Recently I purchased six weathering colors in Scalecoat's spray can format. Thinking that an experienced manufacturer like Scalecoat would understand that a light, subtle, fine grained spray is what we usually want when we weather, I picked an el cheapo boxcar for my first effort. The paint shot out of the nozzle like gangbusters and immediately ruined the job. I tested and found all the other cans had the same characteristic. The paint flow was so heavy I would hesitate to use it even for painting O or G Scale equipment. What were they thinking? I bought the cans because my venerable air brush was getting balky but now I'm beginning to appreciate it much more. Meanwhile I have $40.00 worth of useless paint on my hands.
Are these older cans from some shop's inventory?
The Scalecoat line is now under new management. You might contact them (Minuteman Scale Models) and let them know about this problem, if the cans are new.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
JimValle Recently I purchased six weathering colors in Scalecoat's spray can format. Thinking that an experienced manufacturer like Scalecoat would understand that a light, subtle, fine grained spray is what we usually want when we weather, I picked an el cheapo boxcar for my first effort. The paint shot out of the nozzle like gangbusters and immediately ruined the job. I tested and found all the other cans had the same characteristic. The paint flow was so heavy I would hesitate to use it even for painting O or G Scale equipment. What were they thinking? I bought the cans because my venerable air brush was getting balky but now I'm beginning to appreciate it much more. Meanwhile I have $40.00 worth of useless paint on my hands.
Yeah as you have found out, pressure out of a can of spray paint cannot be regulated. It is the nature of the beast.
You can still use the paint by decanting it out of the spray can. The paint is ready to go in the airbrush without any thinning, BUT you have to let the paint sit to outgas propellent and for the temperature of the paint to warm up.
The link here shows all the steps.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=decanting+paint+from+spray+can&qpvt=decanting+paint+from+spray+can&view=detail&mid=02988B99B9B8E903572B02988B99B9B8E903572B&FORM=VRDGAR
Joel
Modeling the C&O New River Subdivision circa 1949 for the fun of it!
Hi Jim:
I had the same problem with Testors spray cans so its not exclusive to Scalecoat. That really helps you a lot doesn't it.
Other than decanting the paint the only thing I can think of is to get way back from the model and make fast passes. However, if you are just trying to add something like road grime along the bottom of the car sides, 95% of your paint will be wasted in the air and getting it where you want it will be more miss than hit. Not a great outcome.
How old is your airbrush? Maybe all it needs is a thorough cleaning with something like lacquer thinner, or maybe a new needle and gaskets.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterI had the same problem with Testors spray cans so its not exclusive to Scalecoat.
This, too, has been my experience with the few, 3 oz. mini cans I have used from Testors. I have not used any of the Scalecoat aerosols, just the bottle paint which I'm very pleased with.
For quick and dirty weathering I found some of the Krylon and some of the budget rattle cans to work pretty well, especially ones with the so-called "fan-tip" which sprays in an oval pattern. Rustoleum cans seem to have a heavier application rate. By keeping the can a farther diatance and using cardstock "masking" I have been able to get away with some pretty decent jobs.
Sorry to hear that you had such poor results with your Scalecoat cans. I hope Minuteman can help. They recently filled an order for me and did pretty well.
I save many of my aerosol nozzles so if I get one that plugs up I can swap it out in the middle of the job. There's maybe six or so different designs, some better than others. I'm careful to push in the replacement nozzle with a rag over it to keep any paint off my hand.
Dick Blick has a good selection of airbrush parts:
http://www.dickblick.com/categories/airbrush/
Good Luck, Ed
gmpullmanFor quick and dirty weathering I found some of the Krylon and some of the budget rattle cans to work pretty well, especially ones with the so-called "fan-tip" which sprays in an oval pattern.
Rattle can? Rattle can?
They said try it, you'll like it. I said I don't think I'll like it.
The said try it, you'll like it. I said I don't think I'll like it.
They said try it, you'll like it. So I tried it. Thought I was gonna die. No control of the spray. Way too heavy application of paint. Way too much overspray. Tried to spray the edges of the pieces and got runs on the adjacent flat surfaces.
Too messy to use in the spray booth so I had to spray outside. Think that there would be a perfectly calm day so the overspray wouldn't blow all over? Guess again. And no matter where I stood the overspray followed me around. But then I have that same issue with the grill.
And yes, I did try passing quickly over the piece to be sprayed. All that seemed to accomplish was to waste paint on the lawn, house, or whatever was in the path of the wind. And that waste seemed to negate my reason for buying the stuff originally, which was to purchase paint more economically than what the bottles cost. Plus I'm not certain what the cost per ounce of paint in the can is anyway. The can has a net weight, but I believe that includes the propellent. I did call the manufacturer and the rep could not tell me how much actual paint was in the can.
I'm going to try the decanting idea shown in the link. However, I don't think I'll try the second method that involves making a hole in the side of the can.
Well, I did say "quick AND dirty"... note the dirty part
I'll never part with my airbrushes and, actually, for weathering I wouldn't use a rattle can.
However, If I'm building a few rolling stock kits I'll spray the underframe with canned paint. Large brick structures, roofs, track, some retaining walls and that kind of thing I'll put the basic colors on with the 'ol hand bombs.
