Xtracrylic varnish

[Swissrail]

Has anyone had any success with Xtracrylic matt varnish? I've used it twice now and I found it to be awful stuff. The instructions on the bottle tell you to dilute it with water by 10 to 15%. When I did that it was still so thick my airbrush wouldn't spray it. When I did dilute it enough so that the airbrush was happy with it, the finish on the coach side was disastrous. Blobby, uneven and just terrible. I had to immediately wash the stuff off under the tap. I was extremely lucky that the Railtec transfers I had applied the day before didn't come off in the process. I was lucky to get away with it.

Needless to say the Xtracrylic went in the bin and I'm going to try Alclad 2 next of which I have heard good things.

[Monkersson]

6 hours ago, Swissrail said:

Has anyone had any success with Xtracrylic matt varnish? I've used it twice now and I found it to be awful stuff. The instructions on the bottle tell you to dilute it with water by 10 to 15%. When I did that it was still so thick my airbrush wouldn't spray it. When I did dilute it enough so that the airbrush was happy with it, the finish on the coach side was disastrous. Blobby, uneven and just terrible. I had to immediately wash the stuff off under the tap. I was extremely lucky that the Railtec transfers I had applied the day before didn't come off in the process. I was lucky to get away with it.

Needless to say the Xtracrylic went in the bin and I'm going to try Alclad 2 next of which I have heard good things.

I've had good results in the past with Xtracrylic but my last bottle seems to have been pretty poor - just wouldnt dry matt at all.  Alcad 2 is even worse.

 

My go to now is Mig Ammo Lucky Varnish, haven't had a problem with it

 

 

Edited September 22, 2021 by Monkersson

[Swissrail]

Update. I tried the Alclad 2 satin varnish. It 's a gloss carrier with matting agent that lies at the bottom of the bottle which has to be shaken to mix it up. I did this for a minute or so to ensure it was thoroughly combined, decanted some into my airbrush and sprayed it immediately. It went on nicely satin and after drying overnight, was fully gloss in the morning. The stuff is HOPELESS!

I've now gone bought some Winsor & Newton Galleria satin which , if it is anything like as good as their matt stuff, will be excellent.

Update: The Alclad 2 has never properly dried and now the surface of the model is slightly sticky even after a week has gone by since since I applied it. AVOID!

Edited September 27, 2021 by Swissrail
Update of information.