Paint wont dry?


eric2448

eric2448

Member
Im having an issue with some paint I picked up at my LHS. The bottle of Floquil Bright Silver has been giving me fits. I thinned it with the Testors brand thinner and have been applying it with my dual action airbrush. It goes on extremely well but never dries. I prep the cars by washing them with soap and water, scrub them down with some 91% alcohol and never handle them with bare hands prior to painting. I let them sit a few days before I handle them and even weeks after they are still tacky. The color rubs off on my hands and I can strip the entire car with a q-tip soaked with 91% alcohol. I have never been able to strip enamel paint with alcohol... Do I just have a bad bottle of paint or is there something else that Im not doing right?
 
kenw said:
perhaps the thinner you used is incorrect.
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I agree with kenw...try using the Floquil thinner instead of the Testors.

I once painted one of my race cars using an industrial enamel we had scrounged up. The can said to thin the paint with mineral spirits. Not having any, we used enamel reducer we had. 2 months later the paint had finally cured enough to put the car back together!

I later painted my trailer using the same paint, but used mineral spirits this time, and the paint dried in a couple hours.

The moral of the story...ALWAYS use the manufacturers recommended thinner.

Rotor
 
I have never used Testors thinner except for the Metalizer paints.

For Scalecoat, Floquil enamels, and even Testors enamels I use Xylene or Xylol from Home Depot or whatever friendly home store you have. Even Wal-Mart carries it. I never have any problems with any of these paints curing. Ever.
 
I'm not all that knowledgeable, but I thought Floquil was lacquer. I used lacquer thinner with it for decades with great results.

My thinking is that the Testers enamel thinner would be the exact opposite of the right thinner. Am I wrong?

Is it possible Floquil changed their solvent based paint formula in recent years from lacquer to enamel? Seems rather unlikely, but all of this EPA stuff has changed a lot of manufacturing approaches.
 
As I said in another thread, I have used paint thinner, lacquer thinner, and even coleman fuel with my floquil tuscan red (I was advised not to do that on this forum :D) and had no problems. Bad paint perhaps? Maybe too much thinner? I don't see that being a problem though. I have never had that experience with any paint, except a really old can of spray paint i found in my dad's garage once. I would try what deanej said. Use lacquer. It gives GREAT results with the Floquil I use.
 
if its not too late, and depending on the job, you may want to try a standard spray paint can. model paint has its benefits, no doubt, but I have had pretty good results with a regular 12oz can of krylon spray paint -vs- model aerosol or model paint in an airbrush. also, silver can be tricky...as you have discovered, it can sometimes cure with a dusty finish. for larger sections i have found krylon works great. its relatively thin so the details dont get lost. the downside is your color selection is severly limited. but if you just looking for a silver or aluminum finish this may be a solution - if you get the other paint off that is. here is a P-51D i did recently (dont laugh, its my first aircraft model) and i painted it with krylon silver.
 
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deanej said:
I'm not all that knowledgeable, but I thought Floquil was lacquer. I used lacquer thinner with it for decades with great results.

My thinking is that the Testers enamel thinner would be the exact opposite of the right thinner. Am I wrong?

Is it possible Floquil changed their solvent based paint formula in recent years from lacquer to enamel? Seems rather unlikely, but all of this EPA stuff has changed a lot of manufacturing approaches.
Click to expand...

Floquil paints are enamels. Testors now owns Floquil, so it is very likely that their universal thinner will work with either brand.
 
Airslide said:
if its not too late, and depending on the job, you may want to try a standard spray paint can. model paint has its benefits, no doubt, but I have had pretty good results with a regular 12oz can of krylon spray paint -vs- model aerosol or model paint in an airbrush. also, silver can be tricky...as you have discovered, it can sometimes cure with a dusty finish. for larger sections i have found krylon works great. its relatively thin so the details dont get lost. the downside is your color selection is severly limited. but if you just looking for a silver or aluminum finish this may be a solution - if you get the other paint off that is. here is a P-51D i did recently (dont laugh, its my first aircraft model) and i painted it with krylon silver.
Click to expand...

If your silver is drying with a dusty finish you are too far away from the work, and what you're seeing is dry spray. Move in closer.

I have used rattle cans in the past, and sometimes now, when there is no other solution, but after many years of airbrushing, spraying with a rattle can is like painting with a fire hose. Just not enough control over the spray, and too easy to apply too much product.
 
Espeefan said:
Floquil paints are enamels. Testors now owns Floquil, so it is very likely that their universal thinner will work with either brand.
Click to expand...
So these aren't the same paints we had from Floquil over the years gone past. I assume it mostly has to do with the EPA.
 
Nope! Some years back they went from a red label to a black one. Then Testors bought them. There were probably several reformulations in that time.
 
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