I recently mixed 1 oz of a custom light grey to airbrush on a few buildings I scratchbuilt. 1 oz wasn’t enough and I needed to match the custom color exactly so I decided against mixing a custom color for this particular project. Looking through my paint collection, I found a light grey that was very close to my custom color…SP LT Grey. Perfect! I went and bought 3 bottles of paint and after spraying the model, found the color much darker than the bottle I already had; it turned out more like reefer grey than light grey. Since I was pressed for time, I sprayed the buildings to see if I like it…not really. I may respray the buildings later but wanted to know if anyone else had problems with Polly Scale paint matching other Polly scale colors. The original bottle I had was from '09…did they change the color? Even the color chip on the paint display rack looked like the correct light grey (even though those chips aren’t always exactly accurate), not the darker grey I ended up with. Did I get a mis-mixed batch (unlikely)?
Anyone have issues with matching Polly Scale colors? or other color problems with Polly Scale? FYI:I thinned the paint a little more than the recommended 4:1 (prob 5:1) and spray at about 10-12 psi; I haven’t had any unusual problems with this method…just with the color.
I will take pictures (and put them in my Shutterfly page) when I get the modules and buildings set up (everything is still packed away from transporting).
This is a known “issue” not just with Poly-Scale, but just about every other paint manufactured, be it latex, solvent based, model or prototype, or just about any other paint type made.
Colors ever since paint was manufactured has been slightly different in shade from batch to batch.
Why it occurs, with more and more computer manufactured paint, I don’t know, but it still does.
Be sure to stir the paint thoroughly, just shaking the bottle won’t do it.
Paint matching at the manufacturing level is pretty good now days(at least for automotive and latex home paints). At the model railroad level, they may not be current with the latest technology.
That said, I have used Floquil Polly Scale SP light grey for a lot of projects and have never had a problem. In fact I just used up a jar that was quite a number of years old. I ‘found’ it during a re-org of my hobby supplies. That bottle and the current new bottle have not had any noticeable difference when sprayed. If it is going on like darker ‘reefer grey’, you need to mix it up better or you have a bad bottle. One thing I have found is one must stir the paint so it is mixed completely. I now use one of those small battery powered mixers(about $10 or so) and it makes a world of difference. Shaking the bottle by hand, or using one of those battery powered ‘paint shakers’ does not do a complete job.
Jim
Its common to have color differences from one batch to another of paint, even if the paint is the same manufacturer and same part number. There are many reasons why the colors can be off from one batch to another. When dealing with multiple containers of paint of the same color to be used at the same time on the same project, it is advisable to “box” the paint. That is mix thoroughly all of the containers of the same color together in one “batch” and then place them back into the original containers. That way you will have enough paint of all one color on hand as any minor diferences in color will no longer exist since you created your own “dye or color lot” by mixing them together.
Pat
I have noticed very subtle shade differences in most brands of paint. However, inadequate mixing and over-dilution are more likely to be issues, though. One other thought: When Testers discontinued many of the Pollyscale military colors a few years ago, some of the other shades were reformulated. This might also be part of the issue if you had an older bottle lying around.