Hi all,
I'm re-painting an Athearn FM TrainMaster which has pretty gross-sized grab iron and hood louvers where I need to apply some Dulux Gold stripe decals.My1st attempt with semi-gloss Tamiya spray and micro sol/Micro set was basically a failure. I have sprayed gloss acrylic over the base color to aid the application process, but I had forgotten about spraying Johnson's Future/Pledge floor shine which is said to fill in microscratches, pits as a gloss "leveling" coat.
Never having used Future, I went to Amazon and Kroger to buy some and I was BLOWN AWAY by the price!! I think it is only available in quarts and its over $50 a bottle.
I see other brands of acyrilic floor shine costing far less, but who knows how similar they would be/work. There's a product brand Bona Hard Surface Polish:
https://www.amazon.com/Bona-Kemi-Stone-Laminate-POLISH/dp/B000QZ3DDA/ref=pd_ybh_a_sccl_2/139-3595170-9078623?pd_rd_w=vdt4r&content-id=amzn1.sym.67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_p=67f8cf21-ade4-4299-b433-69e404eeecf1&pf_rd_r=PSHJCAYFFP36JYADK0CP&pd_rd_wg=IOxbt&pd_rd_r=192e4b2a-c40c-47af-95a4-5c7c43d93ccc&pd_rd_i=B000QZ3DDA&psc=1
Does anyone have experience with this or other products LESS expensive than Pledge?
Thanks,
Ed
I would never use anything other than Future. For the price, you get a lifetime supply. I have had the same bottle for more than 25 years.
That said, I don't ever remember using Future on a railroad model. This is something I use on military models. I paint my railroad models with Scalecoat II glossy paints, so the future step is not necessary.
There is no way to know if alternative products have the same qualities we find important for model building.
I would never risk it. Future is proven to work well.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I'd be interested in what exactly happened, "basically a failure" doesn't tell me much. More information may lead to better ideas to solve the problem.
I've used the Tamiya gloss for sealing in the paint before applying decals (I use the spray cans, not through an airbrush) and then Walthers Solvaset to make the decals soften and 'snuggle' down for many years, it's always worked well. I believe all acrylic paints and finishes are 'self levelling' so I don't think it's unique to Future.
I wonder of this product has been discontinued (or renamed again) by S.C. Johnson.
I looked for it at Home Depot, Grainger, Walmart, and ULine websites, and came up with nothing.
Pledge Floor Gloss (new name)
maxmanPledge Floor Gloss (new name)
Yes... I found it on the Fine Scale Modeler page.
The full name is Pledge Revive It Floor Gloss Original, and it is available for far less than $50.00 per bottle.
cnjman721I'm re-painting an Athearn FM TrainMaster which has pretty gross-sized grab iron and hood louvers where I need to apply some Dulux Gold stripe decals.
If that locomotive were mine, I'd remove the oversized plastic grabirons and replace them with phosphor-bronze wire ones from Tichy.Naturally, you'd pre-drill for them so you can add the striping before installing the metal grabirons.
To keep the stripes properly straight over those louvers, you may have to either split the striping decals lengthwise or use two full-width pieces of decal stripes, one overlapping the other.
When I have to add decals, I prefer to use Testors Glosscote, using an airbrush, to cover the entire item, even though there might be only a limited amount of lettering. Once it's dry, the decals can be applied, and after they're properly-set, a second application of Glosscote is applied.Depending on your preferences, you can leave it all glossy, or add a finish to suit your tastes, by mixing Glosscote with Dullcote....varying the proportions as desired.I always use an airbrush for such needs, and use ordinary lacquer thinner in an amount matching the total amount of Gloss- and Dullcote used.The price for Glosscote and Dullcote has risen (like most stuff nowadays), but it's not outrageously over-priced, and a quart of lacquer thinner is unlikely to relegate you to the poorhouse.
Wayne
SeeYou190 I would never use anything other than Future. For the price, you get a lifetime supply. I have had the same bottle for more than 25 years. That said, I don't ever remember using Future on a railroad model. This is something I use on military models. I paint my railroad models with Scalecoat II glossy paints, so the future step is not necessary. There is no way to know if alternative products have the same qualities we find important for model building. I would never risk it. Future is proven to work well. -Kevin
Unfortunately, at age 73 I...
(1) ...likely don't have either 25 more years of model railroading left to amortize the "investment" and...
(2) I live on fixed income...
...so I can't justify over $50 for Future.
but thanks for the comments!
Best,
Wayne --
Thanks for those tips. I have both Dullcote and Glasscote but have never airbrushed them. Your info on thinning is quite important because I didn't really know either what to use or in what proportion. Many thanks!
