Rattle cans


Shake the can very well, five minutes or so, not just 30 or 60 seconds. Some cans have sat on a store shelf or your workbench for a very long time. Just before you are ready to spray draw a sink full of the hottest tap water you can, (don't worry the can won't explode even under the hottest tap water). let the can sit in the water for about five minutes, this helps the paint spray a finer mist. Shake it again for about 30 seconds and then spray several light coats from about 10 to 12 inches away. This allows the paint to cover well without being too thick and obscuring details. Make sure the surface to be painted is very clean and dry that way the paint will not flake or peel with age. Use any paint in a well ventilated area even water based ones. Wear a mask over you nose and mouth to avoid inhaling fumes and wear nitrile gloves to avoid contact with overspray and for easy clean up. Good luck and show us how you do.
 
To add to Alco's advice: when you shake the can and feel it get cold, warm it up some more. When you can shake it and you don't feel the cold you're ready to go.
Some of my best paint jobs came from a rattle can.
Post some pics!
 
GREAT responses about Rattle Cans. I've been using rattle cans for years & never knew about warming them up before use. I'll have to do that from now on. Thanks Guys for the Idea's.
 
Hi Nathan.
When you're done spraying, turn the can upside down, point into a clear area and spray until nothing comes out, this will clear the nozzle for the next time you need it.
Mac
 
Just like we test drive things, it is a good idea to test drive each and every can of paint. After you have done the prep, both of the can and the subject, take a clean sheet of waste styrene and try different speeds of sweep and depression of the nozzle button. You may be surprised at how little or how much control and pattern variation you get. ;)

-Crandell
 
i tend to stay away from aerosol spray paint on models, unless of course its model spray paint - which tends to be a bit thinner than the paint in a standard 12oz can. However, i have used it and the results were not bad. A couple of drawbacks were again, the paint is thicker so fine details (rivets etc.) may get lost. Also, unlike acrylics, if you make a boo boo, you cant wipe it off with a wet rag. my only advice would be make sure you apply it is short misted bursts. hold the can about a foot to a foot and a half away. this stuff collects and drips super quick if your not fast and careful. as it has already been pointed out, i cannot stress enough the need to use this paint outside.

i converted these two shell plastics into greybellies (private covered hoppers) with 0.98 walmart grey primer. i actually really liked how the paint job came out.

GEDC0281.jpg


GEDC0284.jpg


GEDC0348.jpg
 
I have tried rattle cans but really do not like the results I have gotten with them VS what I get with my air brush. The paint is a lot thicker and tends to hide the smaller detials. The other thing I did not like was the lack of colors in rattle cans.
 
I'm ready to start painting track so I can get it laid down. Don't have an airbrush yet, and I'm thinking on trying a couple of rattle can for this. Too much track to hand paint.... Mainly wanting to use the rattle can to apply a base coat, then do some detail on the rails by hand. I plan to mask switch points and the last half inch or so of track. I'll touch that up by hand after I have the track down. Anybody done this, any pictures of your results? For those that have done this with decent results, what colors did you use?
 
George Sellios of Fine Scale Miniatures/Franklin and South Manchester fame used Krylon Spray paints to weather track followed by dry brushed highlights. I'd say his stuff came out pretty good.
 
Thanks! I wasnt expecting such an amount of responses.

The other thing I was wondering about was what colors you guys like to use. Brand, etc.

Airslide: That hopper is fantastic.
 
ALCOS4EVER said:
Shake the can very well, five minutes or so, not just 30 or 60 seconds. Some cans have sat on a store shelf or your workbench for a very long time. Just before you are ready to spray draw a sink full of the hottest tap water you can, (don't worry the can won't explode even under the hottest tap water). let the can sit in the water for about five minutes, this helps the paint spray a finer mist. Shake it again for about 30 seconds and then spray several light coats from about 10 to 12 inches away. This allows the paint to cover well without being too thick and obscuring details. Make sure the surface to be painted is very clean and dry that way the paint will not flake or peel with age. Use any paint in a well ventilated area even water based ones. Wear a mask over you nose and mouth to avoid inhaling fumes and wear nitrile gloves to avoid contact with overspray and for easy clean up. Good luck and show us how you do.
Click to expand...

I heat mine up over the gas stove burner. :)

It's not as dangerous as it sounds. I hold the concave bottom over a low flame for just a few seconds, and then feel the bottom with my hand that it's warm enough to the touch, rattle the can to distribute the heat around, and repeat as necessary. Only takes less than a minute, and the doesn't soak the label off the can.

I love shooting hot rattlecan paint... it's nice and thin, the heat bumps up the can pressure, it's dirt cheap and there's no cleanup. :)
 
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Great Pics, Airslide. I have heard from some people that grey and ruddy brown automotive primer in rattle cans is a pretty good match for the grey and tuscan used by a lot of railroads.
 
thaddeusthudpucker said:
Thanks! I wasnt expecting such an amount of responses.

The other thing I was wondering about was what colors you guys like to use. Brand, etc.

Airslide: That hopper is fantastic.
Click to expand...

Try to stick with flat and satin finishes as much as you can, especially if you plan on dullcoting afterwards. Gloss finishes tend to be thicker and don't seem to lay as smoothly. If its something I'm going to decal with a few decals, I'll apply glosscote sparingly by hand where the decals go on the flat finish, then shoot with dullcote after applying the decals. Warming the can is a great trick too.

I use a bent coat hanger to hold the model in the air as I change the angle, and I don't worry about hitting every crevise that can be touched up by hand later.

For general, but limited, color selection, I think Krylon actually sprays the best coat. The hobby specific smaller cans tend to be thinner, and if your not careful, runnier, which can be a problem.

I've noticed that Krylon satin finishes don't always have a uniform sheen throughout the paint job. That's okay. Unless your replicating a brand new paint job on the prototype, things weather unevenly in the real world too.

But also some caution, in my experience, I've never successfully stripped a paint job that originated from a rattle can down to bare plastic. The stuff sticks to bare plastic really, really well.
 
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I'm thinking when I get off work in the morning I'll pick up a couple cans of Krylon and do a test on a piece of track. Probably pick up a paint pen to try on the rail as well.
 
I used to be a big fan of Krylon, but they've changed their formula. They also dropped a number of colors I used regularly. I find I no longer get a nice smooth finish everytime as I used to. On top of that they are no longer the bargain they used to be. I've been using one line from Rustolium lately, it's Painter's something or other. They have some good colors for buildings.
 
I've had good results with rattle cans on buildings and model cars, especially matte primer colors (they're really forgiving for painting mistakes). Those hoppers look great, I might just try that.

Gary, do you mean Painter's Touch? I hate that stuff. The nozzle's so big (the can advertises that it paints with fewer passes) so that it's like painting like a firehose. I generally do a few sprays of paint per side, at different angles to get everything. One pass with this stuff and I'd already laid down too much. That, and I tried to recoat it (on itself!) and it cracked all over the place (to be fair, it was a very heavy coat and not within recoat time, which probably explains it). If you use it, swap out the nozzle for something smaller.

nsconductor has the right idea: before you go near anything with a spray can, test it on something that doesn't matter.
 
RW&C - Actually yes, I do mean Painter's Touch. Now that you mentioned it I'm battling with a clogged nozzle as we speak. I see what you mean about it puts out a lot of paint but I've had pretty good luck with it, better than the currant Krylon.
 
I never use rattle cans on my models, the pigment's generally too thick.

But I do make an exception for dullcote, as I've yet to find a dullcote with as much talc in it as the Testors stuff. It'll knock down any gloss finish.
 
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