Help with Clear coating armor/helmet/gauntlets/etc.

[DL44 Blaster]

I've ordered all my paints from the Testors website which will arrive some time this week.I held off on the clears since I wanted to some here first to get some clarification.

In the guide provided by Rogue Studios the instructions state to "seal knees&shoulders with Semi and Armor with Flat"..I get this since it spells out the "semi" parts and the "flat" parts.

Then it says in the helmet instructions to "seal finish with Clear coat then a dulcoat to prevent tearing"..please explain this stage......I'm assuming that EVERYTHING is flat except the shoulders & knees......is this correct??

Could someone elaborate???

Is a "dulcoat" simply a "flat" clear coat?? Should a semi clear go on fist,then a flat?? Any help will be greatly appreciated in this most important final step of painting

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Jangos kid]

Anytime you are planning on doing some masking with tape, you will want to spray that area with testors semi-gloss, you can then apply flat over the smi-gloss. plain old flat doesnt seem to seal as well, and you'll rip the paint right off your prop when you mask unless you use the semi-gloss first. You should also "kill" the tape by running it across your leg a couple of times to remove some of the tack, you can still tear paint off even in you sprayed with semi-gloss, so use care, (Ihad alot of problems with this on my bucket.) If you are not going to do any masking on an area, you don't necessarily have to use the semi-gloss, but its still a good idea. I think testors makes a couple different flat finnishes. I have one that is called "dull coat" and annother that is called "lusterless flat" there is maybe some difference between them, but I can't really tell the diff when sprayed on something. although the "dull coat does seem to seal a bit better. hope that helps a bit
Damian

 

[DL44 Blaster]

So basically per instructions the final and last step of painting is indeed done with a flat or dulcoat.?.?...except for the knees & shoulders.

Any other specific brands recommended? Are these spray cans or for an airbrush?

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[DL44 Blaster]

Well,I just ordered the Testors "Dullcote" in the 3oz. spray cans to finish my ensemble.With that I'll have every color and clear I'll need.....wish me luck