Replacements for Floquil and Polly Scale paints


N

NP2626

Guest
Now that the above two paints are no longer available, what is everyone using and where do you get it? Why Testors dropped these lines of paint is beyond me. I loved these two types of paint and would still be a fan if they where being produced. I rarely find Model Master's railroad type colors, so that one is out for me. Scalecoat I or II doesn't seem to be easily obtainable and the Vallejo paints seem expensive, even for their small bottles. I don't have an air brush and brush paint everything, what are you guys using?
 
I believe that Scalecoat is a good replacement paint. There are others, but from what I have heard it is very good. I always used Floquil but haven't needed to paint anything in years as all of my locomotives and rolling stock are done.
 
No one has mentioned Tru-Color paint yet: http://trucolorpaint.com/ Check out the color chart to see if the have the paints you need. They are always adding new colors & they do respond to emails & phone calls. If your LHS doesn't carry them, they can be ordered over the phone.
 
Login In to the MRH website.

Mouse over "Goodies" along the top.

The 6th item down is "MRH Acrylic Painting Guide". Clicking on it will take you to a page where you can download the landscape or portrait version (or both).
 
cajon said:
No one has mentioned Tru-Color paint yet: http://trucolorpaint.com/ Check out the color chart to see if the have the paints you need. They are always adding new colors & they do respond to emails & phone calls. If your LHS doesn't carry them, they can be ordered over the phone.
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I have used one true color paint. What I thought would be a brush on paint turned out to be for air brush. It never even crossed my mind that a paint company would provide a paint for use in a spray gun already thinned, when people using air brushes are used to thinning their own paints. In fact, I think this is totally unnecessary as airbrush users mix at various rates depending upon the end result they are after.

However, they do make a "Brush on Paint" and I would be willing to try, if I could find an online outlet.
 
I understand that Scalecoat comes in two versions, (I) for metal and wood and (II) for Plastic. I really don't want to have to have on hand two different types of the same color paint! Do you know the reason for this? What might happen if I used Scalecoat II on metal or wood?
 
To answer your last question first - NOTHING, or rather nothing unusual. I use Scalecoat II exclusively and have used it successfully on both wood and metal as well as plastic. Both I and II are solvent based enamels, both use the same solvents, just in different proportions. Scalecoat II is designed to dry faster than Scalecoat I. That is because the solvents used will dissolve plastic. With wood, it doesn't matter; with metal, the slower dry time allows the paint to self level and adhere better. So when painting metal, surface prep and priming are especially important when using II.
 
Thanks Kevin!

I thought I'd give my Tru-Color another try today (even though mine was made for air brush) and you must have to use their special thinner to clean brushes with. Almost ruined a really good brush. I tossed the bottle in the trash and will not buy or use Tru-Color paints again!!!
 
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Since the demise of Floquil and Polyscale paints. I have been mostly using up these paints and dabbling with other manufacture's products and not finding anything as good as Floquil or Polyscale. Which makes me wonder why Testors would have ended production of what was their best product! I guess life goes on and I need to find something as good; or, better. Model Master's Acrylics are pretty good; but, I've noticed that over time their paint seems to loose it's quality. For Scenery and buildings Delta Ceramcoat paints are excellent. However, I like enamels for painting rolling stock! I would use acrylic paint here also if I could find one as good as Polyscale. Have any of you tried the Acrylicos Vallejoline of paints?
 
NP2626 said:
Thanks Kevin!

I thought I'd give my Tru-Color another try today (even though mine was made for air brush) and you must have to use their special thinner to clean brushes with. Almost ruined a really good brush. I tossed the bottle in the trash and will not buy or use Tru-Color paints again!!!
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Tru-Color is basically thinned with Acetone, so it can be rough on an airbrush that isn't solvent-tolerant or a hand brush that isn't. Having said that, I'm actually really impressed with their paint. It sprays better than anything else I've used in the solvent category, and the neat thing is that no matter how much it thickens with age, you can thin it right back down without it forming any clumps and so forth. I've read that it's because it uses a suspended dye rather than any oil-based pigments. I hope I'm stating that accurately. As for brushing it on, the nice thing is that (since it uses Acetone) it dries and thickens very quickly. When I've needed to do touch-ups with a brush, I've simply shaken up the paint, take the cap off and let it set for about five minutes, and by that time the paint on the inside of the cap has thickened enough to brush on nicely. Of course, that's only good for small touch-ups and doesn't help you if you need to do a larger amount of painting.
 
