Question about Future floor polish as a gloss coat.

[Harry Harris]

Am I right in thinking that the depth of sheen of this stuff is dependant on how much it's diluted with water?

I have a piece I'm currently working on and I don't want to give it a really glossy finish, just more of a light sheen. If I dilute the polish with quite a lot of water would this give the right effect?

I am going to do some tests tomorrow but if anyone can offer any advice in advance I'd be grateful. Oh, and for the UK modellers I think Future polish is called 'Johnsons Klear' here in the UK.

Thanks in advance,

Harry.

 

[Clerval]

Hit the brakes... you're off. Get some Tamiya Flat Base...

3:1 Future to Flat Base = very flat
10:1 Future to Flat Base = flat
15:1 Future to Flat Base = satin

For full gloss, spray Future straight, be sure to allow it to drip off a bit or it'll puddle oddly. Great stuff for decal base.

Best page ever on Futre (Matt Swann... one of the best damn model sites period)

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

 

[Harry Harris]

Excellent, thanks Clerval.

Harry.

 

[moffeaton]

Don't forget your filters.
http://www.missing-lynx.com/rare_world/rw02.htm

 

[Harry Harris]

I have no idea what that all means. :lol

Harry

 

[moffeaton]

Hehe - neither do I.




All kidding aside - it tones down the vibrancy of a deco, adds a uniformity to the "tone" of colors, and mimics the atmospheric "interference" - like instead of looking at a 1:48th airplane on a desk, you're looking at a 1:1 airplane at a distance through whatever particles are present in the atmosphere - like how mountains look less vibrant from a distance (Impressionist paintings have shadows appear as more "purple" than black/grey, for example). It's a color manipulation that fools the eye on a more subconcious level. Sounds wacky but damn if it doesn't work.

<div class='quotetop'>(Harry Harris @ Jun 3 2006, 12:40 PM) [snapback]1255448[/snapback]</div>

I have no idea what that all means. :lol

Harry
[/b]

 

[Clerval]

This filter technique is useful if you are trying to mimic a r/l painted surface and need to convey that this surface is painted metal as opposed to painted plastic, or vice versa.

Simply put, in every instance in which you paint, you can opt for putting down nice matte, satin or glossy color and letting things go... OR you can actually try to paint a surface that looks like a specific material. Option two is harder, but in using layers (and btw, this for the most part changes drastically if you've used a metalizer underneath... you then have a different series of filtering issues to contend with, but you can get much better effects) you build up a color and material 'visual definition' through color depth and 'blending through layers on the model surface' so to speak... you have got to have incredibly thin layers of paint for this... maybe 5-10% paint at most.

The patience needed is... well, I think 5% of my models have had it done, and that was when I was doing ID and prop stuff. For kits? Almost useless, depending on the kit scale. Better to trust metalizers and faux finish techniques.

 

[Harry Harris]

The thing I'm working on is a fictional creature so how it looks in real life is largely irrelevant. I just want to make parts of it shiny, but not too shiny.

Harry

 

[Clerval]

Ah yes, an old shiny but not too shiny fictional creature. I love those.

Um, all I can really recommend is that you experiment a bit; Future can give predictable results, but only after you've played with it for a while... you'll definitely want a few days of experimenting, and be certain that however you work up the experiment, it's close to how you think you'll work on the SBNTSFC. ™

Have fun...