Apologies in advance for another novice question. Historically, changing a light bulb by myself has been an accomplishment.
I have been reading the various threads lately about spray paints and I have a question. I read references about using Krylon & Rustoleum paints. I have a can of Krylon white primer, and it says it it is for “metal, wood, wicker, more.” Does “more” include styrene plastics?
It should work on plastic with no problems(but always ‘test’ it on some scrap). I have used the Krylon red oxide primer on structures, and even some old Athearn’BB’ freight cars. The spray nozzle is much better than most of the ‘hobby’ rattle cans…
That said, I do most of my model painting with an air brush - Great control and I get to chose the color!
Jim
Spray it on some scrap material and see what it does. It may work ok on some things, but may destroy fine details.
Even some that say they are for plastics are harmful to foam. They used to make an H2O based paint that I have used, but have not seen it in any of the stores recently. It worked well, but…
For Plastic models, you might want to stick with the more expensive Testor’s spray paints. Even then, be sure they are for plastic.
If it does not say PLASTIC assume not.
ROAR
I have used Krylon paints on plastic with no problems (I use their outdoor paint). After it dries for a few days, it will stick wonderfly to any clean surface without chipping. It takes a while to dry, but otherwise it works great.
Most rattle cans are filled with lacquer, which is a transparent plastic (probably nitrocellulose), a pigment for color, and lacquer thinner. It dries when the thinner evaporates. Lacquer thinner is pretty active stuff, many of us it as a cement for styrene. A lot of folk believe the laquer thinner from a rattle can will damage styrene models.
This is a problem that I have never encountered in real life. I paint styrene models with rattle cans on a regular basis and I never have a problem with the lacquer eating the styrene.
If you want to be extra cautious, test the paint on an inconspicuous part of the model, say some part on the inside that doesn’t show.
I always spray so that a thin coat of paint goes on just barely wet. It’s a matter of the right distance from the rattle can to the work. Too far away and the paint dries before it hits the work, givining a dry and dusty look to the paintjob. Too close and the paint goes on sopping wet and then sags and runs. It’s just possible that a heavy wet coat might attack some really fine detail. Do it just right and you get a thin coat that’s wet enough to self level but dries quite quickly.
I had some Krylon paint that ate foam, tried a small pice first, and it disolved most of it.
I do not know why but Krylon is no longer being stocked in my town. I even e-mail Krylon who could only direct me to a town 500 miles away.
When Kryklon announced its water based line of spray paints I tried to find some, could not, perhaps it is not meant for export to Canada?
I use WalMart Colormate gray primer. A dollar plus tax and it lays flat and fine on both structures model hoods and rolling stock. It is my color of choice for caboose and cab interiors, as well. I use it as a light base color under lighter airbrush colors, such as yellow, as well. I get a lot of mileage with each can, as far as number of uses. You can’t beat the price! Cedarwoodron
The solvents in most spray cans will dissolve styrofoam; however, styrene is more resistant. I have used Krylon and Rustoleum a lot with no problems, (except when I sprayed some trees that I had stuck in a piece of styrofoam - trees OK, not the foam). Krylon makes a paint specifically for plastics called Fusion, most of the colors are golss.