Cnjman. I have been using varathane polyurethane high gloss and Matt coats. The water based versions. you can get them in the small sampler cans. 8or I think. For only a few bucks. It is the same thing Vallejo uses only massively cheaper for many more milliliters. It is a crack and scratch filler too
shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
Shane --
Wow, that's a great tip! I think I'll give it a try. Thanks!
Even here in Canada, that Pledge product is well under $10.00. Walmart recently had it on sale for $4.99. Shop around. Whoever is charging $50.00 is seriously ripping people off.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
cnjman721Unfortunately, at age 73 I... (1) ...likely don't have either 25 more years of model railroading left to amortize the "investment" and... (2) I live on fixed income... ...so I can't justify over $50 for Future.
As Kevin pointed out, the product name changed (in 2018) to Pledge Revive-It Floor Gloss. I found a hardware store selling a 27 oz bottle for $9.99, so I suspect you can find it for a similar price near you - now that you know what to look for.
I'd still be interested in knowing what went wrong with your first attempt at the model, you never spelled out what went wrong. It might not be the Tamiya finish that's to blame.
wjstixAs Kevin pointed out, the product name changed (in 2018) to Pledge Revive-It Floor Gloss. I found a hardware store selling a 27 oz bottle for $9.99, so I suspect you can find it for a similar price near you - now that you know what to look for.
I read several articles over in Fine Scale Modeler, and it seems that the consensus is that the new named product is identical to good old Future Floor Polish.
My decade(s) old bottle of Future is still 2/3 full.
I wonder what the shelf life is on this stuff? Should I replace it at some point?
Mark R. Walmart recently had it on sale for $4.99. Shop around. Whoever is charging $50.00 is seriously ripping people off.
Walmart recently had it on sale for $4.99. Shop around. Whoever is charging $50.00 is seriously ripping people off.
Certainly agreeable with that Mark.
Ebay guy might just have the last bottle of the Original McCoy on the Planit!
I wonder if this really does fit into the (Rare or Vintage) clause this time?
It appears that he must think it does.... and therefore wants a healthy penny for it as well! ...
TF
Hi Mark --
So, when I said that my decaling attempt was basically a failure, it was all the irregularities which were mainly rows of louvers 1+ mm high and of a wedge shape such that ridges "ramp" at maybe a 60-70 deg angle and then drop vertically. That made it really difficult to position a decal stripe of 7 scale inches x ~30 scale feet long such that it was straight horizontally. The flat Tamiya paint on the model was over-sprayed with Tamiya Semi-Gloss -- I know, Gloss should have been used but I thought I'd try Semi. Anyway, I liberally "painted" on MicroScale red bottle and slid the decal into position. Unfortunately, those nearly sawtooth shaped louvers made it really difficult to get the decal to settle down. I finally applied more and more decal softening solution but then when trying to carefully prod it into position it would break and shred.
Your thoughts?
Mark --
I might have to move to Canada. I just this morning saw Pledge Revive It for $58.60 for a 27 oz bottle. A little better on Amazon at $46.99 a bottle. Same deal at Lowes. Maybe SC Johnson jacked the price like so many companies and products are being bumped up these days, but hard to figure how you could have found it even on sale for under $10. Was it the new product -- Pledge Revive-It -- or the old Future product name?
cnjman721The flat Tamiya paint on the model was over-sprayed with Tamiya Semi-Gloss -- I know, Gloss should have been used but I thought I'd try Semi. Anyway, I liberally "painted" on MicroScale red bottle and slid the decal into position. Unfortunately, those nearly sawtooth shaped louvers made it really difficult to get the decal to settle down. I finally applied more and more decal softening solution but then when trying to carefully prod it into position it would break and shred. Your thoughts?
It sounds like the problem has to do with the model, not with the finish. Using a different gloss, or gloss vs. semi-gloss, isn't going to matter.
I've found the (now out of production) Virnex stripes were the best to work with, they really soften up and end up looking like they were painted on. They still turn up sometimes on Ebay. Anyway, I use Solvaset from Walthers, it seems to work well softening up the decal so it snuggles down; seems a little stronger than the Microsol.
If the model has a lot of up-and-down protuding parts, you may need to cut up the stripe and apply a small section, snuggle it down, then do the next piece etc.
Some of the information here might be useful to figure out whether the Pledge Floor Gloss contains the 'right stuff':
https://www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com/us/en/ingredients
Their actual listing for Pledge Floor Gloss contains three 'proprietary film formers', which is not exactly helpful, but you can browse through the alphabetical listing to find some likely candidates... and here is a more carefully listed version:
https://www.whatsinproducts.com/types/type_detail/1/24097/standard/p%20class=%22p1%22%3EPledge%20Revive%20It,%20Floor%20Gloss,%20Original-02/25/2015/p%3E/19-010-019
Two pretty good videos on using Future/Pledge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUgUIPQwxn4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMPWVuAlZiw
Well, it looks like this product might have been discontinued altogether in the early part of this year.
Bummer.