Clear coats

[Garion77]

Does someone knows if the tamiya clear coats in cans, we can decant them in a jar ? What other brands are good ? I have acces easily to model master, tamiya, vallejo and alclad.

[aur0ra145]

I really like the Alclad II Aqua Gloss ALC600 for most of my airplane models. Tried it once on armor and it worked alright there too. This is for use with acrylics and such. Don't know about what to use with enamals.

[lv2bf111]

Alclad works great with enamels especially since it if very resistant to solvents. So going over the top with enamel washes and the like is pretty easy.

Vallejo varnishes are good when used on small parts as they protect well, however I have had trouble on larger areas and no longer use them on large areas that is what the Alcald is for. Vallejo does make a Matt, Satin, and Gloss varnish which is nice, I mix about 50/50 matt and satin varnish for the final coat on figures as it allows the colors pop but without the glassy look. Kind of a compromise.

Model master acrylic clear coats are not very good in my opinion, I have them but I don't know if I will use them again.

I have never used Tamiya but they use the same carrier formula as their paints which are probably the easiest to use paints I have ever tried so logic would say it would be good. I have also seen people around here who like it, especially thinned with Leveling Thinner.

With that said I do use Rustolium primer and there clear coats decanted out of a can with success. The trick is to spray it into a bottle about half the bottle full no more or it makes a mess. Then leave the bottle open for 1 hour, I set a timer so as not to forget. This will allow the propellant to evaporate. After an hour close the bottle, give a gentle shake and slowly reopen the bottle, if it has a noticeable hiss leave open for a few more minutes. Keep doing this until no noticeable hiss is found. After that you have pure paint that can be used. I would not expect the Tamiya in a can to be any different.

[Garion77]

thank lv2bf111
very helpful

[Garion77]

I really like the Alclad II Aqua Gloss ALC600 for most of my airplane models. Tried it once on armor and it worked alright there too. This is for use with acrylics and such. Don't know about what to use with enamals.

Do you know the difference between the aqua gloss and the gloss klear kote ?

[jelliott]

I'm a little late in adding to this thread, and you may have already got your answer. If not, the difference is that the Aqua Gloss is an acrylic gloss coat and the Gloss Klear Kote is a lacquer like the rest of the Alclad range of paint.

[minster]

Does someone knows if the tamiya clear coats in cans, we can decant them in a jar ? What other brands are good ? I have acces easily to model master, tamiya, vallejo and alclad.

Yes, Tamiya cans can be decanted quite safely but do be careful as the decanted paint will have a lot of gas in it that needs to be allowed to gas out before you seal or shake the container. I decant using a straw (there are other methods as well) then carefully move the container to a shelf where it can sit unsealed but covered to keep dust out of it, sometimes for as long as overnite.
If you seal or shake too early while there is still gas evaporating, there is a good chance that you will end up the same color as your paint when you open the jar:)
Just be aware that the amount of paint that is in your container will drop substantially while this gassing out process is happening.
The Tamiya TS13 (Clear Gloss) decants just the same as all the other Tamiya paints but I have never used it as a final coat due to many controversial threads on google regarding drying times of the clear vs the top color coat

Alclad Aero Gloss gives a very nice coverage and is my 'go to' clear coat.

I have no experience with other brands, paints are not as available here as they are in some countries unfortunately.