Minwax Polycrylic

[doctormike]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

I use Varathane brand water base clear coat, now. It goes on more smoothly with less bubbles. It is more flexible when dry. It can be found at Home Depot. I use a foam brush and it looks like a spray finish. Read all my posts on this for more instructions. Good luck!!! Doc

[Pheonix]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

First off Welcome to the Forum 8416W !!
 
Some of the oil based have chemicals that will damage the foam . Some instant and some slowly . Use a water based . It will not hurt the foam . The  best options we have found  are , the Minwax , the Hobby Coat , and the brand that Dr Mike has mentioned quite a bit . He has found it and speaks very highly of it sorry I can't recall the name but if you look thru his post you will see it .

I personally have used the Hobby Coat and the Minwax . Both work well . I break the Minwax down with a little water and use thru a airbrush . The Hobby Coat I just brushed on with a foam brush .

All three work really well and my past experience now tells me to always do it . It does protect the finish . I do mine before I assemble the plane .

Hope this helps .

Bryan 

Do you an problems with your needle clogging when air brushing with Minwax?  When you say a little water, what ratio do you use?  Thanks.

[8416w]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Thank you for the information everyone!

Is it ok to apply the poly to plastic parts?

[Pheonix]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Sure. I do so all the time.

[doctormike]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

It adheres very well to plastic, however, I use 600 grit wet/dry paper first, just to be on the safe side. Doc

[8416w]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Thank you for your help.

[Hippie 64]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

First off Welcome to the Forum 8416W !!
 
Some of the oil based have chemicals that will damage the foam . Some instant and some slowly . Use a water based . It will not hurt the foam . The  best options we have found  are , the Minwax , the Hobby Coat , and the brand that Dr Mike has mentioned quite a bit . He has found it and speaks very highly of it sorry I can't recall the name but if you look thru his post you will see it .

I personally have used the Hobby Coat and the Minwax . Both work well . I break the Minwax down with a little water and use thru a airbrush . The Hobby Coat I just brushed on with a foam brush .

All three work really well and my past experience now tells me to always do it . It does protect the finish . I do mine before I assemble the plane .

Hope this helps .

Bryan 

Do you an problems with your needle clogging when air brushing with Minwax?  When you say a little water, what ratio do you use?  Thanks.

Just a little clog problem but not always . I run 2/3 wax to 1/3 water . You can even go half if you want to . Works good for me . Hobby Coat is too thick also and I've not tried cutting it down yet

Bryan

[Pheonix]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

First off Welcome to the Forum 8416W !!
 
Some of the oil based have chemicals that will damage the foam . Some instant and some slowly . Use a water based . It will not hurt the foam . The  best options we have found  are , the Minwax , the Hobby Coat , and the brand that Dr Mike has mentioned quite a bit . He has found it and speaks very highly of it sorry I can't recall the name but if you look thru his post you will see it .

I personally have used the Hobby Coat and the Minwax . Both work well . I break the Minwax down with a little water and use thru a airbrush . The Hobby Coat I just brushed on with a foam brush .

All three work really well and my past experience now tells me to always do it . It does protect the finish . I do mine before I assemble the plane .

Hope this helps .

Bryan 

Do you an problems with your needle clogging when air brushing with Minwax?  When you say a little water, what ratio do you use?  Thanks.

Just a little clog problem but not always . I run 2/3 wax to 1/3 water . You can even go half if you want to . Works good for me . Hobby Coat is too thick also and I've not tried cutting it down yet

Bryan

Thanks so much!

[doctormike]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

First off Welcome to the Forum 8416W !!
 
Some of the oil based have chemicals that will damage the foam . Some instant and some slowly . Use a water based . It will not hurt the foam . The  best options we have found  are , the Minwax , the Hobby Coat , and the brand that Dr Mike has mentioned quite a bit . He has found it and speaks very highly of it sorry I can't recall the name but if you look thru his post you will see it .

I personally have used the Hobby Coat and the Minwax . Both work well . I break the Minwax down with a little water and use thru a airbrush . The Hobby Coat I just brushed on with a foam brush .

All three work really well and my past experience now tells me to always do it . It does protect the finish . I do mine before I assemble the plane .

Hope this helps .

Bryan 

Do you an problems with your needle clogging when air brushing with Minwax?  When you say a little water, what ratio do you use?  Thanks.

