I recently bought a can of Mr. Hobby Topcoat, which I thought would help my silvering problem, but being a newbee to gloss coats, I am still confused on how to use it . Am I supposed to paint the model the desired color, then spray the areas with gloss where the decals would be placed, then spray another coat of paint over that? Any help would be great, Thanks.
-YANK-

Hey Yank,

Typically the painting process is thus -

Paint model (preferably with gloss paint).
Apply gloss varnish or Future
Apply decals on gloss finish to reduce silvering - may help to use Microset/sol
Apply another coat of gloss or future to 'seal in' the decals
Apply weathering to model
Fit any small antenna etc
Spray entire model with final varnich of choice - typically flat or satin

Hope this helps,

Lee

Sorry, forgot to say - attach canopy at the VERY END or mask it.

My methods follow just like Lee's but i tend to be a little more generous on the initial gloss coat. This is so that the surface is as flat and clean as possible before the decals go on.

Applying a thin layer may not work effectively.

Thanks for the help guys, cleared up the process a lot. I really had no clue what to do since the can was written in Japanese. :-) :-)

Lee's method will work if you are plan on weathering the washes only with washes or paint chips. For things using pastels or pigments, it is best to apply them AFTER the final flat coat. Flat poaint makes powders dissapear, or will destroy any shading done with them.

Yes, this is an important point - sorry I didn't mention it but I dont use powders/pigments on aircraft which is probably why it slipped my mind.

Lee

Another decal related silvering tip is to cut as much of the excess non colored film off the decal before it goes into the water.
Use a brand new hobby blade and carefully scribe around the color part of the decal while its on the paper before you put it in water. This will reduce the amount of material that can potentially silver.

I would like to comment, that I found gloss coats (and future) require extended time to try (i do 72 hours), if not fully cured, the may get a milky appearance if you use a decal set.

Do you spray the whole model with future, or just the areas to be decalled? What kind of flat do you use as the final coat?

The whole aircraft... Then your dirty, greasy mits won't affect the paint either!!

In addition, spraying the entire model avoids the risk of having slightly darker patches appear after the flat coat where you spot-painted with future to place a decal. I had this happen to me one time--not fun, since there's no good way to fix the problem without stripping the paint.