High Gloss Finish

[tidalstream]

Good morning, can anyone offer advice on achieving a high gloss finish on a model car? After polishing the paint, do I apply any varnish? If so, do I polish the varnish? What about working with decals?
Thank, Andy

 

[m1ks]

Prep and sand any seam lines, primer, paint, (recommend enamel for its unbeatable gloss), flat only if necessary, spots, runs, debris etc, decals then gloss clear.
After that you can flat with progressively finer grades of micromesh then finish with something like Tamiya compounds but if you're happy with the gloss after clearcoating then that'll be ok, I've used both methods depending on my mood and how smooth I wanted the finished item.

 

[tidalstream]

Prep and sand any seam lines, primer, paint, (recommend enamel for its unbeatable gloss), flat only if necessary, spots, runs, debris etc, decals then gloss clear.
After that you can flat with progressively finer grades of micromesh then finish with something like Tamiya compounds but if you're happy with the gloss after clearcoating then that'll be ok, I've used both methods depending on my mood and how smooth I wanted the finished item.

Thanks for the info; do I need to use micromesh/finishing compounds on the paint itself before applying decals and then a gloss coat?

 

[Deleted member 3568]

Depends entirely on the paint, this is pound shop paint

And this is Halfords auto paint

The pound shop paint is as it came out of the can (although it took nearly a week to cure) the Halfords took some rubbing down then clear lacquer
I think the pound shop paint has a better depth of gloss but only has very basic colours, Halfords however can even mix to exact match.

 

[m1ks]

Thanks for the info; do I need to use micromesh/finishing compounds on the paint itself before applying decals and then a gloss coat?

No, at the most you might need to flat the paint with micromesh prior to glossing but only if there are obvious defects in the paint surface, if you're happy with the bare paint finish then that's OK, you don't technically have to clearcoat if you're happy with the gloss paint and can flat and compound that but you have to be careful on raised edges as it's easy to burn through to the plastic underneath, this is why I prefer to clearcoat with a good couple of coats then flat and polish as it's easy to see if you start lifting any colour under the clear.