Paint Clear Coat Questions
 

I have heard of some guys using Future floor polish because it is an acrylic over color coats. Krylon fluorescent paints like I used on my Lasor-134 have a powdery finish similar to a flat color paint. I used rub on decals for my lettering.

Any suggestions on what to use for a clear coat/protectant over Krylon fluorescent paint? I used a clear coat on my originals many years ago that stayed clear and showed no signs of yellowing but I don't remember what brand/type I used. Fluorescent paints look nice but soil so easily.

Suggestions? What works for you?

I know a clear coat over this color will dull the finish some but I'd still rather protect it ;)

I'd like to know, too. I used flourescent oreang on my NCR SR2650, and left it alone because I didn't want to 'de-flourescentize' (huh?) the effect.

Sean

I've never found a solution to this.

It may be that the florescent effect depends on the surface being exposed.

Although, come to think of it, you can buy glossy florescent stickers. The effect isn't as "blazin'", but you might give up some of that "flare" in exchange for durability.

I haven't used florescents in a while. If I "needed" to, to make a high flyer visible, I would not put any decals or striping on the florescent area, so that it could be resprayed.

I found a nice hobby clear coat at Michael's on sale and tried it out on my Daughter's Javelin.

We painted it Flourescent Pink (with a black ring, two black fins and some silver stars to boot).

We used several thin coats of it to get a nice gloss and the pink is still pretty hot. I thought the stuff was on clearance (only a dollar at the time so I bought six cans) then it came back up in price. It's supposed to be archival quality (non-yellowing).

Hope this helps.

I finished a 4" LOC nose with Krylon Fluorescent Orange; I clear coated this with Krylon Gloss coat and the nose still seems to be fluorescent to me.

I didn't find anything at any of the craft stores over the weekend but I did find some Krylon crystal clear and satin spray at a Wal-Mart about 30 miles from where I live. The satin spray has a ball in the can but the crystal clear does not. I tried both. I sprayed the satin on my Lasor 134 and the crystal clear on my recently finished ARG booster and both went on well. No blushing or runs but a heavy lacquer smell, more so than the regular Krylon colors. The fluorescent colors are still very vivid.

It seems to try to the touch pretty quick after a few thin coats.

Thanks to all who offered suggestions. I hope this will protect the fluorescent finishes from black powder residue and dirt from the flying field.

Clear coat, Crap!!!
 

I am posting right on topic as I need help as well. I just finished my IRIS based on ST10 tubing and painstakingly created decals for the B&W pattern and logos. Came out beautiful until I sprayed crystal clear Krylon. Well, now my beautiful rocket has a haze as if dusted by a forensic unit for fingerprints. Never saw this before. What the he!! do I do now? I am almost heartbroken. There should be no interaction as the decals were sealed with the same krylon and the fins had only the krylon red paint, no other sealers. Any help would be appreciated, in the meantime I will finish my Sentinal without a clearcoat. I do have acrylic thinner, should I attempt to wash or remove the haze? strip it completely? cut new fins, tube and salvage the NC? sob! BTW Camera date is off, taken today.

Bob

Hi Bob;

Gosh - what a great looking IRIS model! Makes the blush problem all that more anguishing (as if you need someone to tell you that).

I've had Krylon Crystal Clear blush on my models before, and as I recall, it had to do with humidity.

Krylon spray paints are quite sensitive to humidity. Some colors are less sensitive than others (the Gloss White being more tolerant, the Gloss Black I swear will blush as soon as someone turns a faucet on in the next room!) but all will blush under the right (wrong?) conditions. This includes the Crystal Clear, although it must be quite humid (comparatively speaking) for this to occur.

I like using Krylon as these sprays are easy to use and they possess some pretty terrific coverage qualities. But because they are so humidity sensitive, I've installed an hygrometer in my garage (where I paint) to keep track of the Relative Humidity. Above 50%RH and I'll forget the Krylon. I'll either switch to a more tolerant paint (like Rustoleum or Testors) or not bother painting on such a day. But when switching to another paint, one must keep track of compatibility issues.

As for Gloss Coats, I've got to the point where I use Krylon Crystal Clear for larger rockets, but use Testors Gloss Cote for the smaller ones. The Testors Gloss Cote is again more tolerant, and has fewer compatibility issues. It also is not as hot as Krylon Crystal Clear, so there's less chance for a decal problem as well. The only downside (apart from its expense) is that it will yellow with age (something I've not seen the Krylon Crystal Clear do yet), which can be a bit of a concern with white models.

Relating all of this, however, does nothing to solve your problem. You have two options that I can see:

1. take an extremely light grit (#800 or higher) and lightly wet sand the Crystal Clear. Re-coat with Testors Gloss Cote.

2. If that doesn't work, then strip the model and start over. Since Option 2 is the default, you've little to lose by trying Option 1.

Best of luck; hope some of this helps. Please re-post when you've resurrected the IRIS. It really does look like you have a great model going there.

DON't dispair...we can fix !

First off this is ultimately the hardest part!

WAIT!...do nothing! for at least a week[U].

Place the model in the warmest dryest room in your house. Someplace where you can leave it alone or a few day. Preferrbly someplace you can't see it easil;y so you aren't tempted!

I have had the "blush" (that's what it is) actually go away after several days.

If not, then do all of the other stuff..But do nothing for now!

Report back afer a few day...don't do anything to the model yet...she looks too good to mess up!

I'm Blushing?
 

New to me. It rained yesterday here in NY and heavy dew this morning. As I painted in sunlight, I never thought about the humidity. Should have, apparently. Thanks for the info. I'll wait to see if any others have experienced this and wish to comment. Hopefully, they will respond before I "option 1" tomorrow. Is there an issue with Testors clear over Krylon? Is it a lacquer? I dunno, but I would hate to bubble up. Thanks again for this and all of your contributions to the BAR community.

Bob