Future Floor Finish On Models?


IowaFarmBoy

IowaFarmBoy

Member
Has anyone here used Future as a gloss coat before decals or to make something shine? After reading about it in several internet articles I bought a bottle. It is labeled "Pledge with Future finish" and seems to be clear acrylic.
 
Well now...that's interesting. We used Johnson's GloCoat in the service (many moons ago) to make our boots look spit-shined. LOL :D

Give it a try and let us know.;)
 
I use it before decals & after decals & then dulcote. I also use it to dip my windows in before I install them back in an engine or passenger car to take out any scratches or glaze.
 
Future and Pledge with Future finish are 2 different things. However may contain the same things. I would practice first.

That is interesting to know about the scratches. Looks like I am headed to Kroger for more than dog food tonight.
 
FunValleyLine said:
Future and Pledge with Future finish are 2 different things. However may contain the same things. I would practice first.

That is interesting to know about the scratches. Looks like I am headed to Kroger for more than dog food tonight.
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Future disappeared from the market for a while then reappeared as "Pledge with Future Shine" (Shine not finish in the name. I blame my failing memory for the error.) according to a website listing the availability of Future internationally. I read it some time ago but did not save the link.

The bottle says "Is a tough acrylic floor finish that contains no wax."

I have not opened the bottle but the liquid inside seems almost as thin as water. It should spray well even with a small airbrush tip. I suspect that it would be easy to spray too much and get runs so I'll be cautious when I try.
 
I use Q-tips for just the area that the decals are going. I let it dry for at least 12 hrs. before I put on the decals. I use Solv-a-set just before I put the decals on. Then after the decals have set for awhile I put on another coat of decal solvent. After that dries I coat it w/another coat of Future. I let that dry at least 12 hrs. before I use dullcote. I apply everything w/a Q-tip.
Other Forum guys & gals might do it different than me. I get my custom decals from a friend in the Philippines & his instructions on all his decal sheets say about using Future.
That's how I learned to do it. I also cut my decals as close as I can.
 
Hi there

Just joined forums yesterday, so I hope I don't come across like some noobie upstart...

I'm predominantly an aircraft modeller, but like dabbling in RR as well. I've been using Klear/Future as a gloss coat for some years now, and it works very well. It can be brushed or sprayed on equally easily, and dries quickly although it's best if left for a good number of hours to fully harden up.

It makes a good base over which to do an oil wash (if you tend to weather using that technique) and is good for putting decals onto.

I find that with transparancies a light buffing with a polishing stick or cloth followed by a dunk in Klear/Future removes scratches and gives great clarity to the parts; even brushing a small amount onto a lens can work wonders.

a coat of matt/semi-matt varnish over top will finish off the job. The only thing with it (if spraying) is it doesn't like fingerprints too much, so wash the model first. And don't try to clean out the airbrush with thinners afterwards - it turns to snot. Just use water straight away and it should be fine.

HTH

Mike in Aotearoa
 
Future (or what ever it's called now) is used quite a bit by car modelers and airline modelers. (Yes, we are a small group!) Just don't let it pool then try to remove. I ruined a really nice paint job that way. I also poured it over and let it pool it in my lake on my layout. Drop in some blues and green paint and it adds depth. However, it clouds up. It will clear up after a while. Nice thing is I can refreash the wet look with another coat!
 
Jon NFL said:
Does you friend do custom decals for others? Or have you used another source. I've searched the net but would like recommendations.
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Just for me, because I trade train stuff for Decals. He makes decals for all of the model car, planes & boat mfgr's. & that takes up most of his time. If you want to send him train stuff I'll ask. I've probably sent him 10 times more trains in value than he's sent me in decals. The postage is more than the price of the trains I send him. The 1st time the postage was $48.00 for a box that weighed about 5#'s. The 2nd 1 I sent was $63.00 for a 10# box. It takes about a month for him to get a box from the US & it takes about 2 weeks for me to get a pak of decals from him.
That's why I don't ask him to make decals for other people. He's also an Engineer for commercial buildings & he travels all over the place.
He's designed all of my decals too which takes some time w/emails back & forth for me to OK them.
 
(I'm not Larry C. But am a Larry. :)) I make my own custom decals using paper from MicroMark, CorelDRAW software, and an HP InkJet printer.
 
IowaFarmBoy said:
(I'm not Larry C. But am a Larry. :)) I make my own custom decals using paper from MicroMark, CorelDRAW software, and an HP InkJet printer.
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I use to make my own decals too w/the same items you make your's with, but, they don't hold up as well as the professional one's. If you don't use them up right away they get brittle(self made decals).
Do you spray your's w/a fixative like Krylon super clear paint?
You can't make white decals either w/an Inkjet.
 
I use Future a lot when working on my war gaming models. I use it as part of a mix to create what's know as "Magic Wash", a type of ink/wash effect. The Future does well to help seal and coat, but frankly I've found that Testors, Model Master, and even Krylon sealants are better for the purpose of sealing models.

For wet-transfer decals I use a touch of a brush on gloss coat, let it dry, apply decal and solvent/set, dry, they brush on gloss coat, dry, seal model.

For dry-transfer decals I have found that a heavy glossy surface can give some problems with the decals transferring over, sticking, or sliding.
 
RexHea said:
Well now...that's interesting. We used Johnson's GloCoat in the service (many moons ago) to make our boots look spit-shined. LOL :D

Give it a try and let us know.;)
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Gee wish I'd of known that back 40 years ago, would have saved a lot of work. No wonder I don't bother with shoe polish now days

Cheers
Willis
 
Larry said:
I use to make my own decals too w/the same items you make your's with, but, they don't hold up as well as the professional one's. If you don't use them up right away they get brittle(self made decals).
Do you spray your's w/a fixative like Krylon super clear paint?
You can't make white decals either w/an Inkjet.
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I spray a clear coat after the printer ink dries. Then I let the clear coat dry for at least a day before using the decals. The last I used was Krylon Crystal Clear Flat. I used the same as a clear coat to seal the cars when done.

I have been making some of my own decals, mostly building signs, since the early 90s. InkJet ink used to run a bit if not sealed. It made for an interesting weathering effect. Back when I started I was taping a 3" X 6" blank sheet on a regular sheet of printer paper so it would feed properly. ;)

I have the white paper from MicroMark as well as the more normal clear. I have not used it yet. And I agree that not being able to print white is a problem.

Mostly I don't try to match anything prototype. Black print on a tan background works on our layout. For instance I just made a couple of sets for 40' gondolas (white cars with black lettering) with the logo of another model railroad forum on them. This forum logo would be a bit more difficult but I may just do a car or 2 with it.
 
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