mike Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Aqua Gloss Alclad (ALC 600) Alclad are working on expanding their ramnge lately, bringing some interesting new products to the market to fill gaps in their lineup. If you're not already familiar with their line, they produce an excellent range of realistic metallic finishes, including chrome, and a widening range of primers, all of which are pre-thinned for airbrush use, and clean-up with their own thinners (reveiwed here), or cellulose thinners if you don't have any to hand. A couple of bottles of Aqua Gloss turned up on my doorstep a good few weeks ago, and I've been testing them since then. I prefer to review tools and paints once I've had a chance to give them a proper test-drive, so although we've had them a wee while, I'm only now getting round to reviewing the product. As the name suggests, Aqua Gloss is an acrylic gloss varnish (for the avoidance of doubt!), and clean up immediately after use is with water. I should imagine that if you let it dry in the airbrush though, you'll be able to use household ammonia to re-liquefy it, in much the same way as most other acrylic paints. The bottle is plastic with a black screw cap, and contains 120ml of the varnish, which is a milky white in the bottle. The one question that everyone seems to ask of new clear gloss varnishes (in the UK at least) is "Is it a substitute for Klear?". Quick answer is... yes, it does seem to be, as you can dip your canopies in it, and you can spray it to give a nice tough gloss finish. I did a test of a spare Fw.189 canopy first, not really taking too much care with drying it, as I wasn't too concerned if it didn't work. It did though, and the canopy is now nice and clear, although it does have a few fibres stuck in it due to my lack of diligence! Dip your canopies with impunity folks - although you'll have to decant some from the bottle, as the neck isn't all that wide. Next was a spray test. The first test was a couple of removable panels from the Fw.189 I built recently, and as expected, it glossed up nicely, even with a relatively quick application. Enamel based washes don't seem to affect it, which is a good thing, as Mig Productions are my wash of choice these days. It also means that Mig filters should not affect the paint, which puts another tick in the box. The final spray test was on the Tucano that I'm building at the moment (here), substituting Aqua Gloss for Klear in preparation for decaling. I was very pleased to see that it behaves very much like Klear in this respect, despite the initial milky look to the liquid in the bottle. The initial coat is somewhat matt, but as you pass over it (it dries very quickly) again, the gloss increases until you have a nice smooth finish that's suitable for laying down your decals without risk of the dreaded silvering - the trapping of tiny bubbles in the microscopic imperfections of a matt surface. I've left my Tucano in a more satin finish for the moment, as it'll be suitable for decaling, but will matt back quickly once I've finished the decals. I'm not a brush painter, but I took a wide flat brushful of the stuff to one of the flaps on the Tucano, and was pleasantly surprised at how nicely it went down. It will probably take a few coats to obtain a properly glossy finish, but although it isn't intended specifically for brushing on, it does work. Conclusion It's a good acrylic gloss varnish in its own right, and will also be an equally suitable substitute for dipping canopies. It appears to brush on well too, so should also appeal to those of us that are still using brushes to finish our models. Top marks and a hearty recommendation. Review sample courtesy of Alclad 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Jase Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Nice, I'm glad you like it and it's immune to Mig Washes. I've got a bottle of this and the new Satins and Matte's to try out on my Spitfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxus Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Dumb question - but do you think that the Promodeller washes would work with this varnish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Jase Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 Yes! The Promodeller washes will work fine unless you're using chemicals to clean them off, but they are water based so shouldn't be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pte1643 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) Sounds good... How much wedge will get us a 120ml bottle? EDIT: Found it... Reasonable price too. Edited August 20, 2011 by pte1643 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 For those having trouble trying to find this new wonder stuff, hannants has it in stock. http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ALC600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-cars Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 I also have ALC 600 in stock as well £6 a bottle. A few found new homes at the Yate show today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismac60 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Hi Mike What pressure did you spary at for the pre decalling? regrads Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom726 Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Mike, The Klear Kote Gloss lacquer from Alclad tends to dry up just a little bit tacky. Is it the same with this acrylic version? TIA Bjarne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 8, 2011 Author Share Posted September 8, 2011 @Chris - my usual 1bar of active pressure. @ Bjarne - I've heard of one other case of the Klear Kote Gloss staying tacky, but never experienced it myself. The Aqua Gloss dries very quickly and with no tack... