The F1M Forums

Same here: always tick both boxes: enough time plus No brand/type mix. You ticked first one, not second. And it’s not a phenomenon restricted to fluo paint, could happen with any. Sorry

I am the latest victim of cracking flo paint on a McLaren! Have done many Macs before but this time my misted coats of Zero M@r!b*r* Red on my M26 went horribly wrong for no obvious reason. A festive session of de-masking, paint stripping and starting all over again awaits over next few days. Something to look forward to….

Odd thing is that Zero White had gone down well so I think primer was indeed properly dry.

Pot luck I guess but would love to hear about any other suggestions anyone has for ensuring a better result second time around!

Happy Christmas!

Have you given the layers enough time to gas out? The paints from Gravity, Scale Finishes, Zero, et al are all automotive basecoats, and they absolutely need at least 10 to 15 minutes minimum to gas out between thin layers.

When I first started using automotive basecoats, I used the same technique that I had learned with lacquers, 2 mist coats followed by 2 wet coats with 5 minutes between coats, and learned real quick that automotive basecoats really do not like that.

Hugeprong wrote: ↑Tue Dec 19, 2023 3:34 am I am the latest victim of cracking flo paint on a McLaren! Have done many Macs before but this time my misted coats of Zero M@r!b*r* Red on my M26 went horribly wrong for no obvious reason. A festive session of de-masking, paint stripping and starting all over again awaits over next few days. Something to look forward to….

Odd thing is that Zero White had gone down well so I think primer was indeed properly dry.

Pot luck I guess but would love to hear about any other suggestions anyone has for ensuring a better result second time around!

Happy Christmas!

I buy plastic spoons to test on now. I keep paint longer than I should, but even paint that's new sometimes have issues. I'd rather know on a spoon then on the model there is a problem!

With Derek on the mixing of paints. Just not a good idea and more often than not causes issues. Anytime you are unsure indeed do the testing with spoons.
Another thought to this cracking is if the paint was fully mixed up. Came across this using MR Color Neon paints on some MotoGP wheels.
Cause for your issues of cracking is hard to be 100% sure. But again try using some Gravity Colors pure white.
FIX is not going to be fun either wet sanding or a full on strip and redo.
Recommend you document what you did and the steps taken during the process for future reference. Having a log of what you do and use is handy.
Good Luck on the project!

Yup, just lost my 1976 M23 to cracking. Two months after completion, after decals (which are hard to find), etc. Gonna leave it on the shelf to look at at 2 meters... I did this one well, but no mood to redo. All Tamiya colors. Primer, White spray and the Fluo Red.

So after deciding to never use TS36 again, even though I personally love the coke and initial finish, the cracking months later is devastating

I used Splash mp4/4 on my MP4/2C, but the finish is too pink, to me not right, even though no cracks no issues

Used same method with Zero mp4/4 over the auto primer that I use for everything, multiple mist coats, this time on Meng plastic , crazed after 3rd or 4th mist coat

Now using Home Depot marking flouro red and so far no issues but we shall see

I even tried mixing Ts-49 with the Tamiya flouro orange 50/50, and that cracked too, amazing really, when you paint so many colors

And yes I mix brands, never had this many problems with this paint

.......my Gaia paints still havent cracked on either Mac I used them on.

I've had great results with Mr. Color Fluorescent red - and unlike most, it is semi-gloss, not flat.

bossy122 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 20, 2023 2:29 am .......my Gaia paints still havent cracked on either Mac I used them on.

The same to me. Still perfect looking.

There was some sort of test some years ago which fluo red is the best.
Gaia has won.