Scale clearcote finishing on racing auto subjects

[modelbautony]

Where has this trend for ridiculously high and unrealistic gloss coats for motorsport subjects come from? I'm all for a good clean and even paint finish without orange peel and I'm often guilty myself of over polishing particularly on high spots.

I'll make no apology but the 'look' is way out of scale and therefore incorrect for our SCALE past time. It also appears that as a consequence the placing of decals has suffered, underneath the gloss coat; it's just not correct. Please someone, show me evidence where any full size car has the finishing coat OVER the decals/stickers:

ferrari-f2001.jpg

As you can see in this example the large 'SHELL' logo on the nose and the small Italian flag on the wing support do not have the same degree of reflection as the surrounding paintwork they are 'stickers'/decals placed on after the finishing gloss coat.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nobody has to prove anything to you. We all model our own way and enjoy the hobby as we see fit.

[Kevthemodeller]

Nobody has to prove anything to you. We all model our own way and enjoy the hobby as we see fit.

Totally agree, you build your model how you want to

That said you're correct many race teams, don't run with very high finish body work with glossed over transfers/stickers. But purely from my own observations some do, Mercedes for one and I think most mainstream teams nowadays do to. Driven no doubt by corporate/sponsorship imagine and it's now cheaper and easier to paint bodywork to a very high standard.

In contrast to 50 - 90's where it appears they didn't.

[Paul]

Who cares

[Gary30]

I clear over decals to protect them, I don't polish to a full on mirror finish afterwards, but people can do what they want.

That Ferrari looks pretty damn shiny to me, even the Shell logo.

[KalebB]

You know it doesn't have to be 100% accurate right?

If it was really about being pin point accurate then all the styrene would need to be sanded down because in most cases styrene pieces are "thicker" than they are supposed to be for whatever scale that they are representing. But who is going to do that just for the sake of "accuracy" of the subject.

People build however they want.

[Twokidsnosleep]

You know it doesn't have to be 100% accurate right?

If it was really about being pin point accurate then all the styrene would need to be sanded down because in most cases styrene pieces are "thicker" than they are supposed to be for whatever scale that they are representing. But who is going to do that just for the sake of "accuracy" of the subject.

People build however they want.

Good answer
I 2k clear my road cars and then decal over that clear
Will do the same for the F1’s, the logic is they were altering sponsor logos thought the season so likely applied over the clear
Couldn’t care a rats ass about it not being appropriate, accurate or scale

[barryf1fan]

Interesting subject you've chosen as your first post... and while I agree that the "glossy-ness" isn't always there, it is on most cars. Unless they are just going for a matte finish. Here is an example of a race car I took a few years ago at CoTA for the Lone Star LeMans race:



You can see the blue stripes are highly glossy, and there is even a guy cleaning and shining up the race car...
On your subject of the OP, I feel you should make the model of the car the way you want it, or, as @Paul so eloquently put it, "who cares".

[Twokidsnosleep]

Interesting subject you've chosen as your first post... and while I agree that the "glossy-ness" isn't always there, it is on most cars. Unless they are just going for a matte finish. Here is an example of a race car I took a few years ago at CoTA for the Lone Star LeMans race:



You can see the blue stripes are highly glossy, and there is even a guy cleaning and shining up the race car...
On your subject of the OP, I feel you should make the model of the car the way you want it, or, as @Paul so eloquently put it, "who cares".

That thing is friggin sweet
The line into the rear, is that the air jack???

[barryf1fan]

That thing is friggin sweet
The line into the rear, is that the air jack???

Yes, they had that one up on the on-car jacks... don't know why, most the time when they're working on the car under the tent they're on blocks... here's a few more from that race - it was awesome.

You can see the blocks in this shot... but the car is still on the car pit jacks







Looking at Turn 1 at CoTA







Here's a Ferrari 458 GT3 gearbox



Aston Martin DB9R front fenders / Tires



Shot from the backside of the pits - during practice before Quali.



Mazda LMP









Got more, but there's a sample - I love the one's in the "garage" area.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Awesome photos!!
Man some people operate on an entirely different level that us mere mortals...look at those cars!
Loving the Aston Martins

[Gary30]

You can see the blocks in this shot... but the car is still on the car pit jacks

They put ‘blocks’ around the air jacks when they are actually working on the car, it’s just a safety thing in case something fails (a seal or a valve etc) in the air jack system while they have guys under the car.

[Stokesy44]

Wow, the shiny thing syndrome is strong here

You boys and your toys

[Hawkmoon]

The BMW Z4 from Fugimi came with matt decals and the only way to give them there true colour was to add a clear coat so it's not always the modeler a with fetish for shiny stuff at fault here.

[Stokesy44]

The BMW Z4 from Fugimi came with matt decals and the only way to give them there true colour was to add a clear coat so it's not always the modeler a with fetish for shiny stuff at fault here.

My bad. I wasn't referencing the original issue when I mentioned shiny things. I was talking about the shiny thing joke where you want something because it shines. It was a poke at petrol heads because I don't build cars or bikes.

[digger303]

Wow, the shiny thing syndrome is strong here

You boys and your toys

Ostriches .....

[tomabromaitis]

When I was working for a USF2000 team we often would use a spray on quick wax on the cars. Vinyl stickers and all. They wouldn’t be as shiny and “deep” as the paint... but they would be shiny!

I clear over the decals myself. More for protection and ease more than anything if I’m honest.

[SteveNoble]

Whilst I agree that the glass like finish, with the decals sprayed over with clear is technically incorrect, I still clear over decals myself. It's more to protect them and stop them lifting in the future. I've got models that I built from years ago that are as good as when I built them that have been 2k cleared...

[newjerseydamo]

Too early in the morning.

[Ixlr8nz]

The Ferrari at the start is extremely shiny