Unfortunately Testors has changed their formula for clear flat. While they had adopted the Floquil clear flat for some time they have now switched to the Model Master Acryl formula. The Acryl has been known to produce an unacceptable milky white finish. For those of us who are fans of the old formula we will need to find an alternative. Below are some options:
| Product | Analysis |
| Testors Model Master Acryl/Pollyscale | Dump it down the down the toilet. When Testors decided to do away with the Floquil Pollyscale formula and replaced it with the Acryl formula they did away with one of the finest products available to modelers. It dries to a milky white residue. |
| Xtracrylics | Nice stuff, however, it is nowhere near flat. Dries to a slightly pebbly semi-gloss finish. It is too thick to spray stright out of the bottle and I tried thinning it with their thinner, water and Liquitex retarder. Same result every time. |
| Testors Dullcote lacquer | This is the bottle, not the spray can. OK stuff that must be thinned with lacquer thinner. Dries rapidly. However, dries to a semi-gloss but not as glossy as Xtracrylics. |
| Tamiya spray can TS-80 | Wonderful stuff that dries to a dead flat with a very smooth finish. The spray can is the problem. Very hard to control the volume. |
| Tamiya clear gloss/Tamiya flat base in about a 50/50 mixture | Seems to work quite well and this is what I have decided to try to use. Dries very flat, however, I noticed a few minute white spots on the model. I hope this is just stufft in my airbrush and not the same problem I once had with Gunze clear flat I had many years ago. Keeping my fingers crossed. | |
| Testors Dullcote | This is the spray can version. It's been around forever and you love it or hate it. |
| Model Master Dullcote | This spray can is different than the straight Testors branded version. A little more expensive |
| Future's mixed with Tamiya Flat Base | Not sure what ratio to use. |
| Future's mixed with Talc | Not sure what ratio to use. |
| Reaper Flat | Fantasy figure paints. I've only handbrushed it and appears almost semi-gloss. I'm going to try it through an airbrush to see if a thinner coat is any better. I don't have much faith in this solution as their paints are intended for very bright results. |
| Krylon Clear Matte | A forum poster who had the same milky output using MM flat used this as an alternative. Read the post here |
