clearcoat over decals?

thanks for the info. I have seen the bottles, it just never came to mind to use it on rockets.

Does it actually harden?

It's like liquid acrylic and dries semi-hard like acrylic paint
one advantage is it can be stripped/re-applied simply by using more future over it.(and it smells flowery).

Micromeister said:

Should look something like this in the store

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Well, except for the blue background -- most stores don't get that fancy in that portion of the store....

-Kevin

Will Pledge with Future in it work as well? I was at a Wallyworld yesterday and all they had was Pledge with Future.

Will Pledge with Future in it work as well?

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Same stuff, new name. Tried it for the first time the other day. Works great... those little poly brushes will hold an amazing amount.... very easy to use way too much.

Should Future be thinned before putting it through an airbrush? Also, is there any special clean-up required? (I would imagine not from what has been said, but it doesn't hurt to ask.)

No thinning,because it's already very thin.
Airbrushing it is a little tricky, you have to spray in very light coats,letting it tack up between coats , or it's guarenteed to run.
The good news is , if you mess up... simply wipe it with future and spray some more.

it also helps to lightly scuff the surface if you have a problem with it beading up in areas.

clean the airbrush(thouroghly !) using windex(with ammonia)..I once glued my passche vl together by not cleaning it well enough.
Now I use a cheap ammonia cleaner concentrate from Dollar general(it's works much better)

I use a cheaper airbrush, just for future application anymore

I am also curious how well "future" helps hold decals down.

I recommend clear over small vinyl decals, it helps hold down the little parts.
they seem to catch easy when they are handled a lot. a good example.

On the DER RED MAX set there are all the little "kills" markings (tanks trucks boats etc) they have little tiny edges etc, if you handle a rocket a lot you may pull some of those small edges. clearcoat seals those onto the rocket,
so when you handle them you can't get under them at all.

Will the future dry hard enough to do the same thing. Sue?

I do think that Future looks great. I just wonder if it protects as well.

thanks for all the input guys it really does help out!

stickershock23 said:

I am also curious how well "future" helps hold decals down.

I recommend clear over small vinyl decals, it helps hold down the little parts.
they seem to catch easy when they are handled a lot. a good example.

On the DER RED MAX set there are all the little "kills" markings (tanks trucks boats etc) they have little tiny edges etc, if you handle a rocket a lot you may pull some of those small edges. clearcoat seals those onto the rocket,
so when you handle them you can't get under them at all.

Will the future dry hard enough to do the same thing. Sue?

I do think that Future looks great. I just wonder if it protects as well.

thanks for all the input guys it really does help out!

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Theres your first mistake Stickershock.
What makes you think another layer of clearcoat holds anything Down? ALL; and I mean ALL clear coats dry to about a 1mil film. Being Clear it has NO overlapping pigment platlets to create the bond as does pigmented dried paint films. Because of its chemical makeup it become extremely brittle after exposure to UV in any form. At least the dry Polymer film formed by either Future or NU-finish crosslink and have UV inhibitors.

Recently Krylon and others have been releasing a UV resistant Clear that has made at least that part of the problem a bit better but it's still not a durable film for handling.
Oh for the days of REAL Silk Screened Decals with good Ol'e NazDar Decal Clear silkscreen ink overprinting. Yellows like all gee-wiz but at least the thickness made for handling protection.

When I print my Alps decals I make a habbit of applying at least 2 very light coats of Krylon #1309 matte UV clear followed by a finishing coat of 1305 Gloss UV clear. This generally give the decals enough body to stand up to a good bit of handling under a final applications of NU-Finish or Future.

John,

Thank you for the input. sounds reasonable.

One thing. I am not saying the clear will hold the decal in place, the adhesive does that. the problem I see is like this.

look at a set of DER RED max decals. look at the "kills" part. there is a tank. look at its barrel. the barrel cut out is almost as thicker than it is wide. that means the adhesive has very little area to make that little tiny tab adhere to the rocket. the same is true with the battle ship, it has a tiny antenna looks like a cross. now the adhesive will hold it down to a point. but is you handle it alot then you get greasy fingerprints right at that little tiny piece of vinyl.

