Hi guys,
I have assemble some Detail West Switch stands - Ground throw. After painting one, I was really disapointed. My black looks too fake, too shiny. I have used Tamiya Paints. Do you have any paint mix to make it more real like ?
I always see in magazines that Floquil Paints looks to be the best. Unfortunately, I am not able to get this product. Tamiya & testors only.
Thanks for your help !
Patrick.
Sounds like you used paint with a glossy finish instead of a flat finish. If you can repaint and don’t want to get more paint, or can’t find a flat finsh paint, try adding a little talcum powder to the paint you have. (Experiment with this first!)
Hi Bill,
Since I am a beginner in painting. COuld you tell me what is talcum powder and if it’s easy to find ?
Thanks.
Patrick.
It’s probably better that you just get some flat finish paint, but - talcum powder = baby powder = bath powder, preferably unscented.
Perfect I will try it !
I’m no painting expert, but the best paint for a beginner is Floquil’s Polly Scale Line of acrylic paint, they are flat, not glossy, they come in a wide variety of colors and you don’t paint thinner to use or clean them just a little rubbing alcohol for thinning and soap and water for clean up. I realize that you said that you cannot get Floquil paints, but try ordering them through Walthers or some other hobby company. Also if I am not mistaken I believe Testors owns Floquil so if you can get a look at a Testors’ catalog maybe you can ask you local source to order you some. The price is right at less than a $2.00 for an ounce unlike Testors measly 1/4 oz.
The color I would recommend for you ground throws are is mix of grimy black and railroad tie brown thinned with a little rubbing alcohol. These paints are relatively thin compared to Testor which tend to get thick while you use them.
And if you are really out don’t want order from a company try some artist acrylics thinned with enough alcohol to get them to a soupy consistency this will work well also. You can find them at any art supply store.
Railfan2882
Thanks !
Patrick.
You can also use “Plaid” or “Apple Barrel” brand acrylic craft paints in the same way that Gregory was describing for Polly S. Both brands are available at WalMart (and other stores having a crafts section), and they cost only $.44-.78 per bottle. Another advantage is that just like Polly, these paints can be thinned with distilled water for airbrushing. A number of the colors available are nearly identical to Floquil’s “railroad colors.”
I’ve gotten good results with Floquil or Polly scale grimy black and mixes of grimy black and engine black. “pure black” is too black to look realistic in scale. A shade of dark grey works best for me.
Hello Railfan 2882…mind telling us where you’re getting Polly S paint for less than two bucks an ounce ???
rgds/Mike
I am terribly sorry but I read the product line description from Walther’s which claims that it sell Floquil and Polly Scale paints for less than $2.00 an oz. It must be an old write up something. However, the paints, I believe, are still a worthy investment especially for a beginner
Regards,
Greg
Patrick,
Though this may be a late post in your thread…
I have used Testors for years with great results. I prefer their Model Master line. I usually buy enough for my Aztec airbrush and enough to add touch-ups with a brush. I get great weathering effects when thinning the mixture and mixing with other colors. Now, Testors also makes a Dullcoat product, so if you had used a glossy paint, all you would have to do is brush on the Dullcoat, let it dry, and now you have a flat coat. In addition to the Testors, I also use flat acrylic artist paints available from Wally World, chalks and powders for drybrushing, and a system of products that I get at my hobby store called RUSTALL. Hope that helps.
-Wolv33