Krylon matte on water based paint to protect building ?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am just about finished painting Merchants Row V with acrylic paint and have not assembled it yet. Should I spray it with Krylon Matte Finish before going on to protect it or is spraying it a waist of time. I have done a search and could not find any info, probably not asking the right question.

Thanks for any input.

2

Do you plan to do any weathering with powders or pastels, in which case IIRC such weathering adheres better to a flat finish (then again, the acrylics are likely flat). Then to protect the weathering, spray with a light flat finish (yes, I find you will lose up to 50% of your weathering effect depending on the medium, so plan accordingly).
Otherwise, probably don’t need the matte overspray if everything looks flat already.

3

Agree with chutton’s advice.

Try a test spray or two with the Krylon. It tends to go on rapidly, so a light touch is recommended until you get the hnag of it in order to avoid runs. Despite it being more expensive, I tend to use the testors Dull-Cote for its finer, easier to control spray. Go light and Krylon will work.

4

I don’t plan on weathering the building, just want to protect paint if thats necessary. Will the clear coat give the building a dull gloss finish?

Thanks for the replys

5

It won’t be glossy. It will be dull.

If you want parts that are glossy (you don’t really want it all glossy, I assume), then mask them or paint separately. For windows, leave the glazing out until you’ve finished sparying, then install them – or mask if there’s no way to disassemble.

6

You are right, I don’t want glossy. I have not sprayed other buildings and was wondering if I screwed up. I was just wondering if I should have been putting a protective covering on the buildings all a long.

Thanks for the reply

7

I only use clear flat finishes like Matte or Dull-Cote to make gloss paint into flat, or to blend in decals. I don’t believe that paint needs “protection”. You do want to let the paint dry good and hard before assembling, over night at least, a couple of days is better.

Be aware that cement wants to bond to plastic, not paint. You want to remove any paint from the bonding surfaces before assembly.