Craft Paints in restorations

[joepinehill]

I'm always looking for ways to save on my hobby. I read an article in Railroad Model Craftsman about using common craft acrylic paint for model railroading and I tried it on a Matchbox. I used Americana Red, diluted 50/50 with alcohol, and added a few drops of Liquitex flow aid. The results came out nice for the Ford Galaxy. I have had success with red, and white paint. When I tried Americana Blue, the paint gelled when trying to dilute. It diluted better with water but was marginal and I wasn't happy with the results when spraying with the airbrush. The article was in June 2015 if anyone is interested. A friend gave me a copy.

I primed with Tamiya Primer, sprayed the red, then followed a coat of clear gloss for the top coat. The two ounce bottles are about $1.50, about one tenth that I can buy Tamiya paint for.

[zBret]

That looks like it turned out great! I have recently heard about using those types of paints as well, will have to give it a try.

zBret

[misterpop]

Superb work..We like a bit of paint talk on here....I have been experimenting with Acrilics myself but the ones that come in match pots...Good thing is you can get paint matched and it dont cost the earth....B&Q in UK will even match off a sample and mix it there and then..You need a good size pattern though..Good luck welcome and good work.Ian.

[joepinehill]

Here are a couple pages from the article. If the moderator this is a copywright issue, no offense if its removed.

[misterpop]

Resized for you to the best I can do..

IMG_5176.jpg (395.64 KiB) Viewed 1424 times

IMG_5177.jpg (376.2 KiB) Viewed 1424 times

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Thank you Ian for adjusting the images above.

I don't think there is a problem with copyright because it is being used for the purpose of the intended content of information enlightenment and is not being posted here for any monetary gain by the poster. The magazine title still appears on the bottom of the page so we can see the source of the information.

We are using it here under a 'Gentlemans Agreement', but if anyone does take offence it will be pulled from the posting.

Ghosthunter.

[Idris]

I don't think there is a problem with copyright because it is being used for the purpose of the intended content of information enlightenment and is not being posted here for any monetary gain by the poster. The magazine title still appears on the bottom of the page so we can see the source of the information.

We are using it here under a 'Gentlemans Agreement', but if anyone does take offence it will be pulled from the posting.

I think it would be good practice (and courteous) if, in situations like this, the source of the article were fully referenced (i.e. name of the magazine, volume no. and issue no. or year and month, page no.s) and a hyperlink to the magazine's website.

[joepinehill]

The article is from Railroad Model Craftsman June 2015, Using Craft Paint • by Gregory M. Larocca — Formulating craft paint for a Polly Scale replacement.

[BPG]

Interesting subject... I've been researching craft paints on models for years now. I haven't really used them on my Matchboxes yet, though that may change sometime soon. In a nutshell, I've found that they work pretty good in a lot of cases, though maybe not every case. Really deep, rich, saturated blues and reds seem to be tough for craft paint. I also like student-grade tube acrylics, they can work well if thinned down, but they tend to be less able to cover completely without several coats. I make an acrylic thinner using Floetrol, water, and some Future acrylic floor polish that makes a nice airbrushing medium. I generally prefer Ceramcoat acrylics, though some of the others work quite well too, except maybe for the very cheapest brands. I have to use an airbrush to get good results, and they always need thinning as they're too goopy straight from the bottle. Windex works good as a cleaner, as well as window washing fluid from the auto parts store, which is mainly water and alcohol. Craft paint dries to a dead flat finish, which is great for models, but not so much for Matchbox cars, as they usually need a gloss coat. There are a few metallic craft paints as well as gloss mediums you can buy but I haven't tried them yet. Hope this helps

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Several of the 'Brands' mentioned above are unknown or not available in the UK, so any chance of a few links to their web sites please.

Ghosthunter.