I've read in a number of posts about using Testor's Dullcote with an airbrush vs a rattle can.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
The air brush gives you much greater control over the amount your spaying and where it's going.
Lacquer thinner is used to thin it, and yes, it gives great results.
After the last Dullcoat threads, I'm sure you'll get many responses.
I think a lot of this was mentioned and gone over in the other threads on Dull Coat.
Mike.
My You Tube
Side note, I prefer Model Master Flat over Dullcote, and the spray can has always given me satisfactory results.
Disclaimer: This post may contain humor, sarcasm, and/or flatulence.
Michael Mornard
Bringing the North Woods to South Dakota!
Because I really hate cleaning my airbrush I use rattle can DullCote whenever practicable (in a vented spray booth I hasten to add, or in warm weather outdoors when there is little or no breeze). By and large I get acceptable results -- particularly since I am almost always trying to "dull" the entire surface and not a targeted area.
And yes I follow the "rules" and turn the can upside down after use to clean out the nozzle. When a can is exhausted I usually save the nozzle, clean it in paint thinner or mineral spirits, and keep it handy as a ready replacement.
The primary downside is that when the can is starting to run low on product it tends to splatter.
In common with some other posters on the other DullCote threads, buying those spray cans is my primary use of the weekly "40% off (sometimes 50% off) any one item" coupon in the Sunday paper's Michael's Craft Store or Hobby Lobby advertisement.
Dave Nelson
dknelsonBecause I really hate cleaning my airbrush I use rattle can DullCote whenever practicable.....
When I'm Dullcoting stuff, there's usually an amount of that stuff sufficient to justify airbrush use. If I plan on painting other stuff, too, it's about two minutes to clean the airbrush if that paint is going to be acrylics, but if it's Floquil, Scalecoat, or other similar types of paint, no need to clean the airbrush at all, as most of those paints can be thinned with lacquer thinner, too, just like the Dullcote.
In the winter, I have to heat the paintshop (it's in the garage, about 100' behind the house) just to get the oil in the compressor warm enough that the motor can run it. In that case, I make the job well-worth the effort, sometimes painting several locomotives or perhaps three or four dozen freight cars.
Wayne
I knew I'd forget to ask a question. What ratio do you use to thin DullCote for airbrushing? And what other thinners do you use besides lacquer thinner?
Actually, in 45 years at this I have hardly ever used "Dullcote" brand clear.
I always use my airbrush, and these days I use Scalecoat paint mostly.
They have both flat and gloss clear, that can be mixed for a satin finish.
I have yet to successfully use acrylic paint in an air brush, guess I just work too slow, that liquid plastic always turns to goo before I'm done.
So as long as there is Scalecoat........
Sheldon
I find about 50/50 Dullcote and lacquer thinner works well - nice flat finish and dry enough for careful handling in a few minutes.If I'm doing undecorated kits or scratchbuilds, and lettering with decals, I do an application of Glosscote over the paint (make sure the paint is completely dry, or, if it's acrylic, completely cured, before applying a coating thinned with lacquer thinner), then, when that's dry, add the decals.
Once the decals have been set, I do another coat of clear gloss over them (it's surprising how different the gloss of a newly applied decal is, compared to the glossy surface to which it's been applied - this second application seems to even-out the contrast, and I then apply the Dullcote (or a mixed semi-gloss, if the car or locomotive is meant to represent one recently shopped) right over the just-applied, but dry-to-the-touch Glosscote.
Here are a couple of just finished (but not yet weathered) cars. All are scratchbuilt on modified Tichy flatcars...
...and after some weathering (airbrushed paint and brush-applied artists' pastels)
Unless I'm using artists' oil paints for weathering, I don't apply Dullcote over the weathering, as I feel that it makes the weathering too one-dimensional.
doctorwayne I find about 50/50 Dullcote and lacquer thinner works well - nice flat finish and dry enough for careful handling in a few minutes.If I'm doing undecorated kits or scratchbuilds, and lettering with decals, I do an application of Glosscote over the paint (make sure the paint is completely dry, or, if it's acrylic, completely cured, before applying a coating thinned with lacquer thinner), then, when that's dry, add the decals. Once the decals have been set, I do another coat of clear gloss over them (it's surprising how different the gloss of a newly applied decal is, compared to the glossy surface to which it's been applied - this second application seems to even-out the contrast, and I then apply the Dullcote (or a mixed semi-gloss, if the car or locomotive is meant to represent one recently shopped) right over the just-applied, but dry-to-the-touch Glosscote. Here are a couple of just finished (but not yet weathered) cars. All are scratchbuilt on modified Tichy flatcars... ...and after some weathering (airbrushed paint and brush-applied artists' pastels) Unless I'm using artists' oil paints for weathering, I don't apply Dullcote over the weathering, as I feel that it makes the weathering too one-dimensional. Wayne
Thanks for your input! Wayne, your results speak for themselves!
