Scalecoat 1 paint

[zoegraf]

I'm painting the plastic ladders on my Proto 1000 50' Newsprint cars with Scalecoat 1 Paint. I'm doing this because the ladders are a bit transparent. It doesn't say on the bottle how long it takes to dry. Does anyone know? And how long should I wait to dullcote and weather the ladders.
Also I just noticed that Scalecoat 1 is for brass, wood, and metal. Have I made a big mistake using it on plastic. I noticed they didn't have the colour I wanted in Scalecoat II.

 

[Espeefan]

Scalecoat 1 and 2 offer the same colors, so you shop or wherever you bought was probably just out. You have most likely not hurt the ladders, in fact, if they're engineering plastic Scalecoat 1 may be better. The thing is, 1 is meant to be baked, and you can't do that, so it might be a couple of days. When it's hard to the touch and does not stink, it's dry. If it's tacky, leave it alone! Patience is the key!

 

[iomalley]

Agreed with Espeefan...

Make sure you put it in a safe place so dust or fingerprints don't inadvertantly settle on it for a couple days.

I've found that spraying S1 takes longer to dry than if I brush on S1.

The finish on my brass models, after baking it on with a hair dryer, was IMPECCABLE!!! Literaly a flawless glass finish!

 

[zoegraf]

Scalecoat 1 and 2 offer the same colors, so you shop or wherever you bought was probably just out. You have most likely not hurt the ladders, in fact, if they're engineering plastic Scalecoat 1 may be better. The thing is, 1 is meant to be baked, and you can't do that, so it might be a couple of days. When it's hard to the touch and does not stink, it's dry. If it's tacky, leave it alone! Patience is the key!

Good to know. Thanks. I only did two ladders.
What is engineering plastic?

 

[zoegraf]

Agreed with Espeefan...

Make sure you put it in a safe place so dust or fingerprints don't inadvertantly settle on it for a couple days.

I've found that spraying S1 takes longer to dry than if I brush on S1.

The finish on my brass models, after baking it on with a hair dryer, was IMPECCABLE!!! Literaly a flawless glass finish!

Thanks.
I put is away on a enclosed shelf.
The caboose looks nice. I had one of those, but sold it years ago; big mistake, because now I want to model another layout depicting 1974. Here is a pic of it.
For now, I'm settling with this TLT and I won't make the mistake of selling it.

 

[Espeefan]

Good to know. Thanks. I only did two ladders.
What is engineering plastic?

Engineering plastic goes by the name Delrin and several ither trade names. Plastic freight car wheels , those super flexible plastic diesel handrails, and NWSK gears are made out of it. Engineering plastic is hard, but flexible, and can be machined or extruded. It does not take paint well and is hard to glue unless you use cyanopoxy. That's why I thought Scalecoat 1 might actually work a little better. The solvent content might cause it to "burn in" to the ladders better.

 

[Y3a]

Scalecoat 1 was only intended for metals(brass, Zamac, lead). Scalecoat II was for plastic and metal.

 

[zoegraf]

Engineering plastic goes by the name Delrin and several ither trade names. Plastic freight car wheels , those super flexible plastic diesel handrails, and NWSK gears are made out of it. Engineering plastic is hard, but flexible, and can be machined or extruded. It does not take paint well and is hard to glue unless you use cyanopoxy. That's why I thought Scalecoat 1 might actually work a little better. The solvent content might cause it to "burn in" to the ladders better.

Thanks. I have painted Delrin before and sometimes the paint does flake off if the detaied part is tapped by accident with a hard object.

The Scalecoat paint seems to have burned into the plastic and is dry now. That paint sure is glossy.

I think I will buy the Scalecoat for plastic to compare.

 

[zoegraf]

Scalecoat 1 was only intended for metals(brass, Zamac, lead). Scalecoat II was for plastic and metal.

I wish they told me that at the hobby shop. Stuff is expensive.
I really wanted to use a less lethal paint, but they didn't have the colour I wanted. Lesson learned - research, be patient, and order what is needed. Phew!

 

[Cjcrescent]

Scalecoat 1 was only intended for metals(brass, Zamac, lead). Scalecoat II was for plastic and metal.

The reason for this is SC1 is best used on a material that can be baked. But I've painted many, many plastic cars and engines with it and have never damaged any. Keep in mind, for many years there wasn't any SC2. You had to use SC1. It had many colors that weren't available in any other brand at the time.