The greas from your hands will to some point dissolve the adhesive. especially if you have been flying rockets, cleaning cases etc. all of that stuff on your hands will work at the glue and make it fail after some time. BUT only on the little tiny parts, the big ones have enough adhesive behind them (larger area) so they really don't see the affect.

By putting a thin coat of clear over your decals you effectively seal that side of the decal so the grease and worse from your hands cant get to the glue to start breaking it down.

I do totally agree that CHEAP clear coats will yellow with time spent in the sun. BUT if you are spraying on automotive or similar clear, they have all sorts of good stuff to keep them from doing that.

I hope that clears up what I was trying to get across.

Me personally I do NOT clearcoat over vinyl decals. unless i want to seal in those tiny details. as a matter of fact the ONLY rocket I have that I have clearcoated over is my SMALL der red max (2.6") my big one (5.5") has NOT been coated and the decals are holding out very well.

One more side not. Stickershock does do PRINTED vinyl decals. and they all get a UV coating! it is made specifically to protect your decals from the sun and fading!

Thanks for all the input!

Mark,for the kill markings, future would help a little bit , but not near as well as a good spray clear.
Think of it as a very runny clear acrylic liquid that's used to give some shine and to protect waterslides.but not so much for vinyl.

future does a great job of repairing a lifting waterslide decal.I could imagine it also repairing a lifting vinyl decal if it were seeped under the loose vinyl.

Stymye said:

clean the airbrush(thouroghly !) using windex(with ammonia)..I once glued my passche vl together by not cleaning it well enough.
Now I use a cheap ammonia cleaner concentrate from Dollar general(it's works much better)

I use a cheaper airbrush, just for future application anymore

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SO there is no problem with using paint in the same air brush as Future? Just started learning how to use my new Paashe airbrush and I read somewhere about the possibility of fish-eye when spraying paint from the brush after using other materials.

you can spray future and acrylics in the same AB.
I have tinted Future with acrylic paint to act as a candy color, it works !

Looks great on the Der Red Max,haven't had a chance to put on the decals you sent me stickershock23,but they look GREAT!!!!The rockets that I put Future on really shine.

Well I went out and bought a bottle... ok I didn't just go out to buy Future, but I saw it and said WTH....

stickershock23 said:

Well I went out and bought a bottle... ok I didn't just go out to buy Future, but I saw it and said WTH....

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I just put your decals on today and after 45min. of dry time,applied Future to my Der Big Red Max.It looks Great.Thanks stickershock23.Will try to post pictures.cjp.

Glad you like them, Can't wait to see it!

Received my decal today. Thanks so much. I'll report soon and also place an order.

cjp said:

I just put your decals on today and after 45min. of dry time,applied Future to my Der Big Red Max.It looks Great.Thanks stickershock23.Will try to post pictures.cjp.

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I took these this morning,the picture of the nosecone has my fingerprint on it.

View attachment IMG_0024resized.zip

It definatly has that gloss shine to it.

how did you apply it?

With a small 1 inch painters brush,I found that a little Future goes a long way with only a single coat on it.It's better than any clear coat I have tried,but I just got back into this hobby this past summer after 38 years.

I use clear lacquer. Depending on what it is and how big, I use Model Master clear gloss (shot from an airbrush) or a rattle can of super gloss. The trick is light coats to avoid the runs. With a rattle can, I just back-off a bit and fog.

I receive a "sample" from Stickershock" with the promise that I would report using Future over his product. I cut the decal in half, placed one half on each of two tubes, treated one-half with Future and the other half without. The results showed the half treated with Future were quite a bit shinier and seemed to have a protective coating. The Future does darken the paint some, but the protective feature seems worth it. Thanks Stickershock. I'm your newest fan and will send an order soon.

Marlin523 said:

I receive a "sample" from Stickershock" with the promise that I would report using Future over his product. I cut the decal in half, placed one half on each of two tubes, treated one-half with Future and the other half without. The results showed the half treated with Future were quite a bit shinier and seemed to have a protective coating. The Future does darken the paint some, but the protective feature seems worth it. Thanks Stickershock. I'm your newest fan and will send an order soon.

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Thanks Marlin, I think the Future is going to work rather well,

I know a picture may not do your results justice, but it would be nice if you could post a picture.

