Hi Rusty and all --
Floquil became part of the Testor line several years ago. They have
changed the paint to a regular enamel, the same as the standard Testor
paints. Pactra merged with Testor even earlier and they used to be the
folks who actually made and packaged the paints, but I don't know if they
still exist as a separate entity within the corporation. Pollyscale is not
the same as Polly S, but they are both water based acrylics. Pollyscale
and the Testor acrylic lines are all the same kind of paint which is
designed to be thinned with either water or alcohol. Alcohol will dry
faster, but might end up drying in the airbrush while it is being sprayed,
so water might be preferable. Tamiya has a good acrylic thinner (NOT
cheap) that seems to be the best combination of drying speed and smoothness.
I also think Rusty is correct about Scalecoat I paints. When Bob Weaver
first starting bottling paints, I was told that he was using regular
automotive laquer by a knowledgable third party. All I know is that once
the stuff has fully cured, it is almost impossible to scratch, ding, or
remove it!
All these lines of paint have experts that can be accessed at the company.
I would recommend calling or emailing them for assistance in using their
products.
Hope I haven't muddied the water (or thinner/reducer)!
Bill Winans
I think, and that process tends to get me in trouble, that Scalecoat
is an acrylic enamel and the old Floquil is an acrylic lacquer. My
reason for thinking this is; I have used Dupont Centari, the acrylic
enamel, for street rods and custom cars. This paint handles just like
Scalecoat. On the street rods and custom cars I used a catalyst with
the Dupont paint and on the models that is not a good idea!
The old Floquil handled like the Dupont acrylic lacquer. I don't
like to paint a model with a flat paint that I am going to be
decaling. I went to using the Floquil for weathering and all kinds of
other models about 40 years ago. Having said this, a correctly dried
and cured Floquil paint job on a brass model is extremely durable.
(I'm referring to the old Floquil)
I have mixed the Dupont enamel and Scalecoat with no problems. I
had the dash out of a 1952 ford coupe and was going to paint it black
one Friday late at night. I did not have enough Dupont so I used 4 of
the 2 oz.bottles of Scalecoat black. It looked the same as the Dupont
Pitch Black 99 color to me! I added the correct amount of reducer and
catalyst and proceeded to paint the dash. Monday morning I came in,
installed the dash components, it looked great. That was in 1988. The
guy I sold the car to still has it and it still looks nice.
I think, but do not know for sure, Scalecoat and Floquil are just
repackaged colors from one of the big paint suppliers. I tried the new
Floquil. It is okay for spraying but is terrible for brushing. It is
not at all like the old stuff. This means I have no idea of how it is
going to endure over time.
I've recently been experimenting with the Scalecoat Loco Black. it
is not the same as the regular Scalecoat Black. I've had mixed results
and the jury is still out. I have not tried what Scalecoat calls
Detail Black.
None of the paint products are good for you. Keep the liquid off
your skin. I use the new "Mr Clean" vinyl gloves that come 50 to a
box. I no longer mess with custom, antique, or street rods but I go
through a lot of gloves! Note: Here in California 16 bottles (1 quart)
of Scalecoat cost the same as one quart can of Dupont. All of the
Scalecoat paints I've been talking about are the Scalecoat I paints,
not the Scalecoat II. That is a different story.
I have also used xylene as a reducer for Floquil. I never put paint
back into the bottle and I only use lacquer thinner to clean up with
when I'm finished. Stay away from the toluene and MEK.
Rusty
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