Scale fuse clear-coating

[MAJIC]

I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions on what type of clear coat to use on my 2 scale heli's under construction. They both will be gloss black with gold trim. The first is an Align MD500 for my Trex-450SE V2 and the second is the Thunder Tiger Twinstar with a Trex 600E. I'm wondering if I should use Krylon primer and paint with some type of clear coating or go with an automotive clear coat maybe applied by an autobody shop?

[Rodan]

Whatever you use, you need to be sure that the paint and the clear are compatible, otherwise the clear could destroy your paint job. I would stay away from Krylon (unless you're going to use a Krylon clear) as it doesn't play well with others. It's very hard to get a good finish with clear out of a can...

I use automotive base and clears, and have had very good results.

[Super-Hornet]

I use Tamiya Clear. There are 2 types... one is normal clear and one is flat clear.

For Normal Clear, the end result is glossy look. For Flat clear, the end result is matt/flat look. It depend on what is your paint u use... For example, if u paint UH-1 Huey or AH-1 Cobra rotor blades, u use matt/flat black. U then use Flat clear. If u use normal clear, the blades become too glossy look.

SH

[MAJIC]

Thanks for the info. Is the Tamiya clear applied over Tamiya paints or have you tested it over other types of paint?

[Super-Hornet]

I recommend you to try it out on a test area. I always use empty plastic coke bottle for testing.
Tamiya paint is acrylic type and its material (and solvent) is different from normal car type of paint. Thus it should not affect your original color. Again, recommend to test it.

Do not spray too thick on clear paint though... it will cause some odd looking to your color.

SH

[Super-Hornet]

I recommend you to try it out on a test area. I always use empty plastic coke bottle for testing.
Tamiya paint is acrylic type and its material (and solvent) is different from normal car type of paint. Thus it should not affect your original color. Again, recommend to test it.

Do not spray too thick on the clear paint though... it will give u some odd looking color.

SH

[MAJIC]

OK Thanks for the info. I'll do some testing first. Someone suggested trying a clear floor coating. They spray it right out of the bottle and it works great.

[Wyldman]

A few layers of well polished carnuba car wax can really make a canopy shine!