Should I sand the finish coat before applying vinyl decals? What about before applying clearcoat?

My rattlecan finish coat looks good, but not great. I was careful to apply thin coats, but the result is that the finish coat is not glass-smooth. There is texture to the coat where the individual paint drops hit. It looks good straight on, but when I look at it from a glancing angle, reflections are grainy.

I have gotten glass-smooth surfaces in the past with a thicker coat, but the danger is that it will sag. So I am at a crossroads:

a) Sand and apply another, thicker finish coat. Then stickershock decals.
b) Sand and apply decals. Then clearcoat.
c) Apply decals (without sanding first). Then clearcoat.
d) Apply decals. Then Future.

Any suggestions?

Kevin: First, make sure that the paint coat is thoroughly dried and cured. (Give it at least a week.) Then get a bottle of 3M Scratch Remover from your local auto parts store. Apply some to a clean rag (it is a thickened liquid), and use it to rub down the paint surface, working bit by bit in one area at a time. Apply more Scratch Remover to the rag as needed; keep it moist and don't let it get too dry. Apply Scratch Remover to the rag and then use that to polish the paint, rather than squirting the Remover directly onto the paint. With a little bit of patience and some elbow grease, you can remove much or all of that graininess and get the surface much smoother. Slightly dampen another clean rag and use it to wipe off any residual Scratch Remover when you are done.

There is a technique to applying spray paint - there is more to it than just pointing the nozzle at the rocket and pressing down. The technique is simple and easy to learn, and done correctly, it will produce even coats and help you to avoid getting those gritty patches. I don't want to get into it here, though, because I don't want to turn this into a painting thread.

Mark, future works really good at holding the smaller decals down. The thin layer is all you need as long you have some adhesive tacking the vinyl down.

MarkII said:

Kevin: First, make sure that the paint coat is thoroughly dried and cured. (Give it at least a week.) Then get a bottle of 3M Scratch Remover from your local auto parts store. Apply some to a clean rag (it is a thickened liquid), and use it to rub down the paint surface, working bit by bit in one area at a time. Apply more Scratch Remover to the rag as needed; keep it moist and don't let it get too dry. Apply Scratch Remover to the rag and then use that to polish the paint, rather than squirting the Remover directly onto the paint. With a little bit of patience and some elbow grease, you can remove much or all of that graininess and get the surface much smoother. Slightly dampen another clean rag and use it to wipe off any residual Scratch Remover when you are done.

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MarkII: Have you used the scratch remover technique before applying vinyl decals? Do they adhere ok?

stickershock23 said:

Another tip. always wipe your rocket down with some rubbing alcohol before you apply it. clear really does not like to stick to anything greasy.. even fingerprints.

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NO not rubbing alcohol, some rubbing alcohols have oils in them, and/or high water content.

I know what you mean though, however i would suggest that the bottle says "isopropyl alcohol"


I have had excellent results from Testors or Model masters "Top coat" clear and lately I have been using Model masters "Pearl coat" clear over my whites...

Its very user friendly, dries fast, but like anything else, dont spray too close or it will run and turn yellow.

I tried using Krylon's Crystal clear howver i wasnt pleased with the results as in my case it tuned flat. not clear.... I had to spray many multiple coats to get it to shine.

Where do you find Future?

I tried Home Depot, Walmart and Kroger grocery store with no luck.

I just used Rustoleum 2x gloss on my Wizard Space Transport posted in the Wizard gallery with decidedly mix results.

Body tube/fins: no problem with paint or decals. Primer Rustoleum 2x (last time. Nozzle prone to plugging. I like the Rustoleum Auto Primer much better.) Pink is Krylon, the rest is 2x Rustoleum. Had to sand down on small drip at the base of the body tube. (I know mixing brands of paint is not always a good idea, but I've had no problem applying Krylon over Rustoleum primer.

Nose cone: had problems here. Paint is the same pink as above. Paint blistered -for lack of a better name - in places. Decals are fine. I did not prime the nose cone. I guessing this was the root of the problem.

These were very old decals I found at LHS. Decals were prone to breaking and had to applied gingerly.

// Micro: Thanks for posting the pics of your trials.//

Bones