My LHS finally got some Testor’s Dullcoat in during the summer and I picked up 3 cans. Prior to that I made do with an artist’s matte spray which is not nearly as good (it’s not enamel like Dullcoat and leaves large matte splotches esp. on black, compared to Dullcoat’s finer pattern).
I was surprised to see how small the cans of Dullcoat are…85 g and how expensive for such a little can.
Is there another maker with a better price for enamel matte?
I use Krylon dull coat with pretty good results. I have found though that there are several different grades of their dull coat. You’ll have to see which one works best for you.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest an air brush and mixable clear flat/gloss like those available from ScaleCoat and Floquil.
Personally, I would never trust ant model I worked hard on to a spray can.
Sheldon
I’ve used Krylon Matte Finish and Valspar Clear Flat with good results. Just don’t put it on heavy.
Ditto to the ScaleCoat. I can use the flat, gloss, semi gloss, or mix my own batch. It’s water soluble and sprays well when diluted with Windex. I looked at my paint collection and that is all I have for finishes. ScaleCoat takes decals better than anything else I’ve used.
I like model masters matt spray, while not really cheaper I find it better in that I don’t seam to get the white spots that you get from dullcoat sometimes.
White spots are caused by trapped moisture under the finish coat. You don’t get that with the airbrush as much because as a rule we put down thinner coats of clear and the moisture has a chance to flash off as the paint dries. Any clearcoat will spott if not applied correctly. You cannot control the amount of spray from a Dullcote can so you end up either putting it on too thick or wasting a lot by making fast passes and spraying most of it into the air.
Krylon water clean-up matte spray; put on several lighter coats.
(Have used this to seal ink-jet prints on plain paper for subsequent gluing to windows.)
Agree with those recommending airbrushing the Dullcote. The applied cost per locomotive is fairly inexpensive. It is a lacquer so you need the proper thinner - fairly cheap at ACE or Home Depot.
Another advantage to airbrushing Dullcote is that is can also be mixed, in varying proportions, with Glosscote, to give a range of semi-gloss finishes. I use three or four variations when finishing steam locomotives, then weather over top of the finishes - especially on recently-shopped or well-maintained locos, the results are much more prototypical, but even on heavily-weathered locos, some of the original “shine” will show through the grime.
Wayne
Hi from Belgium,
Because Dullcote is not easy to find here in Europe, I was looking for an alternative years ago.
I have try a lot of products with good or bad results.
Finaly I find in the “GOLDEN” line paints product a dull varnish which is used by painters to dull the acrylics colors when dry. (It’s a UV protection also)
This varnish could be painted by brush or airbrushed when thinned with a special GOLDEN thinner.
The results are amazing. You can’t notice the varnish when dry. It’s a full dull varnish, no satin anyway.
It didn’t seem to change in the time, when I see some structures I build 20 years ago.
I use only acrylics paint to paint my models but when sprayed with this varnish they take a natural color as you have seen in the pictures I published about my Maclau River in Nscale.
Marc