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Another thread brushed on this topic, so I thought I would bring this up for discussion. I model many different things and the only thing I use a gloss coat on is cars. Every other modelling project gets finished with a matt. So I am curious as to what others think the right approach is to clear coating is.

I have been thinking about using a matt finish on the cars as well, and was wondering what others think on this. My opinion is the matt gives you a much more realistic look,as the only time a car really shines is in a showroom after a buffing. Many race cars go on to be show cars or collector pieces after they are finished their racing careers, and are always presented to the public in this shiny pristine look, and I guess that is why I have leaned to a gloss coat for cars.

So I am curious to what others think on this, with the knowledge there is no right answer just opinions.

Cheers

Dan

I use clearcoat as much for protection as gloss, and I almost always use Future. That said, I have always felt that a less perfect gloss would look better. Maybe somewhere on the gloss side of satin. A flat or dullcoat just looks like old oxidized paint to me, which can be very effective for some cars.

If you look at pictures of original T/A cars, they never looked as good as they have been restored to. The "showcar" effect today is very evident. With that said, I use gloss on my cars as well for protection as well as it looks nice. After going to Shotgun's house though, I really think there is something to be said with toning it way down. His cars look so realistic not only in how he paints/weathers them but in that they aren't shinny toys.

In the case of the 59 Impala, my goal was to create a BIG contrast between the "shine of the bumpers".

There is a lot of metal (I mean plastic) which makes up the 59 Impala, and most everything else I own has tons of shine, we would take a different approach.

Coolest part of this is that the whole experiment will be less than a $50 investment, and how often does that happen!

Hope to have pictures of the "dull cote" effect later tonight.

Dundee Denny

Thanks for the opinions. I think my next car I will go with a final application of dull coat and just see how it looks. The flatter finish just seems to call out scale model more then gloss. It certainly does on my model railroad projects. However as others have said, some cars just cry out from gloss,

Cheers

Dan

I use Duplicolor clear and on cars that i plan to race, after a mist coat to guard against wrinkling the decals, I apply 3 light coats from about 12 inches away (no wet costs). It gives those cars a protective hard, but duller finish. I like the effect.

Allan