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyp Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Ok silly question. Can this stuff be sprayed out of the bottle with no thinning required? Also can you use the other Klear Koats (Matte, sheen etc) over this? Thanks Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-cars Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 All alclads are pre thinned to be used out of the bottle. ALC600 can be used as an undercoat for alclad metalics, so I don't see why you shouldn't put Kleer Kote finishes over the top. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyp Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Thanks Paul, I knew the colours are pre thinned just wasn't sure about the clears. Thanks for clearing (bom bom tish!) that up. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismac60 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 (edited) Hi Guys Had two bottles from Paul a few weeks back, follow the instructions!!! Dont stir, shake or move at all before using. Works really well in light coats, highly recommended. Used it to dip some canopies instead of my usual Kleer. The dipped canopies where excellent and dry in a day. Chris Edited September 16, 2011 by chrismac60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismac60 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 @Chris - my usual 1bar of active pressure.@ Bjarne - I've heard of one other case of the Klear Kote Gloss staying tacky, but never experienced it myself. The Aqua Gloss dries very quickly and with no tack... Got it 14.50377438972831 PSI Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Kaeck Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 (edited) I see the thread isn´t the freshest but I´ll give it a shot and see if someone has experienced what I´m after. For me the most important question would be: How much does the Aqua Gloss knock back the sheen and shine of NMF and silver finishes ? We all know Kleer puts the shine back a couple of steps over Alclad II... Wasn´t this product developed to maintain the same or a closer level of the shine as an uncoated Alclad II NMF sprayed area ? Would appretiate to hear if anyone has done this comparison. Thanks Matt Edited April 24, 2014 by Matt Kaeck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Hi Matt In my experience, it doesn't knock it back much if at all. I seem to recall coating my Supermarine 224 with a coating of it before decaling, although my memory isn't the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunter1969 Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) Hi there can this be used over Tamiya Acrylics, and is it safe to use Microset and Microsol over it when applying decals Edited April 6, 2016 by Dunter1969 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Nezumi Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) Hi there can this be used over Tamiya Acrylics, and is it safe to use Microset and Microsol over it when applying decals Yes, it can. You can spray it over just about anything as it is acrylic based, just don't spray it too heavily or it will run and look awful. And it should be safe to Microset and Microsol. Do correct me if I'm wrong. Edited April 6, 2016 by Kuro Nezumi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunter1969 Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I've just ordered a bottle of this stuff. For a Matt surface I normally use W&N Galeria Matt varnish, I take its ok to go over the Alclad with the W&N, without it reacting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Housesparrow Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I am curious to know if a very smooth surface remains very smooth after airbrushing on this stuff. And I guess I would like to know, if the surface is somewhat rough before spraying on Aqua Clear, how thick /gooey does this stuff seem to be if airbrushed on wet. Presumably, one is to airbrush areas wet-in-wet but without flooding the areas. Correct me if I am wrong in assuming this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 I've just ordered a bottle of this stuff. For a Matt surface I normally use W&N Galeria Matt varnish, I take its ok to go over the Alclad with the W&N, without it reacting That is exactly the process I use, Aquagloss and then W&N on top, no problems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunter1969 Posted April 12, 2016 Share Posted April 12, 2016 (edited) Just used this for the first time and I'm impressed with the finish, my question is, can this finish be polished to just bring up the sheen a bit more. If you do guys/ladies what polish do you use Edited April 12, 2016 by Dunter1969 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyOneTwoFour Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Hi folks, I am currently building the Tamiya Porsche 956. It will be the 1983 Rothmans livery, hence there will be some decals applied. My idea at this stage is to seal the white + blue basecoat with Alclad Aqua Gloss in order to have a smooth surface for those decals. I have worked with Aqua Gloss only to a minor extent up to now (at least not coating an entire body), so I'm not 100% sure if it will stand the final layer of 1k Zero Paints laquer clear that I am planning to seal the decals with. I am aware that caution is generally required when applying the ZP clear on decals (spraying mist coats) but my question is if the two clears (Aqua Gloss and ZP 1k) will basically/ chemically be working fine in this combination? The last thing I want to do is ruin those nice decals by having cracks in the varnish... ☹️ Any experiences or advice, someone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Your safest bet would be to do the final clear with aqua gloss then you know you'll be safe. I did it with a Tamiya 1/12 bike and got a very nice gloss finish with the aqua gloss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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