Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

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dgwoodward2
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Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

Post by dgwoodward2 »

What is your preferred clear coat over carbon fiber decals? Do you prefer Matt or semi-gloss? Lacquer, enamel or acrylic? Brand? I did.a test with Mr Hobby Super Clear Matt and it dulled out the decal to the point of where you can barely make out the pattern. Is that the correct effect I should be seeing? If it is, no problem. Just trying to understand. Not sure it makes a difference but I am using scale Motorsport decals. Thank you in advance for your responses.
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PeteJ
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Re: Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

Post by PeteJ »

Personally I like Tamiya smoke TS-71 in a rattle can. It is high gloss which is what you see on the interior of things like the Enzo and BMW's. The slight black tint gives it a little depth. If you are getting decorative, any of Tamiya's clears(orange, blue, red etc.) will do the same thing. A light coat is all that is needed.

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Re: Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

Post by jaykay »

Like with many things it's a matter of your taste how the end result should look.
In reality the CF patterns usually don't pop out as much as they do on many model builds.
Reference pictures are often taken with flash which usually exagerates the pattern visibility.
The pattern and colour look also tend to change with natural light depending on the angle of the light.
An effect you can't replicate with decals.

Personally I put generous layers of 2K clear over CF decals and then sand them to get even surfaces that hide any decals wrinkles and overlaps.
Then I polish to the appropriate level of each part.
Racecar bits are usually less shiny than roadcar parts.
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CK
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Re: Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

Post by CK »

Jaykay's explanation about carbon fiber look in photos is right on. The real fiber is a lot more subtle in appearance. If you look perpendicular to the fiber surface with diffused light, you can barely see the pattern.

I have also use Tamiya X-19 smoke acrylic to airbrush over decals that have black and silver lines to tone it down. I find the Revell decals for F1 kits has a better contrast. Tamiya also has some really good carbon fiber decals that have black with metallic dark grey lines. For these decals, I only use clear acrylic coat on top with different shininess for different applications.
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Re: Which clear coat over carbon fiber decals?

Post by daveyman »

Interesting topic, I've been thinking about this recently. I need to improve the quality of my C/F finish.
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