Black Spray Paint

[hunzeker]

Can anyone offer advice on a good brand of black spray paint (not bottles) that is economical yet provides a nice black.... somewhere between flat and satin? I have dozens of locos I want to paint but I'm not happy with shades of black I've found so far. I'd like to reproduce the fine-texture black finish found on out-of-the-factory models, yet need the convenience of not having airbrush equipment to constantly clean.

 

[diburning]

Krylon fusion for plastic works well. It's acrylic based. The black comes in gloss, flat, and satin.

 

[hunzeker]

I had tried the standard, non-Fusion Krylon blacks in past years, but wasn't happy with the flat being too flat and satin being too shiny. I'll give Fusion a try. Thanks.

 

[diburning]

The fusion was made to be compatible with plastic, so I figured I'd try that first. The results are very good.

 

[Doughless]

I really like the Krylon products too, either regular or fusion. I think all other rattle cans, including the model hobby brands, are inferior.

Warm the can under hot water for a few minutes to make the paint flow even finer for a thinner finish.

 

[diburning]

I dislike the Testors Floquil in the rattle cans. They just never sprayed right, and the colors never came out right (must be the propellant) Engine black sprays out some odd shade of black. Grimy Black and Reefer White sprays out gray.

Krylon is one of the better brands that you can use for spraypaint. Otherwise, the only way to get even better results is to use an airbrush.

 

[oxfordlawn]

Warm the can under hot water for a few minutes to make the paint flow even finer for a thinner finish.

This makes a HUGE difference...get the paint nice and warm, it lays down and flows out so much nicer.

 

[hunzeker]

warm water cans?

Never heard that before. I'll sure give it a try!

 

[DaveInTheHat]

I started using ACE Hardware spray paint. So far I'm very pleased and it's a little cheaper than the others.

 

[CoolRuehle]

Keep in mind that all of the paints mentioned so far (Krylon, Ace, WalMart, etc) are engineered to completely cover up small scratches and blemishes so that the file cabinet, wooden chair, or other home item you are trying to paint will look creamy smooth.

So go ahead and apply that stuff to an N or Ho scale loco and see what kind of detail you are left with. Not much I can promise you that.

If you want the type of finish that you get with a factory paint job, you have not choice but to invest in an airbrush & compressor, and use paints that have pigments that are specially ground so that they do NOT cover up the details on your rolling stock.

Most of the guys I know that build aircraft, armor, and cars use an airbrush, and use real model paint for this very reason.

 

[diburning]

It really depends on how thick you apply the coat. It is possible to apply it thin enough to make it look nice without masking any of the details.

 

[Doughless]

I can guarantee, I have stripped factory paint jobs on Atlas, Proto, and Athearn locos that were much thicker and hid more detail than their new Krylon paint jobs.

I only use flat and satin. After hitting with dullcote, the finish ends up the same.

Gloss paints spray too thickly, especially hobby rattle cans.