clear coat advises

[christoph0315]

Hey forum,
I'm relatively new to all this and have mastered now some builds. The biggest issue so far I have is the clear coat.
I've tried
- Tamiya X22 - okish but not really shiny. I've sprayed with 70% 30% thinner multiple layers always wet wet and don't get a great end result. Its ok, but far away from expectations. I've used screaming colors like italian red but cant say it looks superb.

- gravity color 2k. Very tricky in handling. I admit I'm new but the whole thing was basically a mess. super reactive, at the last layer it started already curing in the airbrush and than overall, the smell. I have a hobby room in the house, I have a fan for my indoor bike trainer running, a spray booth with fan and the windows open. However, still not enough, my wife left with my 6months old the building and got super mad. I admit, I haven't used wet towels or so for prevention.

I have now zeropaints 1k clear coming in to try out..

Question:
what is your guys experience? Is only 2k the real deal? Do I have to find another environment for clear coating? Is there anything that brings in great results thats not so aggressive? Or am I doing something wrong with Tamiya x22, and the result could be better with corrective actions?

thanks a lot in advance!
Best regards
Christoph

[christoph0315]

bumb... no one having similar issues? Hardly can believe that

thx

[matto21]

Hi there,

I'm assuming that you're building cars?

If so, and if it's the really high gloss finish you're after then, based on experience, I don't think you'll get that from X-22, regardless of how you spray it and in what ratio.

Can't offer an opinion with Zero paints as I've never used them sorry.

Matt

[digger303]

Hi there,

I'm assuming that you're building cars?

If so, and if it's the really high gloss finish you're after then, based on experience, I don't think you'll get that from X-22, regardless of how you spray it and in what ratio.

Can't offer an opinion with Zero paints as I've never used them sorry.

Matt

I'm with you on this....Only used xf-22 and for armor. Just to set the decals base. I don't do cars all I can suggest since the car guys have gone silent is to go back through the forum page "paints and thinners " viewforum.php?f=55 .....
and see what has been asked and said about these clear coats.This guide prepared by Paul in the "REFERENCE section " is very good I'm lead to believe [youtube]zxwK9gQLz7g[/youtube]
Sometimes you just have to take a look.

[BOABModels]

I don't use an airbrush unfortunately so I can't speak for anything like Zero but the best gloss clear coat I have got from a can was Mr Super clear.

It is my ambition to use an airbrush and 2k eventually but not until I get a dedicated hobby room - I don't spray in the kitchen!

[Stokesy44]

If you're looking for something more friendly, both in terms of ease of use and how 'hot' it is, try Alclad Aqua Gloss. Its water based and doesn't react with anything. It wont give you a car showroom type finish but it will be a lot shinier than Tamiya X22

[christoph0315]

Thanks a lot and yes, that helps a bit!
I'm doing street cars and formula one racers mostly so I need that shiny flashy glossy finish.
However, as mentioned before, I have a home office and a spray booth. That is good for all my paint, sometimes it smells intense, we do have a townhouse with open floor plans. But when I go into the clear coats the wife is freaking out on me. And I'm passing out by the fumes. I experienced that the Tamiya x22 is somewhat OK while the 2k from Zero was too much.
But it sounds like, going forward, I have to set something up in a garage or so. Was just curious if you guys have similar experiences since most videos I see online usually show setups similar to mine.
thx