Later, I'll do the shading and highlighting with an airbrush.
I guess my point was, I've had better luck with the larger cans than those little 3 oz. jobs from Testors and the others.
Regards, Ed
I so detest the job of cleaning my airbrush that I do use rattlecans more often than many others would probably do. There are indeed differences between brands. How many of you remember when Floquil had a line of rattlecan paints in their most popular colors that came with a supposedly variable spray head? It did not work particularly well as I recall, particularly after the first few times. But it was an interesting idea.
One brand that seems to work fairly well for me is Tamiya rattle can spray paint. It is pricey but I feel I get my money's worth out of it.
Dave Nelson
I have several airbrushes, but I've determined for most jobs I can do just as good a job for my purposes with the lowly spray can, too.
That said, I never shoot toward the model until I've taken a test spritz in the air. There is simply too much variation and the potential to get a bad nozzle. Even with the same can I used yesterday, as paint or a clog could've changed things enough so that today could be a disaster.
Generally, the nozzles used with model paint seem to be stock items. Even Floquil, a gold standard for many in terms of quality, sprayed just like your Scalecoat can did. You can work with it, if you know what to expect, thus my testing procedure....
dknelsonOne brand that seems to work fairly well for me is Tamiya rattle can spray paint. It is pricey but I feel I get my money's worth out of it.
The one exception to this issue seems to be Tamiya. Just out of force of habit, I tend to test anyway, but the Tamiya nozzle seems to be in a class of its own and the paint quality is likewise very consistent and non-clogging. Dave's got a good tip here, although as he points out, quality isn't cheap.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Rattle cans work great but only for flat paints. You have to spray lightly and keep moving. Not all nossels are the same, you acctually want one that sprays out alot and don't keep your finger down, spray in bursts. Haven't used an airbrush in a long time, the rattle cans are just too easy to use but you can get a bad can on occasion.
Although I'm a "gung-ho" airbrush user now (about 98% of my jobs), I did paint with rattlecans in years past. Suggestion with caution:
You can temporarily get finer atomization and flow out if you "warm" the can up in hot water. A "safe step" would be to put the can inside of a zip lock bag, leave the bag open, place it in a bucket or sink with hot (but not boiling hot) water for 5 minutes.
Depending on the brand, you should notice a finer mist emanating from your rattle can for 5 to 10 minutes.
In the past (hopefully not present day) some modelers would actually warm up rattle cans in an oven! Weather inside or outside, don't overheat a can because what can potentially follow after you hear a loud "BOOF!" sound is a wet sticky and stinky mess, some airborne pieces of shrapnel, and in the case of an oven....a potential fire!
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Airbrush compressors are so cheap that for basecoating, you need one necessarily.
I find a box fan and a HEPA filter sucks up all the particulates for doing this indoors.
For me, there is no other way. Those rattle cans are just too expensive and hard to control (making a huge waste of paint).
Julian
Modeling Pre-WP merger UP (1974-81)
Had the same problem with their spray cans - went on too heavy and stayed tacky way too long. However, I do like scalecoat II through an airbrush. It goes on silky smooth when thinned properly and dries hard overnight.
Guys,
Just my opinion behind a keyboard but, respectfully, even though we tend to be passionate about our methods (airbrish, paintbrush, rattlecan) all of us posting here are trying to assist a fellow modeler and not attempting to make this into an airbrush vs spraycan thread. Right?
High Greens
fieryturbo Airbrush compressors are so cheap that for basecoating, you need one necessarily. I find a box fan and a HEPA filter sucks up all the particulates for doing this indoors. For me, there is no other way. Those rattle cans are just too expensive and hard to control (making a huge waste of paint).
AntonioFP45 all of us posting here are trying to assist a fellow modeler and not attempting to make this into an airbrush vs spraycan thread. Right?
Amen to that, Antonio.
That makes useful facts constitute the majority of this thread. If it's just an opinion check, we'll never get anywhere useful with this topic. If someone wants to have a showdown on a topic, it's always best to start a separate thread rather than divert an informational one into purely us vs them.
It's not really fieryturbo's comment, though, just the thread drift that happens when the only useful resolves to"You shoulda done it my way because I'm so happy with it"
Thanks Mlehman,
I hope I didn't come across as presumptuous. I wanted to be helpful since I painted with spray cans years back. As modelers we should all respect each other's preferred methods.
I've found myself resisting the temptation to encourage "airbrushing" on spray can painting related threads. But I realize that would very likely turn off the OP and potentially cause that person to become defensive. So it seems best to deal with his/her question and keep in mind that if that poster is interested in other methods or solutions, then he/she will ask.
Thanks to all of you who responded to this topic. I will be sure to utilize your suggestions, especially the ones that recommended decanting the paint! That should save the experiment with spray cans from being a complete waste of money and material. Like many of you I have done considerable painting and weathering down through the years, brushing, utilizing rattle cans and my Pashe external mixing airbrush. I'd rate mystlf an OK amateur brass painter. To view some of my work go to www.fsmrrc.org, click on photos and click on Jim Valle's basement layout. Once again, thanks guys - and enjoy!