That’s the question. I have decided I am going to learn the airbrush, and tried a couple of bottles of Badger acrylic paints. It was my opinion that most of the pigment was hardened on the bottom, but maybe it is supposed to be that way. For the moment I am going to stay with acrylics. Maybe after a while I will join the rest of you with the oilbased. Thanks for your opinions, I know some of you hate to share your opinions, but I thought I would ask.
Most of the airbrush paints end up with the pigment on the bottom. Give it a good stir and it should mix up again. I really don’t care much for badger paints. I’ve found that Floquil and Poly-s paints work the best.
I went to an LHS last year and the owner was practically giving the Badger paint away. Nobody was buying it because they all had paint covering problems with it. Don’t forget to thin the paint before you put it in the airbrush. Just follow the directions on the paint bottle. Use the appropriate thinner with the appropriate paint. A good rule of thumb is that the paint when thinned should have the same consistancy as 2% milk…chuck
Art, Modelflex was just discussed yesterday: http://cs.trains.com/forums/1500814/ShowPost.aspx
As far as hardened paint in the bottom of the bottle, take them back to the store, if the pigment has just settled to the bottom and can be stirred that’s ok, just stir (don’t shake) until all the pigment is re-incorporated.
I haven’t had any probs with adheasion to plastic with the Modelflex or PolyScale since I started using them 10 or 15 years ago. I rarely ever use solvent based paints anymore unless a customer insists on it and that is rare as well. It’s all about surface prep. Wash the item with a little grease cutting detergent (like Dawn) and rinse very thoroughly, let air dry and don’t touch with bare hands, (I use rubber gloves). Painting acrylics onto metal surfaces (brass, white metal) does work best with a solvent based primer first.
As was mentioned in the other thread, Badger’s Modelflex does not need thinning most of the time, but Chuck’s rule of thumb is a good one, you want to end up with a paint consistency of 2% milk. Don’t forget to screen/strain any acrylic paint as dried particles from the lid can and will fall into the paint, (I use used stockings).
Sounds like you do some custom painting for hire, mind if I ask a question? I did custom painting years ago, and worked with enamels. When it came time to painting delrin/celcon handrails I used to use an automotive flex additive mixed in the paint to aid adhesion and flex. But it seems to me that with water based paints there aren’t a lot of good options. I know you can use the flexible r/c paint for painting the yellow or white on handrail ends, but what do you do when painting the entire handrail set, say Conrail Blue? I’ve found that Pollyscale flakes off fairly easily. Haven’t tried Badger ModelFlex yet.
Thanks in advance, want to get back to doing some painting but this has me stumped…
I got a tip from one of the Weaver tech guys years ago: Prime the handrails with NAPA # 7223 Polypropylene Clear Primer. It’s made for flexible auto parts and works great on Delrin and Celcon parts. The trick is to completely coat the part front and back, then apply PolyScale or Modelflex, (works with enamels & Floquil too). It won’t crack or chip. The Weaver tech even tied an RS-3 handrail in a knot! BTW it goes on kind of thick but shrinks as it dries. It’s laquer based so keep it off styrene. If you can’t spray it for some reason, you can spray some in a cup and apply it with a brush but remember to cover all sides of the part, clean the brush with laquer thinner. It also works on Atlas and Kato side frames which are also made from some engineering plastic.
I’ve used the Faskolor and Tamiya flex paints for Lexan bodies with mixed results. I custom mix the colors to match.
That is excellent info, many thanks for sharing! I’ve been holding off doing some paint jobs because of this situation, had me thinking about bending my own railings with wire!
I’m guessing you have to give the primer ample time to dry completely through before applying water based paints?
Thanks again!
I don’t know that I’d assume most of us using airbrushes use lacquer paint (which I assume is what you mean by “oilbased” paint). I would guess most of us use acrylics. Since Badger Modelflex came out 10+ years ago I only use a thinner-based paint if it’s the only way to get the specific color I need.
ARTHILL,
I like Badger paints. They are made to be airbrush ready (since they are made by an airbrush company, that makes sense), and they have the most railroad colors. They also have all the New Haven colors, which is more than I can say for PollyScale (and you have to thin PollyScale 10% just as it says on the label).
Personally, I would stay away from solvent based paints (like Floquil) if at all possible. I’ve heard they are the best for weathering as they atomize much finer than acrylics do…but since I don’t generally weather my models, it’s not something I have a ton of experience with. If you use solvent based paints regularly, make sure you’re using a decent paint booth and a real air mask. If you can smell it while using it, you need better protection.
Be aware that some paint can go bad in the bottle at the hobby shop. I had a “new” bottle of Badger flat black (who knows how long it was in that hobby shop) that actually crazed when it hit a cleanly washed & rinsed styrene Walthers roof section. I had to lay the paint on their extra thick in order to cover it up (good thing it was just a roof section). On my next kit, I tried a different bottle of Badger flat black later from a different hobby shop, and it went on just like normal.
swoodnj,
One additional tip for painting handrails I got from Badger at the Springfield (MA) show. Make sure to wash the hanrails with soap and water before painting them (they, too, use mold release agents and can get dirty or oily). Secondly, as modelmaker51 said, make sure you paint all around the handrail so that it forms a “tube” around the railing. If you miss a spot, flexing the handrail will cause it to flake off as it won’t be able to stick to the material. But if you have the whole thing painted, the paint itself will flex around the railing and not f
Thanks Paul, appreciate it!
The NAPA primer dries to the touch in about 10 minutes, I usually paint the color within about 30 minutes.
Duplicolor makes a plastic adhesion clear coat like that too.
I tried some of the Badger paints and didn’t like the colors. Same thing with all the pigment being stuck on the bottom of the bottle. Had to pour it through a strainer to keep it from clogging my airbrush.