Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,815 Location: Muntinlupa
Tips:Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine 9/12 « Thread Started on Aug 6, 2009, 2:41pm »
I thought I'd share this for the growing number of Pinoy customizers here.
Future Floor polish by SC Johnson (sold as Pledge Wipe n' Shine here in the Philippines) is popularly used by modelers and toy customizers as a high gloss clearcoat. It has very good leveling properties (sinks into nooks and crannys) and creates a VERY TOUGH finish (because it was designed for floors) that is essential for TF customs with a lot of moving parts.
Pledge Wipe n' Shine can be found at your local supermarket, just like any other floor wax/polish.
What I discovered just today is that it works wonders not just as a clearcoat, but also with thinning your paint. Thin your paint with water (for acrylics) or paint thinner as usual and then add a drop or two of Future to the mixture. In my case, the mixture was made in a single 'pocket' of one of those cheap plastic kiddie art pallets available from National Bookstore. If you mix your paint in larger containers, add more Future. Just play around with it.
Doing this resulted in: - The paint was able to cover a larger area faster. It seeped into the nooks and crannies of the figure better. - A smoother paintjob - brush strokes were significantly LESS visible, almost eliminated entirely. - Paint coats were a little glossier and were NOTICEABLY tougher. It was pretty difficult to even scratch out mistakes using my fingernail, even if the paint hasn't cured yet.
So yeah, I highly recommend doing this at every stage of the brushpainting process from your basecoats to your topcoats. As usual, paint in multiple thin coats for best results.
===============================================
UPDATE 9/12 - Tightening Loose Joints
Pledge Wipe n' Shine can also be used to tighten loose joints. Just apply the liquid to almost any joint, allow it to dry, and voila - instant tighter joints! There are no negative effects for doing this, and it can be repeated whenever joints loosen. This technique has allowed my DVD OP to hold the weight of his gun, as well as prevented me from losing my MP Starscream's loose fingers.
Joined: Sept 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,000 Location: Singapore
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #1 on Aug 6, 2009, 5:02pm »
thanks for sharing Mampy. i have to try this. Yeah, one problem with painting Acrylic is the noticeable brushstrokes. Had a hard time painting stripe pattern (like the seekers wings) and the brush strokes are still noticeable even if I apply more paint.
Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,815 Location: Muntinlupa
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #2 on Aug 6, 2009, 5:27pm »
You're welcome bro. Brushstrokes happen even with other paint types but yeah acrylics are much more susceptible to them. The trick with that is not really to apply more paint, but to paint with multiple thin coats, and do light wet-sanding in between coats. It's easier said than done, though. I've only done this technique successfully once - on the windshield and windows of my TFTM Jazz. I imagine that using future would help a lot.
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #3 on Aug 6, 2009, 5:43pm »
Cool stuff, thanks!
Some musings:
- I guess the brush you use would have to be disposable? Apparently Future can be cleaned by ammonia, not sure how that will affect brushes.
- From the link you provided: "Results have been poor when mixing Future with Tamiya acrylics and I do not recommend it." I guess that's something to watch out for. When you mixed it with acrylic, did it affect the color as it was being mixed and as it dried?
Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,815 Location: Muntinlupa
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #4 on Aug 6, 2009, 6:47pm »
You can clean Future off brushes using water. It's acrylic/water based so no problem there. AFAIK the article was referring to stripping Future off of painted parts by using ammonia.
Well I mixed it with black Mr. Hobby paint today so I can't say anything about the effect on Tamiya or on other colors. As it was used in that section of the article they were talking about using Future as your primary thinner. I would think that adding a few drops to the thinned paint mixture should be okay. Future is colorless (our version is white, but dries colorless) so it shouldn't affect the color.
Word of warning though, when using it as a clearcoat over Tamiya acrylics I sometimes get very fine hairline cracks in the paint finish. This does not happen all the time, and never happens with Mr. Hobby acrylics. It might be better to use multiple thin coats of Future to seal your paint, and leave it overnight to cure or something in between coats.
Of course, it's always best for to personally try new stuff out on other surfaces first before using them on your toys.
I would think that adding a few drops to the thinned paint mixture should be okay. Future is colorless (our version is white, but dries colorless) so it shouldn't affect the color.
