Clear coat.. recommendations?

Hi all.

Working on an Estes High flyer with a lot of work towards the 'finish'.

I am pretty happy with the finish I got on the tube, fins are okay too. I applied the decals and finished them off with some microsol.

But I was thinking a good clear coat would be a good finishing touch. I have never had much success with the stuff before and before I go and ruin what otherwise is a good finish, I thought I would ask for some opinions.

Thanks!

Future (floor polish) is popular here, I usually use Rustoleum or Krylon clear, although I don't know how compatible they are with microsol.

NO!!!!

Do not do a clear coat!!!! Resist the urge.

I (as well as many others) have had tons of really bad experiences with various clear coats. They ALL seem to either adhere poorly, yellow, crack or bubble or orange peel or run/drip, etc. Many also change the nature of underlaying paint in various ways......flourescent colours dulling, pearls losing their "pearl", metallics losing there "metallicness", etc.

And yes, this has happened with many paint jobs that were otherwise very well applied with proper techniques, surface prep, cleaning, etc.

As far as the semi-popular "future finish" that seems to come up now and then.....in my experience it generally results in a minor improvement at best, and one that quickly "fades" away with no benefit. I'm not a fan.

I know a few folks who do really nice paintjobs, but that also fail to get anything good from clear coating.

Don't do it.

s6

Ah what you describe has exactly been my experience! Good to know I am not the only one.

I guess I will resist the urge

Here is a couple of snaps of the rocket. Yes I got some overspray of black down by the fin

20191016_171540 by Tom Whit, on Flickr

20191016_171550 by Tom Whit, on Flickr

But check out that tube! Not a seam line in sight!

I’ve had mixed results. Not sure if it’s the humidity but some of my rockets are still sticky years later.

Try a good automotive single stage clear. I don't have a local paint supply that does rattle cans so I get mine from automotive touchup.com. Never had an issue with it attacking any formulation of paint I've used or decals. Pic is of Tamiya Italian red and 3 coats of the automotive touch-up clear on a vintage Monster Beetle. My phone can't quite pick up the depth of the clear but it's there. The paint job is over 6 years old and the car is far from a shelf queen.

Your rockettt looks great as is. With that being said, i always clear over decals and paint. I liiike to use PPG Omni Quick Clear. But I have a paint booth, fresh air supply to breathe and the equipment tttto use it. But i thhink clear really brings out tthe quality of the decals and paint. Do a search for "Conman" on here. He uses spray bomb clear and his work is second to none, also greattt otips on his threads.

For your situation I would recommend Duplicolor acrylic enamel clearcoat. The only problem you are may have would be the clearcoat clouding up if you spray it in humid conditions. If that happens, the cloudiness is only on the surface and will polish off with car rubbing compound.

David Schwantz said:

Your rockettt looks great as is. With that being said, i always clear over decals and paint. I liiike to use PPG Omni Quick Clear. But I have a paint booth, fresh air supply to breathe and the equipment tttto use it. But i thhink clear really brings out tthe quality of the decals and paint. Do a search for "Conman" on here. He uses spray bomb clear and his work is second to none, also greattt otips on his threads.

Click to expand...

PPG Omni is catalyzed urethane enamel. Catalyzed urethane is great but also very toxic and should not be sprayed but anyone who doesn't have a full body suit and a fresh air system.

If you do clear coat, make sure the underlying coats are dry. I mean, REALLY dry. Like, if you can even SMELL paint, it’s not dry.

Ignore the wait time on the cans, give it a week or more and no smell delectable before clear. Otherwise #$=÷×&**........

2K Clear Glamor (high gloss) in rattle cans. Draw back is, it's expensive, and you need to wear a respirator and skin protection. Oh but what a beautiful finish. Very durable as well....

Createx clears. they're easy to use if you have an airbrush or $10 harbor freight paint gun. they aren't as toxic as a spray can. they don't seem to yellow as fast as Krylon. Also it available from Hobby Lobby

For heaven's sake... Don't use what I did here:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...you-use-the-wrong-brand-of-clear-paint.56897/

stealth6 said:

NO!!!!

Do not do a clear coat!!!! Resist the urge.

I (as well as many others) have had tons of really bad experiences with various clear coats. They ALL seem to either adhere poorly, yellow, crack or bubble or orange peel or run/drip, etc. Many also change the nature of underlaying paint in various ways......flourescent colours dulling, pearls losing their "pearl", metallics losing there "metallicness", etc.

And yes, this has happened with many paint jobs that were otherwise very well applied with proper techniques, surface prep, cleaning, etc.

As far as the semi-popular "future finish" that seems to come up now and then.....in my experience it generally results in a minor improvement at best, and one that quickly "fades" away with no benefit. I'm not a fan.

I know a few folks who do really nice paintjobs, but that also fail to get anything good from clear coating.

Don't do it.

s6

Click to expand...

I dont know what clear you're using but....

Seconded on waiting that extra few days. I go a week now in dry conditions before putting on clear. It took ruining one really really nice 130 dollar paint job with an otherwise good clear that clouded to make me more patient. When you get it right, results are GREAT.

Sadly, the colorshift one here is the one I ruined. Before... and after. I've since used the exact same setup and paint and had great results just by waiting those extra few days.

This was my latest attempt with the Pledge floor wax instead of my normal clear. It isn't too bad.

BTW, if using heavy metal flake, the clear really enhances.


Video, because a static shot doesn't do it justice.

fyrechaser said:

2K Clear Glamor (high gloss) in rattle cans. Draw back is, it's expensive, and you need to wear a respirator and skin protection. Oh but what a beautiful finish. Very durable as well....

Click to expand...

+1 to this that's what I used for my L3 to ensure the decals stayed pretty and to add more gloss. The durability of that 2k clear coat is tough as nails. My TAP commented that he wouldn't know the rocket flew if he hadn't seen it. It resisted scratching that well.

I've only done it once. I used Rusto 2X like the paint underneath. I didn't wait the extra time and it came out fine, but I think I got lucky and I will abide by that warning whenever I use clear in the future. If I'm in no hurry to fly then I'll use the no smell criterion then wait another week, just 'cause.

That one time it was to help seal over water slide decals. I hadn't heard of Microsol at the time, and felt nervous about having these pieces of thin plastic just sitting there on the surface. And, even with Microsol, that's the main reason I'd do it again.

There is one thing that went wrong. The decals in this kit included some tin bands around tubes and were just a smidgen short. So I filled in the gaps with a fine tip sharpy. The clear coat went over the decals just like I wanted, but it smeared the ink. If I have short decals to fix again I'll use paint and a brush.

Incidentally, Tom, since you started this thread two weeks ago, I gather this is the same High Flyer that you elsewhere posted about crashing. I feel for you; crashing sucks all the more when it's a rocket you've put so much care and time into.