Where can I learn more about various paints and under what conditions/scenarios would I use the different types?
Acrylic (craft store types) vs. acrylic (like PollyScale)…fomer for scenery and latter for plastic/wood models?
Or are they the same? When to use solvent based…or enamels?
Thanks…Al
I don’t beleive I have ever read a good magazine article or book about the various kinds of paint out there. Now that our beloved Floquil, Polyscale and Testors paints are going away, perhaps it’s time for one of our hobby magazines to get cracking.
Polyscale was a water based acrylic paint. The craft store versions I think are the same chemistry, water based, dries by reaction with oxygen, once dry it cannot be removed by wiping down with the solvent (water). The craft store paints come thicker than Polyscale used to and cost a lot less. I thin them quite a bit with water so that brush strokes will level out. I use them for scenery and structures.
Rolling stock, the usual injection molded styrene (Athearn for example) I like to spray the paint to get a smooth coat with no brush marks. I don’t have an airbrush, so I use rattle cans. These are pretty much all filled with lacquer, which consists of a very active thinner, a plastic “body” and pigment. The thinner keeps the plastic “body” liquid. When the thinner evaporates, the “body” turns hard. This is quick, a few minutes, which reduces the chance a dust mote has of landing in the wet lacquer and making a blemish in the paint job. Most rattle cans are gloss. A top coat of Dullcote will flatten it out nicely, and tone down the color somewhat. Rattle cans labeled as “auto primer” are dead flat, and will cover anything. The red auto primer makes a good box ca
I believe the MR issue from two months ago had a good review of current available paints for models written by Cody Grivino.
One thing to always remember is that paint is a mixture of solid pigment and a carrier solvent. To increase the gloss of finish requires decreasing the size of the pigment particles. I know of one European paint maker that specializes in super high gloss paint and claims to have the finest grind pigment in the paint business. I have seen samples painted with their paint and they have a very lusturous sheen and bright colors.
The EPA truly has ruined the paint business as it has regulated all solvent paint out of the market. There are no truly enamel paints as we used to know them thanks to the EPA. I guess Testors and its current owner decided it was not financial prudent to fight the EPA and simple withdrew from most of the hobby market. They have a very small amount of paints that still are being marketed.
I have seen some comments in the past about using automotive paints for modeling. Automotive paints come in about quart sizes and up and are very expensive. Automotive paints use very finely ground pigments and thus generate glossy finishes.
Al,
Most of the acrylic ‘craft’ paints one finds at Hobby Lobby or Walmart will work. Thinning many times is the key to get them to spray. Alcohol or water will work as a ‘thinner’. For most air brush work, you want to thin it to the consistancy pf 2% milk, ans spray ot at around 18-25 lbs of air pressure. The air pressure will depend on the type and model of air brush.
Polly Scale is being disontinued and will be replace by Testors Model Master acrylics - But there does not seem to be a lot of exact matches to the original railroad colors at this time. I have a good ‘cache’ of Polly Scale on hand, and will use it for some time.
Badger has ‘air brush’ ready acrylics that do not have to be thinned(at least that is what there product info says). I have used them and they spray very well, but do not brush paint good.
Micro-Mark just released their line of railroad specific acrylics - They are actually made by Vallejo and should be excellent quality. I have ordered some to try out.
Solvent based paints like Floquil(being discontinued) or Scalecoat(still available) can be thinned with lacquer thinner. I have backed off from using them as the smell is terible, and even with nitrile gloves, they do a number on my finger nails - just not work it anymore!
Jim
Missed Tru-Color Paints (Actually an Ink) that is thinned with Acetone, dries quickly and is ready for masking almost immediately. Dries to a shiny finish that is ready for decaling and has many Railroad Colors (at least 16 versions of Boxcar Red depending on the railroad). It is based on the old Accupaint.
Rick J
Having used Badger myself I will agree that is horrid for trying to brush paint.
Having to use a Scalecoat II color for part of my empire (I couldn’t find the color I needed in any other line), I second the comment about the smell (the SCII as well). I have managed to avoid getting it on my fingernails. I’m also glad to see that I’m not the only one that manages to get paint on themselves.
Another option for scenery (and probably less expensive), especially if you’re looking at covering a large area would be getting quarts of latex house paint, most likely in a flat finish. (There aren’t very many places in the world where the scenery would be shiny.) I have even used house paint sample jars for some of my buildings. (Yes I do need to watch how thick I brush the paint to avoid obscurring detail.)
I have also used the craft paints for buildings. The one thing to watch for is that the craft paints have a occasional tendency to run when they get wet (at least on me), even after they have “dried.” What I have found is that I have to seal the paint with some sort of clear finish after I am done painting the building.