Auricom Griffon Washes and Weathering

So with base paints and decals done it's time for the first wash. As ever I went with a sludge wash as I like to call them.

Anyway I gave the whole thing a couple of layers of clear coat. I used Vajelo Glossy acrylic out of a can. And I will never do this again. 

And here's why...

I started on the bottom of the craft. I figured that was going to be the dirtiest so I'd start there. But some of the goop went to the side of the craft and onto the decals... no problem I thought. The clear coat will protect it all, as always (that's why I put in on obviously).

Anyway, as I was cleaning off the goop I noticed the decals were getting damaged. It wasn't too bad as it looked nicely weathered (I did swear my head off)... it just wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to keep the custom decals more or less untouched, apart from the panel lines going through them.

I thought it weird, as I did think I put on a good coat of clear.. but I figured maybe I missed a spot...?

So I let this wash dry and just to be sure I gave it anoth couple of coats... I didn't want to make the clear coat too thick of course, but I didn't want to lose anymore decals. Anyway I soldiered on. 

The wash, by the way, was one consisting of a mix of lamp black, prussian blue, and sea green. I did the whole thing on parts starting with the bottom, then the cockpit and the the top of the arms (wings?)

 

BUT when working on one of the arms I damaged another of the decals (lots more swearing ensued), again damage was minor, sort of ok looking, but unwanted none the less... So two cans of Valejo clear coat (matt and gloss) in the bin. I should have known as I've also once had to bin a almost full can of Valejo primer for being useless... maybe it's me but I don't have any luck with many of their products it seems.

The thing that annoys me most is when you can't trust a product. I don't like these kinds of surprises, minor though they may be.

I've used Humbrol varnishes before, they were great. Guess I'm back to them.

How to procede... I think I might finish this one using more conventional techniques. I don't want to rub it to much more. 

I think I'll put a dark brown pin wash in the panel and rivet lines. And finish it off with a couple of lighter washes, at least one of which being a light brown/tan one. This thing shouldn't become too dirty anyway, only very minor rust marks here and there and some oils staining. 

That's the plan until something else goes wrong anyway ha.