I bought this stuff a while back to refinish a customers floor, but reading the ingredients, it's got the same 'shiny' as new Klear but with the old ammonia base. I've tried it on a spare transparency and it works a treat with none of the variation in surface that's sometime reported with the new Klear. I haven't tried spraying, but works nicely over acrylics when brushed. Not cheap at about £12 a litre from your local hardware store or online, but seems to be a reliable alternative to Klear.
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Well I was once a chemist and can assure you that benzisothialzolinone has got nothing to do with any shine. It is a biocide and is present in varnishes and paints in very small amounts,typically as a fungicide.Originally posted by \
Cheers
SteveComment
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Having gotten hold of a bottle of new Klear, I can say that I was rather amazed. Amazed at what all the flaffle is about. OK OK its great for canopies. Oh its rather good for getting a nice shine on granit floors as well.
This is only my humble opinion, but if you want a smooth shiny surface to apply decals, use an acrylic varnish such as Vallejo of Xtracrylix. Yes I know it costs more per litre but are we all so hard pressed that we refuse to pay for a bottle of varnish that can last a good 15-20 kits, when we shell out for paints all the time.... I don't get it.
I know that when Klear hit the model scene there was no other product like it and it opened up all kinds possibilities. Now many years later we have the alternatives and every one just keeps going back to the good old klear, (because its what all the others use?).
Right off the soap box. sorry.
Ian MComment
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Ian, as far as the new Klear/Pledge goes, I'm in complete agreement. It's rubbish! Yes, it'll seal paint & provide a glossy surface, but it's no where near as good as the old stuff.
I'm leaving my bottle in the kitchen cupboard where it belongs & moving to Vallejo.
Right, back to zimmeriting a Tiger!
PatrickComment
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Well I tried both old & new Klear just before Christmas & found hardly any difference. Both were yucks & now banned.
Cannot say that they really enhances canopies. And will scratch easily on canopies. Doubt if any one would notice I did not use it on a Mosquito compared to the other 6 models completed. Also found tape did not stick as well to Klear as to the original plastic surface.
Agree with Ian. Now use Vallejo varnish for Decals & on the last model were far better than all the models before using Klear.
Also means that I am all Vallejo with out any mixes of manufacturer which reading from time to time the incompatibility suits me fine.
You can also buy 200ml of Vallejo Varnish at rock bottom cost.
So my world is fine & dandy.
LaurieComment
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The one thing Klear is better than most gloss varnishes at is clear parts. It fills minor imperfections like any other varnish,but has the didtinct advantage of being soluble in itself. After masking is removed any "damage" caused by the removal of any leaking paint is easily fixed by another application of Klear.
Aside from clear parts I've been painting it on my models for years and it is the equal of any varnish I've tried. I've never sprayed it and can't imagine why you would. It is formulated as a self levelling floor polish. I can get a glassy smooth and hard surface for decalling with a couple of coats. It isn't a wonder product and if the paint job is uneven or badly applied Klear won't help it much.
On irregular surfaces applying a decal directly onto a pool of Klear will usually give a better result than repeated applications of decal softener. I haven't tried this with any other varnish so I don't know how they might work. Of course other varnishes may well achieve the same results but I'll stick with what I know.
The lack of availability of original Klear in the UK means that newer modellers will have to find something else! I certainly don't advocate paying silly money for a product that is just another gloss varnish not some form of panacea.
If you don't achieve a satisfactory result with Klear and find something else easier to use that's fine. Rather than criticising the product you might wonder how you are using it and why hundreds of other modellers still swear by it.
I've never got on with liquid mask but that's not the fault of the product which others find very useful.
Price isn't really the issue though a bottle of Klear lasts me about four or five years making it as near to being free as it can be!
I refer only to the old formula product,I've never tried the new version.
Cheers
SteveComment
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Very well put Steve
I like Klear, the old stuff that is, not keen on the new version. A bottle will last me years and for pre-decalling and clear parts it does the job perfectly
I'm sure there are other products that will do the job just as well but I have Klear so I don't need them... yet
When my bottle is finally empty I won't be panicking, I'll just move on to something else
In other words, if you're happy with what you're using that's great, if you can't get the hang of Klear it doesn't matter, thousands love it so you've probably been sold a counterfeit version :emo12:Comment
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I obviously didnt put it very well, Steve. I gathered it was a preservative for varnish so I inferred that the product itself therefore had varnish in it. However, it is as they say 'crap'. I'll just be using it for the kitchen floor now. Well, when I say 'I will...'Originally posted by \
KeithComment
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Just read every ones views about Klear etc and have found them all vrey helpful in making up my mind on whats the best product to use so keep them coming please,Tally ho Chaps !Comment
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I tried Klear as an all over varnish, never worked well for me. Now as for using it for canopies, I'll not use anything else the only thing I do different when using it is each part has three dips in it leaving 24 hours between each coat. oh and yes tried the new Humbrol stuff, sorry but not a patch on side by side test against Klear, having two bottles of the old and two of the new I wont be needing to swap anytime soon.
Course these are my own opinions and everyone has different reasons or expectations
AdrianComment
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Not a clue about all the Klears etc.
But try Humbrol Clear and I have not found anything which comes close.
Brush it airbrush it and it is an almost perfect finish. More gloss just add extra coats. I also gives a very resilient finish which Klear does not. Plus it does all that Klear does plus.
LaurieComment
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It does Laurie, it's designed to be walked on! Any good acrylic varnish will do the same. Klear dries in about 30 minutes but needs 24 hours between coats, so it's not for the impatient. The 24 hours is to allow the chemical reactions involved in what we call 'curing' to complete.Originally posted by \
Cheers
SteveComment
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Not my experience Steve, if you are quoting in subject Klear, I found that it easily (after curing) scratches and crumbles as it seems very fragile once the surface is breached. Humbrol Clear has a more plastic finish and very close to the Vallejo varnish finishes but thinner.Originally posted by \
As far as a floor preparation it is mini wafer thin as it is diluted plus in our experience it lasted a very short period of time in our household.
Plus the smell is diabolical,
but then I am weird,
it appears that most smelly things and chemicals seem to affect me in major proportions. Vallejo seems to be OK despite the brickbats threat. 
LaurieComment
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Like Steve says you get the best out of it if you leave it 24 hours before a recoat, my first experience of it was whilst square bashing and having a quick fix, though not in the rain the blueish tint it goes gives the game away
AdrianComment
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I use this.
[ATTACH]91661.IPB[/ATTACH]
Its awesome stuff beats Klear by a mile and you can get it almost anywhere. I get mine in poundland. Got my self 3 bottles of it.
Get some and try it you wont look back.
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