discussion Humbrol Clear Gloss Varnish

[Guest]

I've recently used this product to seal my paint and decals prior to weathering.
It has dried with a crazed finish like tiny small cracks. I have used this product many times but never had this happen before. Any ideas why this has happened.
I hope the final Matt coat will hide this.

 

[rickoshea52]

Humbrol Clear is a load of crap, don't use it. I have been dipping my Phantom canopies in it for the last few days but it leaves white spots where it dries.

 

[peterairfix]

I bought a bottle last year and no matter how many coats I put on it always dried matt so I would say ditch it and I have found hycoat gloss coat works well even though it's made for cars It doesn't seem to react with paint I use and at £4.99 for a large rattle can it seems to last for a long time

 

[col68]

Alan the same thing happened to me last time I used it.
I got so fed up that I contacted humbrol they used every excuse in the book saying I was the first person to have this problem blah..blah..blah. Got so fed up that I dumped every humbrol product I'd ever bought in the bin they will never get another penny out of me.
Anyway rant over .
unfortunately Alan another coat won't cover it mate I ended up stripping the kit back to bare plastic and starting again

 

[colin m]

I used Humbrol gloss varnish for the decal process on a recent build. Lots of problems occurred. Next build I went back to clear, and all was good. There may be a common theme here. I think I'll ditch mine as well.

 

[Guest]

Well I've been using it for ages without any problems, to my mind it's way better than Pledge as a gloss varnish (Klear isn't sold anymore).

As to why it happened, there's a myriad of possible reasons - bad batch, humidity, moisture in the airline (if sprayed on), temperature... frankly it's impossible to give a definitive answer. It's just as likely that the problem occurred during the application, especially if it was airbrushed on. Crazing is often the case if the airbrush was too far away from the model.

As to fixing the damage, a second application might work - that's easier than stripping it back & if it doesn't work, you've not created any more effort for yourself.
If it's an aircraft, I'd say try rubbing it down & reapplying the gloss coat. If it's armour, apply another coat & hope it works to cover the cracking.

Fingers crossed Alan!