A smooth silky finish

Now this has helped, I have been using rattle cans , but not cutting/sanding between coats. I am trying to start using Zero Paints, but you talking about the use of Alclad for the gloos and it being water based has possibly changed my mind. I do many Le Mans Group C days and also Sportscars. No civvy stuff. White and red and black or blue are the main base colours, masking of course on the proto’s is a nightmare for me. Look at the Latest Tamiya Toyota TS 050 Le Mans winner, great post mate

Hey JW @Joel_W , I don’t venture over to the gear head side very often but this topic caught my attention, as I was scrolling through the posts I came up on your JPS Indy Racer, this has been a long time favorite of mine and I wanted to give you kudos for the build, nice presentation! The Shelby is very nice as well . . . interesting side note, I saw Carrol Shelby’s personal Cobra go for $5.5 mil at auction a couple weeks ago. Thanks for sharing, Keep 'em coming.

Cajun

Cajun,
Thanks so much for those more then kind words. It’s really appreciated.

Joel

I was searching for high gloss finishes and found this on Swanny’s Models old site where (Text copyright © 2003-2015 by Matt Swan) he discusses Future finishes for modelling. And he states the following, which I have yet to try myself. Prep is still important for the final finish, however, if this works the look will be fantastic. I will be trying this on my model for the Beasts group build (Porsche 911 RSR). I have copied the entire article and have saved it as a Word file if anyone wants it. See below.

“Future and Simple Green
Future is great for creating a good medium gloss finish and with repeat layers and light sanding at 800 grit between layers can generate a fairly high gloss but if you want something truly outstanding then you need some Simple Green. Simple Green is a household and industrial cleaner found throughout the United States. It can be purchased in concentrated form or premixed. Most grocery stores carry the pre-mixed variety. In a small cup mix three parts Future with one part pre-mix Simple Green. Apply to your model with an airbrush using 15 to 18 psi pressure and about four to six inches of distance. Apply an even slightly wet coat then immediately cover the model with a large bowl or clean box because this will be a major dust magnet. Allow to cure overnight. When you remove the cover your model may appear to be wet still but no, this is the finish that is achieved - a STILL WET LOOK! You can apply a second coat if needed but be sure to cover the model again during the cure process. I failed to do this with one of my cars and it attracted a collection of fine dust particles and they really show up on such a high gloss finish. The Future seems to dry with the same hard finish as when used normally. Due to the high gloss aspect fingerprints will show up very easily so keep a lint free polishing cloth handy for when you cannot resist touching it.”

David,
Future/Pledge floor finisher is by no means the best way to achieve a smooth and deep gloss finish on your car models. I use it for small gloss finishes like dashboard lenses, and hand glossing tires prior decaling, but that’s it.

The standard Clear gloss lacquers and now 2K Urethanes are the way to go for the best finish you can get on your models.

joel

Kent Models stock Mr Levelling Thinner, as well as a massive range of models requiring a shiny finish.

Cool, thanks , found some on e/bay which I bought, but its nice to be able to get some from a local source, and they stock Fujimi kits.
Andy :slight_smile:

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