Is airbrushing Future full strength on a model a good idea? And will it give a terrific shine when polished with a flannel cloth?

Been years since I air brushed Future/Pledge, and then it was cut 1:1 with Windex (if I remember correctly). If you're going to attempt to air brush it straight from the bottle, then you're going to need a flow psi greater the 30 psi. What's more, you're going to have to very slowly rotate the model as a wet coat of Future will run before it sets. And you can count of many coats.

As for polishing the Future once dry for a super shine, you're going to need a few different polishing compounds and hope for the best.

Why not just use a lacquer based Gloss clear coat as that's what they're designed for, and the polish up fantastically.

All I use Pledge for these days is to make instrument lenses as it dries to a decent shine much sooner then Microscale's Krystal Kleer as an example.

Joel

Future has it's uses but not for a 'polished shine'. It's not very cooperative with polishing. Like Joel_W says, try a lacquer clear for shine.

As for airbrushing Future, also as Joel_W says regarding the psi.
Future will bring a flat or matte finish to a semigloss sheen.

If you are trying for a polished shine show car finish, please go with a clear lacquer product.

The other problem with Future as a clear coat is that it reacts differently with different paints. I have had it crack and peel or go foggy or yellow at times. It's just not consistent like the hobby-related lacquer clears mentioned above, I would follow that advice!

Cheers, D

I've read also the previous posts and I must agree with all opinions. Yet! Some guys have achieved excellent results with Future - including myself - over dark surfaces by literally flooding the surface with a soft brush and wicking the edges - never by airbrush. The problem with Future is that takes forever to become sandable so the smart guys that swear by Future also use dehydrators to cure it.
After too many disappointments with its softness and reactivation by humidity, I relegated the Future to what it is: a floor polish. Even the plastic windows I prefer now to polish them with compounds and wax them to a shine before treating them with Future.

Gabriel

Thanks, all! Clear lacquer it is!

Dear Painters,
I've tried every hobby paint in the past from Enamels to High priced acrylic and in the late 1980's changed forever. ,
I discovered Craft Acrylics, i.e. Delta, Anitta's, Apple Barrel and Cream Coat, all were designed for finishing ceramics. I've used them for everything with few exceptions, as I still use Aluminum and other colors out of sray cans. But Acrylics are my favorite for ;
Most aircraft
Armor/soft skin
Figures
And Scenery
Weathering/washes.
Prior to use, I lightly scratch the parts with a green, plain scouring pad and then blow off the green strands. This scratches the surface so the paint will adhere better and not upset the details.

For figures and accessories I use them out of the bottle to get the right layers on the plastic. And in between each application I dry the parts with a hand held hairdryer set on LOW at a few inches above the piece. You do not have to thin the paints for this initial step. Once dry then I do thin acrylic Black and give the whole figure a good layer of black, this fills in every little nook and cranny. I dry the paint again with the hairdryer. After all this I dry-brush a lighter tone of paint over the whole figure, this raises all details, even on the old one-piece Tamiya troop sets.
For vehicles/aircraft I use the scouring pad again, and use my Badger 200 NH which is very reliable after 9 years. I thin my acrylics with about 50/50 ratio of Blue tint windshield wiper fluid and use a Craftsman compressor at about 40psi which is a good rate when I regulate the needle setting on the airbrush for a fine spray.
My work can be viewed in my various galleries, so please have a look. And if anyone uses the same type paints you know than most military colors are matched.
Thank you,
johncpo

I used to spray it straight from the bottle,no thinning,but I dont use it,rather use a modeling product.

I still use future for clear parts, but a few years ago I discovered Alclad Clear gloss is an excellent product for a nice shine. It can be polished within 24 hours, dries hard and clear without distortion, and best of all, it can be applied right over clear parts while they are assembled on the model. It’s also self leveling, but I apply it with an airbrush at about 12-15 PSI. Alclad also makes a clear semi-gloss, and a clear flat. It’s designed to seal in their metallic paint line, without dulling or changing the finish. I have found it tends to yellow in the bottle over time, but this doesn’t transfer into the paint. It can be thinned with Testor’s airbrush thinner, or lacquer thinner, but I don’t recommend thinning it, as it’s perfect right out of the bottle.
VR, Russ

I like their Aqua-Gloss the acrylic stuff also

Can never go wrong with Testors Gloss Cote or Dull Cote for that matter, in the rattle can. Tough, more than 40 years and never had it damage paint. The key is light thin coats. Oh and don't spray over your windshields, mask those.

Exactly why I switched from Testors to Alclad. The Alcald goes on so well, and dries so clear, that you can in fact clearcoat right over the clear parts (For the gloss), and they still come out crystal clear. Way better than future in my experience. Testors did make a product that was great for simulating the scale effect on gloss coated surfaces— Testor’s Metalizer clear coat in the larger square bottle. I’m not sure they make it anymore. When I do use spray can Dullcoat, I decant it into my airbrush, that way I can control the overspray a bit. But I think the original poster was primarily referring to gloss coats.
VR, Russ

Metalizer sealer
https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Paint_and_Construction/metalizer-sealer/TES00001409/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=price&so=a&e=0&kw=Testors&p=3&co=0

Glosscote in a bottle so you don't have to decant:
https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Paint_and_Construction/glosscote-lacquer-1-3-4-oz/TES00001161/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=price&so=a&e=0&kw=Testors&co=0

Dullcote in a bottle:
https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Paint_and_Construction/dullcote-clear-lacquer-1-3-4-oz/TES00001160/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=price&so=a&e=0&kw=Testors&co=0


Wet Look Clear. I've used it on a few anime models and it really looks wet and glossy.
https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Paint_and_Construction/wet-look-clear-coat-laquer-spray/TES00001834/product.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=price&so=a&e=0&kw=Testors&co=0

Patrick,
Yes I’m aware of the glosscoat in the bottle, but it’s easier to use it out of the spray can, you don’t need to thin it that way, and I’m basically lazy! Good to know the Metalizer finish is still available. I still prefer Alclad though.

I haven't used the alclad. How much do you have to thin it for for shooting? Do you use their thinner? And at what pressure? I might want to try it someday.

No thinning, pour and shoot at about 15-18psi.

Cheers, D

Sounds almost too simple. Thanks mate.

Yep, no thinning required, comes in a larger volume flexible clear plastic bottle than Testors, with a hard black plastic cap. But therein lies a bit of a problem, you need to keep the threads of the bottle clean, or the cap will stick, becoming impossible to remove. I’ve fractured a few of the caps, requiring me to seek “other arrangements” for storage. Alclad bottle caps are notorious for getting stuck. The clear itself dries in about 20 minutes at 15-20 PSI as mentioned, but I even spray it at 8-12 PSI. It’s rock hard in 12 hours— hence the cap issue on the bottle.
VR, Russ