Paint

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have been out of Model Railroading for a while and I was wondering what is the best paint to use on the newer plastic models. Back when I was painting a brass MKT roster Scalecoat was very good. I remember I did not have to even prime and it went down glossy making it easy to decal. Floquil back then was troublesome, very flat and very bad for your genetics. Has anything changed? I notice that floquil is packaged differently. In my scale modeling hobby I have gone mostly acrylic with Gunze Sangyo. But matching railroad colors could be pretty tricky.

Thanks

SB

2

I’m using Polly Scale now, and it works great. Model Master is also a decent paint. the Testors stuff in the 1/4 oz. bottles, never again shudder

3

SB,

If you’re comfortable using Scale Products, you’re in good shape. Scale Coat II solvent based paints are good quality performers and come in a nice variety of railroad related colors:

http://www.weavermodels.com/page11.html

Personally I prefer Pollyscale and Badger Model Flex acrylics and use Scale Coat II black only as a base for metalizing HO passenger cars. Good stuff but messy to cleanup and loaded with toxic fumes. A respirator and good ventilation are a must.

To me, acrylics are easy to apply, leave no smell, and are safer to use overall. (but of course this stuff shouldn’t be inhaled either).

4

Stick withe acrylic paints for plastic. Solvent based paints will attack the plastic!! The acrylics are better now than 20 years ago! Welcom back to the hobby!![#welcome]

5

Testors has taken over Floquil and Polly S, (which is now Polly Scale) They have a nice, new web site.
http://www.testors.com/

Walthers also sells Scalecoat I for metal and Scalecoat II for plastic. (both solvent based)

6

To further explain a little:

PolyScale - Acrylic Model Railroad paints, available in most MR colors, goes on flat, needs thinning, a Floquil product.

Modelflex - Acrylic Model Railroad paints, available in most MR colors, most go on satin or semi-gloss, generally airbrush ready, a Testors product.

ModelMaster - general model paints, available in acrylics, enamels and spray cans, a Testors product.

Scalecoat - Scalecoat I, same as the old Scalecoat, still glossy finish, not so safe for plastics.

  • Scalecoat II, reformulated as an enamel to it make safer for plastics, glossy finish, now distributed by Weaver.

Floquil - Still available, no changes except for a newly reformulated Diosol which is supposed to be less lethal to brain cells.

As a custom painter of 20 years, I prefer the acrylics for ease of use an cleanup. Once you get used to them, you can produce paint jobs indistinguishable from the old enamels. I only use Floquill and/or Scalecoat if a customer insists (usually on a brass model), but frankly I don’t see a difference.