Just a little clog problem but not always . I run 2/3 wax to 1/3 water . You can even go half if you want to . Works good for me . Hobby Coat is too thick also and I've not tried cutting it down yet

Bryan

Thanks so much!

 It's Varathane waterbased poly. Much better quality than Minwax. I've only found it at Home Depot. Doc

[Hippie 64]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Hey Doc I ordered from Amazon of all places. I don't have a Home Depot close by . Are you cutting it down ? Spraying or brushing? 

Bryan 

[doctormike]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

I thin it just a little with distilled water. I use a foam brush. It looks like a spray job. It adheres very well to spray paint, which I use now, since the new foam doesn't melt. A tip... pour your Varathane poly into a plastic container. All metal cans rust with water based acrylics. I've had a lot of paint ruined because of this. Have fun! Doc

[Grossman56]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Personally, I've never diluted Minwax as she shoots on straight easily through my brush.  Its a great glazing medium as well if you want to make the plane look old or whatever it will mix the color down to nothing. You can layer up you paint that way and it works great.  I'm going to try the Varathane as Doc recommends just as soon as I can picks some up

Grossman56

[Wisconsin John]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

The polycrylic worked great for me on my FMS P-51 Red Tail (2 coats). But let me warn you, you better double check your CG. I had to add 4 oz to the nose to balance out. Always check your CG after painting or clear coating your planes. Hope this helps.
Wisconsin John

[doctormike]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Hi, Gman. Adding acrylic paint to the clearcoat sounds like a great idea for antiqueing or whatever. I'm going to experiment with the idea. Doc

[Grossman56]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Hey Doc, I like the Varathane!  I see what you mean and I love the idea that it has a UV protectant in it as well.  Yeah, I tried mixing in paint when I did the P51B, its great for tying the whole paint scheme together as well, so the plane looks like its been sun bleached rather than some parts look new and some look old.  Unless that's what your going for, in that case, block out the new parts and spray the rest.  Lots of fun.
The new P40B is going under the gun pretty soon as the planes that the Flying Tigers flew would have been hauled off to the nearest scrap heap if they'd have been in the States.  Imagine flying with a magneto zapping you the whole time!!!
It happened.

Grossman56

[Flygirl]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

GMan, What do you mean when you say it looks sun bleached?

[Grossman56]

RE: Minwax Polycrylic

Faded by the sun.  Like a car that never gets waxed out here in the desert, eventually all the luster is lost and the paint tends to either look like its been whitened, or in the case of green, the yellow starts to dominate (Yellow and blue mixed make green)

To start, I blackened the edges of the panel lines on Shangrila with a thinned out black paint, then used the paint I had scanned to match the color on the plane (good ol' Ace Hardware), thinned out and changed slightly, either mixed with a little white or a pinch of yellow and thinned out.  The top of the engine cowling was just white, then I blocked out half of it with a piece of cardboard and sprayed the other half again to change the color slightly to give the effect of a panel line.  Same with the bottom, only I used blue to vary the color and watered down black for the stains.  Gun smoke was the same black, just layered where I wanted it thicker.  One thing about the gun smoke lines, make sure they're running straight back, otherwise they look pretty funky.

Grossman56

[crxmanpat]

Reviving a slightly old thread. I have been using Minwax Polycrylic recently on some planes with great success. I was in Home Depot the other day looking for a flat finish, but all they have is Gloss, Semi-Gloss and Satin. I've used Satin, but it still leaves something of a shine. What are you guys using to dull the finish? Do I have to go to the LHS and buy Testors dullcoat?

Also, based on Doc Mike's comments, next time I'll be buying Varathane brand.

Here's some pics of my Phase 3 YF-16 that got 4 coats of Gloss. That thing really shined!

[doctormike]

Varathane!!! So much better quality! I threw my Polycrylic away! Doc

[Grossman56]

Well, I didn't go quite as far as Doc, but he's right Varathane is better. Out door version with UV protectant. I've posted this several times , I know, but the results speak for themselves. I'm sure you can get a dull coat, or at least a satin. I ended up blending a satin with my final coat of Acrylic paint, which is usually flat anyway, blend a small amount of paint and it creates a glaze over the areas painted, a great way to 'fade' your paint. A glaze is like the effect you get by laying a colored plastic over something, but more subtle, based on how much paint you mix into it.
Shangrila is about as flat as you'd want to get.

Grossman56