MikeOwnby said:
Tru-Color is basically thinned with Acetone, so it can be rough on an airbrush that isn't solvent-tolerant or a hand brush that isn't. Having said that, I'm actually really impressed with their paint. It sprays better than anything else I've used in the solvent category, and the neat thing is that no matter how much it thickens with age, you can thin it right back down without it forming any clumps and so forth. I've read that it's because it uses a suspended dye rather than any oil-based pigments. I hope I'm stating that accurately. As for brushing it on, the nice thing is that (since it uses Acetone) it dries and thickens very quickly. When I've needed to do touch-ups with a brush, I've simply shaken up the paint, take the cap off and let it set for about five minutes, and by that time the paint on the inside of the cap has thickened enough to brush on nicely. Of course, that's only good for small touch-ups and doesn't help you if you need to do a larger amount of painting.
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Mike, Glad someone likes Tru-Color! My problem with it is; like many paint producers today, they feel they need to make two types of paint, one for Brushing and one for Air Brushes, when the users of Air Brushes I should think, do their own thinning, determined by the effect they are after! I also don't care for the fact that they are using a different type of thinning/cleaning agent! To use, I would now need to have a container of Acetone and need to remember that Tru-Color needs acetone!

The world continues to become more and more complicated. In the end, I guess I would rather clean water based acrylics. So, water based acrylics is the direction I'm headed.
 
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I have purchased a selection of Micro-Marks Microlux paints and a few Acrylicos Vallejo paints and have to say I am impressed.
 
Strictly speaking, acrylics are not water based and they can be solvent based too. Think the paint that autos were painted with before 2 pack came along. The ones sold for modelling are a latex based type, water thinned and tend to build up on the spray tip. Not as toxic though.
 
I've found all the acrylic paints I have, clean up with water and I have used water to thin them with; so, Strictly Speaking, water does what I want it to do!
 
Great thread guys. I have one reply and one question...I have found Model Master paints to work very well as a spray paint & brush paint. I have been using their thinner , which seems to work very well, but I was wondering, can I also use 70% alcohol as a thinner.. It is much cheaper.
 
NP2626 said:
Mike, Glad someone likes Tru-Color! My problem with it is; like many paint producers today, they feel they need to make two types of paint, one for Brushing and one for Air Brushes, when the users of Air Brushes I should think, do their own thinning, determined by the effect they are after! I also don't care for the fact that they are using a different type of thinning/cleaning agent! To use, I would now need to have a container of Acetone and need to remember that Tru-Color needs acetone!

The world continues to become more and more complicated. In the end, I guess I would rather clean water based acrylics. So, water based acrylics is the direction I'm headed.
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I agree with you on both counts, actually. I still use acrylic when I can. However, when I do need exact color matches and must use other types, I've had the best luck spraying Tru-Color. If a person were using only one or two bottles of Tru-Color, I can understand that it would be a pain both to remember to use acetone and for that matter to even have to keep the acetone on hand. Since Tru-Color is the only non-acrylic I use, I just have to keep the acetone for that and some ammonia and/or distilled water for the acrylics so it's not a big deal.
 
breezy8 said:
Great thread guys. I have one reply and one question...I have found Model Master paints to work very well as a spray paint & brush paint. I have been using their thinner , which seems to work very well, but I was wondering, can I also use 70% alcohol as a thinner.. It is much cheaper.
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Model Master is enamel if I remember correctly (except when it's acrylic ;)), so I'm honestly not sure how well alcohol will work. BTW, when dealing with paint, the 90% alcohol does work better. Thing is, if you've still got some of their thinner left, try alcohol and just see what happens. If the alcohol doesn't clean things up properly, then just go back to your thinner. The alcohol certainly can't hurt anything, and as long as you have a remedy on hand if it doesn't work, no harm done.
 
So, Alcohol then, that begs the question: which one? There is Denatured Alcohol, Ethanal, Rubbing Alcohol, Methanol and Isopropyl Alcohol? There may even be more! Thank goodness there is still only a couple types of water: drinking and heavy water and I know from living for 66 years that heavy water is not used to clean brushes; or, spray guns although I can't state categorically that heavy water can't be used. And the world continues, daily, to become more and more complicated! We are all suffering through this because Testor's had a Hissy Fit and discontinued two of their best product lines: Floquil and Polly Scale! ;)
 
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