Now I need to seal the
decals with a gloss varnish before doing a panel line wash.
One problem with lacquer varnishes which spray as beautifully as the lacquer paint, is that they can reactivate the lacquer paint underneath. If you flood the model with varnish it can ruin the paint scheme but even if you have not flooded it there can still be minor issues. I have often found that, in patches where the paint is thinnest, it reveals more of the black base increasing the contrast between the darker and lighter areas. I have often had to go back over these areas with a light coat of the base colour. A bigger problem can arise with
decals simply because the paint under the
decals is not reactivated at all and you get a contrast with the paint under the clear carrier film. Not it is not so easy to spray in these areas without overspray.
The solution is obvious, to use water based acrylic varnish instead of the lacquer or to, at least, put a water based barrier between the paint and any subsequent lacquer varnishes.
I decided to try the latter. The lacquer varnishes spray so much better I really don’t want to stop using them.
So, instead of sealing the
decals with my MRP varnish I decided to use this:
It needs thinning and I did a 50:50 mix with Vallejo
Airbrush Thinner. I usually spray MRP at about 10-12 psi or less but I had to wind up the pressure to between 25-30 psi to get proper atomisation.
While spraying it really did not give me that nice ultra smooth result I get from MRP. It did self-level eventually to an acceptable finish. The other difference being the length of time needed for it to cure. AKI suggest 6 hours but that is pushing it and I will leave it 24 hours. That is not a problem as I am in the office all day today anyway. MRP dries almost instantly and 30 minutes is plenty of time....
It did remind me of just how good MRP varnishes and paint really are and I will never go back to these water based acrylics. But if this works and reduces or eliminates the problem of paint reactivation then it will be worth doing. What I don’t want to do is use this AKI varnish any more than this one coat.
This is how I left the model with the varnish curing.
Tonight I will start enamel panel line washes.