Testers dullcoate did it again.

number9

Member
I'm sick of it. This is the secound time Testers laq dull ate my paint. I let the Tamiya acrylic paint dry for three days. I wanted to smash the kit against the wall. But I did the rite thing and I walked away. Let me run this by you guys/gals. Should I spray a couple of fine coats of future on fist, then hit it with the dull? I like to seal each stage of painting. Is that too much future? I want to end up with a flat finish. I was told that Modge Podge makes an acrylic clear. Whould that work?

Thanks..
 
I know what you mean. Lacquer solvents are not kind to other types of paints. I have learned the hard way to try to only use same types of paint together. I have succeeded using lacquer over enamel or acrylic paints, by spraying a very light coat of the clear lacquer so that the solvents evaporate before they have a chance to attack the paint underneath. A heavy coat gives the solvents more time to attack the other paints.


Tamiya makes a clear flat paint that you can use instead. I don't know if it is as "flat" as Testors, but at least it will be compatible with your color coats.

My rule of thumb is: You can paint enamels and acrylics over lacquer, but not lacquers over enamels and acrylics.
 
Maybe I was a little heavy handed. I was reading more on using future and It yellowing over time. I may just stay away from it. I use Model Master and Tamiya acrylics only. Should I start using Tamiya gloss under my oil washes, apply Tamiya acrylic flat to protect my wash, weather and chip and then a final coat of gloss or flat?
 
I never have any luck with dullcoats no matter what brand, if it doesn't just flat out make a mess it orange peels.
 
Last edited:
Man, talk about a timely thread. I'm almost done with my Bandai Red Jammer (done mostly in Tamiya acrylics, with the gloss coat being PFM, and I was thinking about using up the Testors dullcote can that I have lying around. Glad I read this thread!

SB
 
applying laquers over acrylics is not recommended, but you can apply acrylics over laquers or laquer over laquer and acrylic over acrylic to be safe, whenever I use Tamiya paints I use Tamiya dull coat the same for testors, try to stick with same brands.

GFollano
 
For me... the issue has ALWAYS been Testors. I stay away from their paints all together. I've never had any issues with Tamiya. :)
 
As a retired commercial illustrator with 30 yrs exp. with paint, rattle cans, air brushes, brushes ect,.

MOST of the time it's "operator error" AND wrong type of paint over paint.

Enamel should NEVER go over Acrylic. Non Acrylic or enamel (Tamiya) paint should never go over Acrylic.

Acrylic CAN go over Enamel.

Dull-coat
Gloss-coat
Simi-Gloss coat

If you use Testors is is ALWAYS a lacquer, which is a type of enamel.
Light coats to start- Ie a MIST coat at least 3 times BEFORE you lay it on.
LET it DRY completely between coats - At least 3 hours BEFORE you coat it again.

Questions to ask yourself BEFORE you paint: What kind of primer are you using? What kind paint for beginning color coats?

I use mostly Testers for base color coats and Dull-coat / Gloss coats. Testers rattle cans are ENAMELS. They take up to 2 weeks to cure completely in some cases.

Whats up with the "future wax" clear seal coats? What am I missing on this? Are you talking about floor wax?? I do not get the how or why of this technique at all.???

Lastly, TEST your paint combination on something other than your model FIRST, use the left over spru or some other parts that are the same kind of plastic.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
e
 
Retiredadguy, I certainly wouldn't say "never." Not recommended, certainly.. but never? I have put enamel over acrylic many times in the past with no issue. As long as the acrylic is dry and you apply the enamel either VERY carefully by hand or via airbrush you shouldn't (read: 98.9% of the time) have issue.. just comes with experience bending the rules I suppose. Learning exactly what the tolerance is of acrylic and enamels. You can also get interesting effects and new techniques mixing these mediums.. oil and water at its finest.

As for future, it is just an acrylic sealer, it isn't a wax. Can be sprayed out of an airbrush right from the bottle, goes on nicely, self levels, and cures crystal clear and strong. It's very common on smaller models, but I use it quite a lot as a sealer over faux-metal and chrome pieces. Most sealers cut the shine of chrome down to a dull silver but Future doesn't which is very handy. It works even better than Alclad's Aquagloss.

Most recently I've gotten into the habit of using it as a barrier coat between the lacquer metal paint and a 2pack (urethane) clear coat with great success.


As for your final point, I agree. Test, test, test! I always have Speedshapes on hand to good around with new paints, techniques, and general tomfoolery.
 
I gotta say, I've been building kits and painting figures for 45 years ( damn I'm gettin' old!!) I've never had as good a result on my models as when I started using Apple Barrel, Delta Ceramcoat and Folk -Art acrylics....I sponge, brush or spray them on, I never use a primer, and when done, I seal them with multiple coats of Future, and once decals are dry, I future again, and flatten the paint by airbrushing on a coat of Microscale clear flat. This stuff is all inexpensive and a lot less toxic than enamels, and lacquers, give them a try! These paints stick to just about everything, even resin, without primer! And the finish is very strong to boot. Just let each application of paint dry overnight and you shouldn't have any trouble
 
I have found the flat clear finish from Dork Tower lays down with no texture, sheen or color loss. It smells like vanilla while drying.
 
This seems like another "ask 100 people get 100 different answers" questions again. Trial and error of what works best for you might be the not helpful answer. Or, don't mix brands. I only use Testors enamels and never have trouble with their dullcoat. I do use acrylics for my washes and Krylon for basic colors like white and black, still no issues. I have had krylon clear destroy decals, so I don't use that anymore.
 
I've been using Testors lacquer flat and gloss for decades. I thin down the clear flat with more lacquer thinner, and use a light coat with 35+ PSI through my airbrush. I will also use the gloss lacquer over paint decals on brass HO scale locomotives using the same method. The higher pressure helps to get rid of most of the thinner so it won't damage the other paints.
 
I use Testors Acryl acrylic clear to seal my models. I use Testors Acryl Flat clear with a couple of drops of Semi-gloss clear mixed in to eliminate the chalkiness. This is an acrylic clear so it's safe over decals and most paint types and doesn't yellow over time. It should be sprayed in light mist coats to cure correctly. I also use Future before applying decals and will seal the decals with more Future. I've never had Future yellow.
 
I'm somewhat of a novice myself and have built a few of the Bandai models and had pretty good success using Mig Productions oil paints for weathering. I have done very little painting so far and have mostly just applied the waterslides straight to the unpainted plastic, given it a coat of Testers Glosscote and then weathered via dry brushing various Mig oils or sometimes "gunk" washing (heavy dose of straight oil paint then wiping most of it all off) with the oils and I've achieved some pretty good results. There have been a few times where I'd really prefer to thin down the oil paint with Weber odorless turpenoid and follow the approach FichtenFoo does with his Millenium Falcon demonstrations on YouTube. Every time I've tried though, the oil paint thinned with even the slightest bit of Weber odorless turpenoid just destroys the gloss coat, lifting it right up. Does Tamiya gloss or matte finish work better with paints thinned with odorless turpenoid? Any other gloss that might work better? I don't use an air brush so Future isn't an option for me right now.

Note: I've had a good experience so far sealing my oil paint weathering with Testers Dullcote at the end of the process.
 
This thread is more than 7 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top