Xtracolor enemel paints

[Father Ennis]

In my experience, the reason for the paint trouble was it wasn't fully cured before it was painted with the glosscote/flatcote.  I use Future floor wax for my gloss and mix it with Testors flat coat. Both are water based and cure very quickly. Then again,you didn't say what your problem was there are many other problems not caused by interaction of the paints. One that comes to mind this time of year is the cat shedding her fur in huge amounts !!!!!   LOL!!!  So is dust in the air. I had that trouble when I lived in an area of heavy road construction. You might need to put a water trap in your air line. Had that,too, it can get over 100% humidity where I live and not rain ...

[The Wooksta!]

re the 'old fashioned' paints comment, i have used paints from a local paint supplier mixed to specific BS.381/4800 and RAL. shades for specific modelling purposes which have had brilliant opacity, coverage and gloss, pretty cheap too altho maybe a litre of 'sky' or 'pr. blue' might be a bit much for some  

I dunno - the sheer volume of 2TAF Spitfires I did last year or so with PRU Blue undersides, a litre may have been handy.  Sure I went through two jars of PRU Blue in the space of a week last year.  I've been thinking about a YB49 in the MSG/PRU Blue combo for some years too.

Can I use Humbrol Matt/glosscote on Xtracolor? I've had some problems using Mattcote over Revell enamels, so want to make sure I don't end up with a model that never dries...

Pass.  Best answer would be to try it on a scrap model and find out.  As long as you're not mixing acrylic/enamel you should be okay but best to try it with something worthless first.  Revell enamels are best filed in the bin anyway.  Too thick, brush on terribly and they stink.  The less said about their excrable acrylics, the better.

[Dizzyfugu]

Revell enamels are VERY touchy when you apply ANY kind of oil-based varnish on top of them. I try to avoid the stuff for that reason, and because they tend to become pasty after opening. I had Revell paints "yellowing", or the varnish would turn glossy after some time. And the own matt varnish simply is not matt at all, pretty shiny stuff.

Best way to avoid this trouble IF you use Revell enamels, though, is to use an acryllic/water-based varnish. This won't react with the enamel below.

Concerning Xtracolor enamels: they tend to be very touchy, too, when you use oil-based varnish, much like some Testors/Model Master enamels (e. g. the semi-gloss RLM tones). But in this case it is just that the paint itself is easily soluted - oil-based varnish with a brush is a no-go! Again, using a water-based varnish avoids this potential trouble, or using an airbrush with thin, multiple varnish layers that can quickly dry up.

Besides: they are tricky to apply, at least the glossy stuff. I found the best way to paint with a brush is to use a relatively large, flat brush, and doing at least two painting turns while the paint is still "open": first turn is to set a base, which will definitively not be opaque and show some material below (even if you use primer or not). I just keep painting, focus is on an even and streakless first coat. The enamels take very long to dry thoroughly, but the stuff starts to "stick" very quickly - and once this sets in you can add another coat of paint on top of the first one, which "opens" the first layer and combines with the sticky base coat, for an even and opaque overall finish. Takes some feeling for the paint, but it works. You just do not have any opprotunity to create sharp edges with this method...

[Hobbes]

Can I use Humbrol Matt/glosscote on Xtracolor? I've had some problems using Mattcote over Revell enamels, so want to make sure I don't end up with a model that never dries...

This weekend I airbrushed some Glosscote on two models, one painted in Revell enamel, the other in Xtracolor. Thanks to a tip from somewhere else I mixed the Glosscote with Humbrol paint thinner plus some cellulose thinner (in about 2:1:1 ratio). Then, taking advantage of the first good weather we've had this year, I left the models sitting in the sun for two days. Result: the Glosscote is nice and dry, I can pick up the model between two fingers and hold it for 20 seconds without it starting to feel tacky and without leaving fingerprints. Much better than an earlier model, which failed the same test after 2 weeks.

So, not sure yet which did the trick (cellulose thinner or drying at high temperature), but at least I've got a process that works now.

[Hobbes]

Models baking in the sun:

[PR19_Kit]

I needed to touch up some small oversprays on the ESDG/Sky demarcation on my Skysearcher and found to my amazement that the paint had changed colour!

I used exactly the same paint as I'd decanted it from the airbrush bottle back into the storage jar and used that with a brush to do the touch up. It's quite a bit lighter now and I can't get it back to the same shade at all.

Any ideas why this should have happened and how I could get back to the original shade, it needs to be 'greener' I think.

And no, there wasn't any other paint in the storage jar before, it was brand new.

[The Wooksta!]

It's something to do with the way it's applied.  I hand painted some Xtracrylic PRU Blue over something I'd sprayed and it looked darker, despite being from the same bottle.

[PR19_Kit]

You learn something new every day.......

I've never heard that before but then I've only just started getting into this airbrush business. Sadly my precision airbrush's needle seems to be welded into the nozzle, and I'm not sure if I can get it out.

Thanks for that Lee.

[Steel Penguin]

im afraid Lees right on that Kit, its to do with the way the paint film settles as it drys, and the solvents evaporate off. you might have got away with it if you'd done it straight away ( the same temperature, humidity and conditions would have helped), but not necessary  enough.
its potentially an even worse problem with metallics as well.