How to seal acrylic paint?

[wefalck]

Bill97, the colour begins to look good !  I would have, however, sanded down the moulded-on wood structure - compare with the photographs.

[Bill97]

Wefalck, if you were me would you leave the color alone now or put a lighter wash on it? I don’t want to sand it down now that it is done to remove the simulated wood grain and start over. Will live with it on this ship and maybe do that on my next one. 

[Landlubber Mike]

1 hour ago, BobG said:

Mike, I often find that rattle cans have a tendency to "spit" tiny blobs occasionally even when I'm consistently shaking the can and wiping the nozzle. Did you have any problems like that using the the product you referenced? 

 

I'm going to be using Vallejo Air Acrylic paints to paint the hull of the Pen Duick that I'm building currently. It looks like the hulls of these racing sailboats have very polished finish. I've been wondering what will be the best way to obtain that kind of finish on the hull so this product may be a possibility. I'm not sure whether semi-gloss or gloss would be the way to go either.

I was worried about that too.  I've been using Tamiya rattle cans for paint and they tend to spit which annoys the hell out of me.  I have to wait for it to dry, sand, and then cross my fingers and try again.  On the F4B-4 and P-6E builds (linked in my signature) I was wondering if I would have a similar issue but everything worked perfect.  Now maybe it spit blobs but you can't notice them because it's a clear coat, but again, I was super impressed by the finish and bought a can of semi and gloss that just arrived today.

[kurtvd19]

 I will only use a rattle can for primer - it will be lightly sanded so it spitting isn't a big deal.  Any rattle can paint I apply other than primer is decanted and then put through one of my airbrushes.

Kurt

[BobG]

17 hours ago, kurtvd19 said:

 I will only use a rattle can for primer - it will be lightly sanded so it spitting isn't a big deal.  Any rattle can paint I apply other than primer is decanted and then put through one of my airbrushes.

I think that's wise advice, Kurt.

 

 

[Bill97]

I ultimately went with a lacquer in a spray can. Numerous very light coats. Basically one swipe across the surface each time and ample drying time between each. Seems to have come out all right. Went with a semi-gloss. I am satisfied. 

[wefalck]

Sorry to say, but decks were always matt, as they were always bare, untreated wood that more or less regularly scrubbed with a piece of sandstone ('holy stone') .... but it is your choice.

[vaddoc]

I remembered that once I used Rennaisance wax over wood treated with Tung oil (after it had cured). This wax is completely transparent, did not change the colour at all and did not really add any shine-the wood though was pear sanded to 400 grit. This would certainly seal and waterproof the wood. Maybe this would have been a option but not over painted wood.

[wefalck]

This is acrylics on polystyrene. No wood involved here ...

[vaddoc]

Oh dear, I completely missed the plot then! 

[Keith Black]

 Eberhard, I know you dislike Poly applied over acrylic because of the overall gloss, correct? Other than the sheen aspect, what would be the harm in applying Poly over acrylic paint?

 I have applied Poly over painted surfaces for years, numerous projects including modeling and I've yet to encounter a bad side effect. I'm not sure this isn't a case of "we agree to disagree."

[Bill97]

Wefalck. I know you are right on the matt finish. I thought about that after I finished it. Tried to convince myself it was OK but obviously it is noticeable to anyone who knows about these ships. Probably should give it a couple coats of matt finish before I progress any further. 

[Bill97]

OK wefalck, the deck is now matt. Have to admit I do like it better. 

 

 

[wefalck]

Yep, looking better 👍

 

As I noted earlier, I think, playing with the different levels of sheen between the different materials adds visual interest and underlines the character of the material, particularly, when you simulate material with paint. In a 2D-painting you bring out these effects with high-lights and painted-in reflections, but on a 3D-object the view-point and illumination changes, plus the inherent reflectivity of the surfaces, so one can really only work with this reflectivity to create the feeling for the material. Figure-painters to some degree use both techniques, but it does not work so well on larger objects.