I have not bought any new paints in quite a while , I have a bunch of Floquil , some real old , some newer. With al I have heard about the formulas over the years being differernt , and the fact that they are going to redo the color lineup again , eliminating some colors, I have decided to try Polly Scale. BUT there are some things I need to know and figure this is the best place to get the true skinny. Do you need a primer for these paints, on plastic and bare metals? What ratio piant to thinner does everybody use, Polly Scale says 15% the model railroader article in 1998 says 30-40%. How about air presure? Should you mix a glase paint with the color paint to make decalling easier as I did with the Floquil.
I use only Polly Scale these days , I too have alot of old floquil . I always recommend primer first no matter what I paint. The polly scale needs primer more than ever IMHO. It runs easier than the old floquil , grips onto primer easily. Several light coats is better than 1 heavy coat also. I don’t have any problems with decals on the polly scale , others will insist on a gloss first. I thin by eye no set amount , run about 20lbs of air pressure , but that can be different with different guns. Anything else ?
Thanks What primer do you use. I saw at the store some Polly Scale primer , it was the red oxide color I got used to gray with the Floquil , but did not see any. maybe I missed it.
I think you mean Polly Scale Zinc Chromate Primer. I’m not sure if it’s exactly a primer but just paint to look like this color. I’ve used it a lot for the nice creamy red hue. Works well for passenger car interior seats.
Some modelers use rattle can Rust-Oleum Auto Primer. I rarely prime in HO scale but have used the Rust-Oleum for G scale with great results.
You can also use any Polly Scale gray as a base coat/primer. MOW gray is a good choice, although I think it only comes in the small Polly Scale bottles.
I’m not an expert , but I buy Testors primer in white and grey (rattle can ) , depending on the color I’ll be painting determines the primer I use. it goes on clean and smooth and of course IMHO helps the painting go better. Colors like yellow are really well served by using white primer.
I use Poly S and as far as priming depends…If you don’t prime you get a faded look.I touch the building up except the scratch in the door since I placed it there.
IMO-The Polly Scale blend is a lot better than the old Polly S paint. Seems to be a bit tougher finish. I’ve never found the need for primer with Polly or Floquil. I look at primer as just another coat of paint that can hide fine details.[2c] Now if your going to try and paint yellow over a black shell, you might need it.
Couldn’t agree more. Easy to airbrush or brush paint. Airbrush clean up is easy breezy. Dries perfectly, coats well, and comes in large bottles so you can do all scales with it. Plus they make 2 types, Scalecoat I for metal and wood, and Scalecoat II for plastics. Just wish they made their color chart available online. My old color chart is already out of date.
For airbrushing I use the advice “thin to the consistency of milk”. I have only painted 1/35 and 1/48 military models so far (still amassing my HO empire) but have never used primer for plastic - It just covers up detail and can only be worse in MRR scales. I’ve also found it to be quite tenacious on clean metal as well. One thing I do, however, is to gently wash the item to be painted with liquid soap and an old toothbrush, then gently rinse with an old toothbrush, and gently shake and air dry.
BTW, never mix Polly-S (the old line) and Pollyscale (the new line). Polly-S was latex, Pollyscale is acrylic. The combination is glop.
Be advised. Polly S thinner, that I regularly used with Pollyscale paints for the last several years - is no longer produced/available. I contacted Testor’s, who purchased the Floquil lines of paints, who advised me of the above. They further indicated that in their desire to “consolidate” their lines, that they are now promoting their “Acryl Thinner”. Fine. Check out the pricing and compare it to what the Polly S was available for. Do the math, I previously purchased an 8 oz. supply of Polly S thinner at about $6. Testor’s is selling the Acryl “all purpose” thinner for about $8 for a 4 oz! bottle. When I responded with the price difference issue - I did not receive a reply - so I gathered they did not consider the economic side of things from a hobbyist’s perspective. I might reconsider my use of this product now.
I’m a custom painter and have been using both PolyScale and Modelflex acrylic paints since their introduction and ever since I used up my first bottles of Polyscale and Modelflex thinner, I have been using distilled water and 70% Isopropl Alcohol in a 80/20 mix with excellent results and it’s a lot cheaper.
With plastics you don’t need a primer, but primers do affect how the color looks, so I always prime with some shade of gray or white depending on the final hue I’m after. I never use rattle cans for priming, it goes on way toooo thick and does obscure details. I just use an acrylic, airbrushed on. Acrylics do seem to go on thicker than solvent paints, but as the water evaporates, the paint film actually shrinks.
With metal (brass and alloys) I do find that acrylics bond better to a solvent based primer and the solvent based primer bonds better to the metal. Metal models should also be baked, it makes for a much harder finish.
Most of the PolyScale paints are flat (just like the old Floquil) and gloss coating for decalling is reco
I have a few questions for those who use Scalecoat:
Scalecoat I is for metal, II is for plastic - what do you use if you have a combination? i.e. plastic model with metal superdetail parts?
Is Scalecoat acrylic or solvent based? (I didn’t see it mentioned on their website)
General question follow-up from #1 - for a model with plastic and metal parts, what kind of primer should be used? Would Polly Scale gray/white do the trick, or should something else be used?
Well it sort of depends. If the main model is plastic use Scalecoat II. II also works on metal. Scalecoat I supposedly attacks plastic. Although I’ve never tried it on plastic so I’m not 100% sure. You can always brush paint the metal parts with I. Or mask the plastic parts and airbrush the metal with I.
Solvent. They sell a thinner, but Floquil thinner works fine too. At least with the painting I’ve done. Although I prefer to use Scalecoat thinner if I have it. It’s smelly paint and needs plenty of ventilation. I like to do most painting outdoors but with G scale you almost have to [;)]
Any primer should work, and Polly covers pretty well on both plastic and metal. Scalecoat paints don’t need primers and from the painting I’ve done I agree with this. The first coat covers really well even without a primer. Just avoid Scalecoat I on plastics.
Hope this helps. BTW, where’s that impressive Santa Fe looking steamer in your avatar? That’s not 3450 in Pomona is it? Hard to tell.
Polly Scale and Modelflex paints work very well. I enjoy applying them in overall jobs and weathering. For modelers trying these acrylics for the first time, be patient as the mixing formulas are slightly different compared to solvent based paints. Practice on scrap cars or material first. Piece-of-cake once you get used to it.
Scale Coat II (gloss black) is the only solvent based model paint that I still use. I apply it as the undercoat in my passenger car metalizing projects (yes, pictures will be posted soon!). Once I find the right combination in an acrylic form, I’ll stop using it. Scale Coat II is a product of good quality but the fumes and chemicals are a health hazard.
Thanks for all the information about the paint - that really clears it up for me.
The photo in my avatar is actually ATSF 2912 in Pueblo, CO. We stumbled upon it purely by accident a couple of years ago while travelling through there. We crossed a bridge that went over the rail yard, and I looked out the window and saw it sitting there next to the train station. Of course, we had to stop for a few photos! [:)]