 

[Y3a]

True. I use Scalecoat Gloss white above all others because it actually covers in one coat. For the railroad I model I really didn't need vast color selections. I model the N&W in the 1930's. Gloss black for locomotives, red cabooses with brown roofs, and the passenger cars were a 50/50 mix of boxcar red and bright red. It looks like PRR's maroon somewhat. I paint all my engines as right out of the paint shop, then use flat thinned with lacquer thinner and lightly applied with 45 LBS air pressure from a Paasche H single action brush. I use Testors Armor Sand for dust and limestone deposits and Flat black with a teeny bit of Armor Sand for the coal soot on top of the engines. For the graphite on the smoke boxes I use Testors Steel which is flat, and I apply it with a small brush to get the look of the real thing as they used a stiff bristle brush to apply real graphite and linseed oil to the smoke boxes for protection from the corrosive effects of the coal dust and water.

 

[Cjcrescent]

... For the railroad I model I really didn't need vast color selections.

No for a single RR you don't. But when you paint professionally like I have since I was 20, you tend to have that "vast color selection".

 

[Mark R.]

No for a single RR you don't. But when you paint professionally like I have since I was 20, you tend to have that "vast color selection".

No kidding .... I have literally thousands of dollars worth of paint in my inventory and still always need more with each new project !


Mark.

 

[Y3a]

I used to paint brass steam (as well as re-quarter and adjust valve gear) for a few years until I just got burned out on it. I did N&W, PRR, Southern, and Western Maryland and a little C&O. I added the marker jewels, slide glass windows, crew, and small details like oil cans, cold weather curtains, very small lights mounted to the back of MV Lenses in the headlights and real coal.

For me it was the research into what colors the engines needed to be weathered with. The variations in coal, water, and sand made a big difference.

I found that my big limitation was decals. One client had me painting 10-15 pieces a month for PRR, and another wanted 3-5 a month in PRR. After the first guys engines were repainted, he had me doing his large passenger fleet. I cleaned out all the hobby shops from just below Baltimore MD down to Midlothian VA. I finally got one hobby shop to get me an account with Microscale and Champ so I could order 20-30 at a time on credit.

 

[Cjcrescent]

No kidding .... I have literally thousands of dollars worth of paint in my inventory and still always need more with each new project !
Mark.

I used to paint brass steam (as well as re-quarter and adjust valve gear) for a few years until I just got burned out on it. I did N&W, PRR, Southern, and Western Maryland and a little C&O. I added the marker jewels, slide glass windows, crew, and small details like oil cans, cold weather curtains, very small lights mounted to the back of MV Lenses in the headlights and real coal.

For me it was the research into what colors the engines needed to be weathered with. The variations in coal, water, and sand made a big difference.

I found that my big limitation was decals. One client had me painting 10-15 pieces a month for PRR, and another wanted 3-5 a month in PRR. After the first guys engines were repainted, he had me doing his large passenger fleet. I cleaned out all the hobby shops from just below Baltimore MD down to Midlothian VA. I finally got one hobby shop to get me an account with Microscale and Champ so I could order 20-30 at a time on credit.

Mark & Y3b
Been there, done that, have the T-shirt and even saw the movie...twice!

While living & painting in Mobile, Al I averaged 10 locos of all kinds a month. I could paint the loco and weather it if desired, and sometimes use a total of 22-25 colors and tints to do so. Generally if the client bought the decals, detail parts, and provided some pictures he got a good discount, if not, it was the price of all that, plus the paint and weathering job itself. On some locos I could make several hundred. I've had quite a few locos pictured in magazines, and even had them featured in one article. I had even been asked by Overland's painter at the time, Gwynne Burch, (who is still a very good friend,) to paint for Overland. I turned it down.

When we moved to Birmingham, Al, I had to give it up for a while, as apartment living wasn't condusive to mass production painting. When I got back into a house I started up again, but after a while, 10 years, I gave it up. It wasn't that I was burned out, as I set the schedule so I wasn't painting the same scheme multiple times, it was that it had gotten to the point that I had NO time for MY hobby. Since then, I have watched over $5000.00 worth of paint "die" over the years. I'm slowly buying paint as I need it for the few jobs I still take every now and then.

One good thing is that I have built up a good decal collection over those years. I have several large plastic sealable loaf of bread sized boxes loaded with solid sheets and another one with partial sheets. I'm fixed in the decal dept. Many I got through clients, LHS's and some from E-bay. In the 2 years before Champ, closed I think that I got over 200 sets of decals from them, mostly cars for SRR. All the rest of my decals are for other SE roads, a few western, and eastern roads round out the bunch.

 

[CNR Glen]

When I need to paint handrails and small details I go to Micheals (craft store) and check the cheaper acyrlics there. It's a less expensive alternative to scalecoat, and it dries very fast.

 

[zoegraf]

ladders painted with scalecoat

This is the car (not finished yet) with the ladders painted with Scalecoat 1. I put a light coat of dullcote over them, but needs more. I'll do it after I put the other ladders on and paint them.