Is a UV Top Coat commonly used?

[Champagne]

Greetings, a member of the RC Tank Community recommended me to use MR.Super Clear UV Clear top coat for my upcoming Panther tank project.
I'd like to ask if such a UV top coat is necessary for heavy outdoor use in the sun. Moreover, is it common practice to apply a top coat on most RC tank models?

[Kaczor]

It depends on you. For example, my tanks sit in crates most of the time and see sunlight a few times a year.

[tankme]

I would say a UV faded tank is more representative of the tank. When I use my tanks outside, I never clean the outside. It just makes them look used like a tank is. Tanks are not typically pristine unless they are sitting in a museum and even then they end up with a big layer of dust on them. I've never put a UV coating on it...only flat varnish for the finishing.

[Mithras]

I would say a UV faded tank is more representative of the tank. When I use my tanks outside, I never clean the outside. It just makes them look used like a tank is. Tanks are not typically pristine unless they are sitting in a museum and even then they end up with a big layer of dust on them. I've never put a UV coating on it...only flat varnish for the finishing.

This would be my answer. When I model tanks for wargaming or display, hell, when I model any kind of military vehicle, I tend to avoid show room floor looks. Call it crawling around too many tanks or getting too close to pre-dreadnought photos, but I've just never seen a vehicle or war machine - Roman Onager to T-64BV, in pristine color. I've developed my weathering skills over time, and while I won't claim to be the world's best, my opinion is that faded paint, rust, dirt, mud, and sweat, breathe life into a tank, if that makes any sense? The same certainly applies to warships. I read an account from an American Civil War era military officer (can't remember which one) who said, essentially, that the moment a ship touches the water the wood starts to rot and the iron starts to rust. I've read accounts of hulls painted black as midnight fading to charcoal grey within a week, and Italian tanks beginning something like a dark yellow mustard ending in a faded khaki.

Anyway, no, I wouldn't fear it. I -do- seal things to keep a paintjob intact, and the one exception I'd make with insisting upon a UV sealer would be for something that was a particularly bright white (for example, say, A warship with white uppers), because modern hobby paints can bleach to yellow if not properly protected. However, the way around that would be to use an off-white anyway, since it wouldn't stay white to begin with.

I'd say the same thing with anything that's bare white resin or plastic (for whatever reason.)

Hope this helps, anyway.