Gloss coat

The paintjob on the Jaguar is finished, but before I can add the decals (those little "stickers" on a piece of paper), it needs a gloss coat. Decals stick best to gloss paint, so when using matt acrylics - like I do - you need to add an extra layer of gloss clear or varnish, or the decals will not stick or show "silvering".

(You'll find many people using Pledge Future floor polish, which seems to be THE best product for glosscoating, but I don't think it's available in Europe)

I'm using Vallejo's gloss varnish to start with my gloss-coating experiments. It doesn't always spray easy from the airbrush and I have yet to decide whether I need to add thinner or not. Today, it came out easily (almost too easy). At first I though it would be too wet, because I had to spray really liberally to get total coverage, but the result after a few hours is a smooth, shiny surface (even clear to see in the picture).
On a horizontal surface, a thick layer seems to be no problem and it evens out perfectly. We'll see later if that works on a curved surface, like the submarine.

If - after applying decals - you decide the model is too shiny, you can add an extra layer of matt varnish to dull it all down. To protect the decals longterm, you need to add an extra layer anyway.