The size tip on Your air-brush is really what will dictate of how much thinner you need to use. I use a #3 tip on My Paasche air brush which is about a medium tip(all purpose) and there by can use a heavily thinned fine thin coat, which is about 50/50 to up to a 75/25 thin for heavier coats. All paints are not the same, but tips are. Fine, Medium, Heavy. If you thin the paint and it won't flow out, it probably is too thick for the tip. In some case's when using Lacquer primer with too fine a tip, it will dry in the air-brush tip, before coming out.
Take Care!
Frank
I've been following this thread, but today is he first day I've been home with daylight and had an opportunity to take pictures that might show what I'm talking about.
I would really like to get away from using a rattle can for applying dullcoat and use the liquid form through an airbrush. Like others, I think when using a spray can, it comes out fast and furious and can hide small details. Agreeing with others, the liquid form is more economical and I can control the application rate with an airbrush.
So, I've been experimenting with applying Testors Liquid Dullcoat through and airbrush. Following advice I've read on the internet, I thinned it 50/50 with paint thinner. My airbrush compressor runs 15-25 psi.
I applied acrylic paint on plastic spoons. The upper half/tip has dullcoat and you can see the "frost". The dullcoat "frost" on the peach color isn't as apparent, but with the naked eye you can see the difference.
Am I applying it too thin? Is it because I thinned it with paint thinner vs. laquer thinner? (Research shows there isn't much difference between the two). Before you throw out the humid/moisture days.....I live in Las Vegas NV, our average humidity is 15%. Granted, lately with the winter weather and moisture, humidity has been in the low to mid 20's.
Am I over-analyzing? Is Testors Dullcoat applied through an airbrush supposed to look like this?
Here's a pic of Alclad II Klear Kote Flat that I applied straight out of the bottle through an airbrush on the tip, it's almost invisible and the final look I'm trying to achieve.
Your thoughts, advice and input is appreciated. I plan on experimenting more by trying thicker applications.
Terry
Inspired by Addiction
See more on my YouTube Channel
PennCentral99...Am I applying it too thin? Is it because I thinned it with paint thinner vs. laquer thinner? (Research shows there isn't much difference between the two).
I'm uncertain as to what you percieve to be the problem: if you spray only part of the spoon with Dullcote, there's bound to be a noticeable difference between the sprayed portion and that which wasn't sprayed.As for thinners, I've always considered "paint thinner" to be mineral spirits, which is not all that similar to lacquer thinner. I believe that Dullcote and Glosscote are both lacquer-based, as both perform very well when thinned with lacquer thinner.
PennCentral99Here's a pic of Alclad II Klear Kote Flat that I applied straight out of the bottle through an airbrush on the tip, it's almost invisible and the final look I'm trying to achieve.
If that product worked well for you, then why not simply go with it? I've been using Dullcote with an airbrush for about 40 years, and have been quite satisfied with the results. If for some reason that changes, and I can't get the same results, I'd probably search for another option, but for now, it works the way I expect it to work, as it always has.
Just for comparison's sake, here's one of those gondolas which I posted earlier, before it was lettered, so no Dullcote, or Glosscote, just a coat of Pollyscale Steam Power Black.....
...and the same car, partially lettered over an application of Glosscote....
...and again, lettered, Glosscoted again, over the lettering, and then all of it Dullcoted...
While the lighting in the first three photos is the same, that in the fourth photo is different. Does the finish appear markedly different between the photos? Obviously, the one with the Glosscote is different from the first two, and the fourth one different from the third one, but is the fourth one similar, finish-wise, to the first two? I'd estimate it to be pretty similar, but even if it's different, is it objectionably different?
As for your concerns regarding Dullcote, you've pretty-much addressed it with the results of your test with Alclad II Klear Kote Flat - looks good to you, looks good to me, too...use it. I'll stick with Dullcote, 'cause it too looks good to me and I have a fair amount of it on-hand.
doctorwayne, thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it.