pre- Clear Coat tips ?

[im888 8]

Hi all, I've just completed spraying 6 coats of Tamiya TS (41, coral blue) onto my Lunch Box (see pics below). FYI I waited 24 hours between each coat of paint.

I understand that I should now let it "cure" for 7 days before applying stickers and clear coat?

My intentions are: after curing, I will apply THESE stickers (Mystery Machine, vinyl) followed by two cans (approx 6 total coats) of TS-80 Clear Flat Spray.

My understanding is that I will need plenty of clear-coat to smooth over the edges of these stickers (which are thicker than the stock Lunchbox decals provided by Tamiya).

I'm also going for a matte look, which is why I opted for the TS-80, and why I will not be sanding my paintjob prior to spraying on the clear coat.

Nonetheless, I'm curious to hear your tips about what to do PRE-clear coat, i.e. I recall someone suggesting washing the paint after curing with dish soap (I suppose to wash off all the paint dust? Up until now I've only used a paper towel and compressed air between each coat).

In another thread, someone else wrote:

Quote

The only reason to sand base coat is if you let it flash out for too long in order for clear coat to properly adhere chemically

What does "flash out" mean exactly? And how long is too long before the clear coat fails to "adhere chemically" to the paint?

And in another thread, this user wrote:

Quote

I had spent far too long perfecting the shell, it was PERFECT, the paint was on, the decals were on, then came the clearcoat and BAM! Ruined. It literally "ate" the decal, it bubbled up and was ruined.

Why did this happen? And how to prevent it? Should I be concerned about the TS-80 Clear Flat Spray eating these vinyl stickers?

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[simalarion 2552]

I did not have this problem using TS clear over the stickers on my Grasshopper hard body which have pearl white colour. But there’s users with far more experience than i have on this forum, just to put that out here

But always do a test, there is always a sticker left over parts you can test on.

When applying clear over stickers the first layers should also be Very thin, so go easy in the start.

[Willy iine 18842]

From my experience with glossy TS paint, if I wait too long between coats (like excess of 2hours) the paint can crack after 3-4 months on the shelf in dry environment.

So my recommendation is to do all coats within the 2-3 hour window during the initial cure..  it appears different coat thickness and gloss rating can bring different shrink rates resulting in layers of paint working against each other.     Just be very careful if one needs to mask certain areas when changing paints..  I only use masking tape for curves and rice paper based Tamiya masking tape.  Standard 3M masking tape will damage the surface unless cured.

It's like the paint has 3 levels of curing..  2-3 hours to initial cure (I can touch the paint without damage), 24hours for cure... then months for full cure.   Flat (matte) paint, no issue.. it usually cursed in 2-3 hours.

[mtbkym01 4575]

I used flat clear over these MCI stickers on my Black Clod, I probably only waited a day before stickering and spraying. I wouldn’t be too concerned about getting the top coat thick enough to smooth out the sticker, paint that thick may cause issues as @Willy iine describes

[alvinlwh 7436]

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[im888 8]

Thanks guys. Still have some questions:

19 hours ago, Willy iine said:

From my experience with glossy TS paint, if I wait too long between coats (like excess of 2hours) the paint can crack after 3-4 months on the shelf in dry environment. So my recommendation is to do all coats within the 2-3 hour window during the initial cure..  it appears different coat thickness and gloss rating can bring different shrink rates resulting in layers of paint working against each other.  

@Willy iine That breaks my heart a bit. Based on all my prior due diligence I thought I was doing it the correct way (letting each coat cure for 24 hours). Sounds like I might be in for an unpleasant surprise within the next several months.  Also, from what I have read, many people wait a week for curing before putting their stickers/decals on top of their paint. What is your opinion/experience on that?

@mtbkym01 Lovely! How many coats of Flat TS-80 did you use? And I have a separate question about applying your stickers: did you use any special techniques such as The Hairdryer Method (heating the decals with warm air)? I'm currently researching that on older threads here, and am getting some conflicting info. The Lunchbox seems to have more body contours and grooves than Clod Buster, so I want to make sure I get my aftermarket vinyl stickers fitted on nice and tight to avoid future peeling.

[Willy iine 18842]

@im888  I would wait a few weeks before applying the clearcoat if you must.  As for decals I apply some times as soon as it is cured.  No issue. 

[mtbkym01 4575]

@im888 I cant recall exactly how many coats, would have been atleast 4 light coats, followed by a heavier coat to finish. Yes I use heat when applying my decals. I place the decal, then heat it and smooth it out removing any imperfections. It works well for me on all my hard body kits

[Willy iine 18842]

@im888  Edit:  For some reason I was thinking you wanted to use gloss clear coat.  If you're wanting to use flat clear coat like Mr. SuperClear, you can apply it whenever you wish.  I've had good luck with that spray (it is acylic and breaths well) with zero cracks.

 

PS:   This forum is becoming wierder every day as some post I can edit, some cannot.. 

[im888 8]

Thanks fellas. At this point I am regretting not just simply dying the body with a bottle of Rit. It would have saved me so much time and so much trouble. I know that painting is many people's favorite part of building an RC kit, and even when I was a kid I loved painting every little detail of my Revell and Monogram model cars with a micro-brush and a set of Testors. But there seems to be so many Do's and Don'ts and potential pitfalls to Tamiya paints that I've found the whole process quite restrictive. Sorry to suddenly be such a Debby Downer; I think I'm just burnt. I really did have fun building the entirety of this Lunchbox with my boy - it's been the perfect starter kit for us - and I'm looking forward to it all coming together (just so that we can go out and bash up our precious paintjob, LOL). I'll post a pic upon completion.

[mtbkym01 4575]

I’ve never had any issues with hard bodies, finish it off, no doubt it’ll end up looking great, dont let it worry you about what “might” happen to it in the future. The best part about styrene bodies is that you can strip it off and start again later on