I'm thinking more about mixing the color and having white added to the mix. It generally throws off the color as it is being mixed. At any rate, I hope to try it as soon as I find the time for it.
Quote:
Word of warning though, when using it as a clearcoat over Tamiya acrylics I sometimes get very fine hairline cracks in the paint finish. This does not happen all the time, and never happens with Mr. Hobby acrylics. It might be better to use multiple thin coats of Future to seal your paint, and leave it overnight to cure or something in between coats.
Hmm. That probably means the top coat is taking up a different total surface area than the base coat. If it's not the drying time, I imagine the Future must be reacting with the Tamiya pigment causing it to shrink, pulling the pigments underneath and causing cracks. Does the irregularity appear with the same colors or different ones? If different colors, it's probably the specific pigment. If same colors, most likely something external like humidity.
I'm thinking more about mixing the color and having white added to the mix. It generally throws off the color as it is being mixed. At any rate, I hope to try it as soon as I find the time for it.
Well I imagine that it just adds gloss to your paint, which is why it's important to add only very small amounts (unless of course, glossying up your paint is exactly what you intend to do). I'll try it with other colors to find out.
Quote:
Hmm. That probably means the top coat is taking up a different total surface area than the base coat. If it's not the drying time, I imagine the Future must be reacting with the Tamiya pigment causing it to shrink, pulling the pigments underneath and causing cracks. Does the irregularity appear with the same colors or different ones? If different colors, it's probably the specific pigment. If same colors, most likely something external like humidity.
Interesting...
Yeah I've read something like that on other forums. It has happened to me with Tamiya gloss black and different shades of Tamiya blue. But I've never seen it happen to any of their metallics, maybe because I usually drybrush those instead of painting wet coats.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,302 Location: The Hoshi-Hut
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #9 on Aug 8, 2009, 12:03am »
Thanx sir Mampy!!! this will definitely help me start painting mg TF's... 2 questions though: 1. Is it the best clear top coat you've tried out so far? 2. Is there any specific way of spraying needed with this one? cause i'm used to using acrylic top coats with my marvel customs...
Thanx sir Mampy!!! this will definitely help me start painting mg TF's... 2 questions though: 1. Is it the best clear top coat you've tried out so far? 2. Is there any specific way of spraying needed with this one? cause i'm used to using acrylic top coats with my marvel customs...
THANX A LOT!!!
1. Yup, it's the best gloss clearcoat I've tried for my TFs. Much better than Bosny/RJ London and Krylon. I haven't tried using Tamiya or Gunze hobby grade clearcoats, but I would bet that Future is better protection for the simple fact that it's designed for floors and meant to be stepped on. And the gloss on Future is just simply awesome.
2. Future is also acrylic/water based. Of course it would be best to use an airbrush, but using a paintbrush is okay as well. As usual, best results come with multiple thin coats/sprays.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,302 Location: The Hoshi-Hut
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #11 on Aug 8, 2009, 12:33am »
One more thing sir if you don't mind my asking... should i apply it as clear coat with the whole figure assembled? - would this cause joints to stick? - or with the figure disassembled then reassemble it after the clear coat dries... thanx a bunch!!!
Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Male Posts: 1,815 Location: Muntinlupa
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #13 on Aug 8, 2009, 9:24am »
You can do it either way. I personally like to reassemble the figure first so that I can check for any joint rubbing areas that I may have forgotten to account for. After doing final sanding and touch-ups, I apply the clear coat to the entire figure assembled.
I also like how it tightens up joints, but it doesn't cause them to stick. Aside from clearcoating figures I've painted, I've also applied Future to my MP DVD Prime's hands to make him hold his rifle better, MP Starscream's fingers so they won't snap off easily, etc. So yeah, loose joints aren't really a problem if you have Future.
Joined: Jul 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 1,302 Location: The Hoshi-Hut
Re: Tips: Future Floor Polish/Pledge Wipe n' Shine « Reply #14 on Aug 8, 2009, 12:28pm »
Thats awesome then!!! i've always used the crazy gleu technique to tighten joints but i always run the risk of getting the joints stuck together... & thats happened to me several times! i'm really gona try this out! thanx again sir!!!
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