Top coat

[Levi van den Berg]

Hello I was wondering if it's necessary to topcoat all my models because I have these really big Star trek models and I have no topcoat on it. I'm not afraid of yellowing because there there out of the sun and the decals won't come of even if you scratch them.
So is it necessary because is would be expensive and really hard to topcoat them because I'll probably mess it up because there so big.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Hi Levi,

I assume you are talking about clear varnishes/finishes?

I use a gloss coat over pain but before decals, this helps prevent silvering of the decals. I then gloss coat after applying decals to seal them in prior to weathering. Finally after weathering I apply a final clear coat (usually matt) to again seal everything in and remove any shine (as I'm mainly building AFV's).

Is a top coat/varnish necessary? Probably not, but it will help with decals, and protects the previous paint layers and decals from any weathering products you might put on top, as well as protecting the paint and finishes from scratching chipping if the model is handled.