Dave Toups Posted August 22, 2019 Posted August 22, 2019 I have several questions for anyone who has used Scale Finishes acrylic enamel paint. How is it to spray? What primer works best? Has anyone ever added hardener? If so, what brand? Anything to look out for?
StevenGuthmiller Posted August 22, 2019 Posted August 22, 2019 I have not used the enamel, but the lacquer is fantastic! The only insight that I can give to you about the enamel is that a highly respected fellow modeler offered to "GIVE" me all of his Scale Finishes enamels at a show this past spring. He said he hated the stuff. His statement was, "it never dries". It was enough for me to stay away from it. But then again, I never use enamel for painting bodies any more anyway. Hopefully someone else here can give you a little better insight into the product, but this is all that I can offer. Steve
Jack L Posted August 22, 2019 Posted August 22, 2019 46 minutes ago, Dave Toups said: I have several questions for anyone who has used Scale Finishes acrylic enamel paint. How is it to spray? What primer works best? Has anyone ever added hardener? If so, what brand? Anything to look out for? I have used nason hardener it dried good and sprayed good
my80malibu Posted August 22, 2019 Posted August 22, 2019 I have used it before. However it would probably be best to contact Jameston, to answer your questions.
lghtngyello03 Posted August 23, 2019 Posted August 23, 2019 I haven't used the enamel either so I can't speak of it. But, I have used the lacquer with his 2k clear and it is amazing.
peteski Posted August 26, 2019 Posted August 26, 2019 I bought few bottles few years ago. Did a test-spraying onto a spoon. The paint dried fast but never hardened. Even after few months I could easily put a mark in it by pushing the edge of my fingernail into the paint. I contacted Jameston and he said that if I used hardener, the paint would get hard. He send me a bottle of hardener with instructions on the mixing ratio. But I ended up working on other projects and (still unopened) hardener hardened solid in the bottle. So if I ever get back to the original project, I'll have to order a fresh bottle of hardener. To me this seems like too much trouble. I rather use single-part paints. But that's just me . . .
Quick GMC Posted August 26, 2019 Posted August 26, 2019 The enamel sprays better than any other paint I have used. It's been a while since I used it, but it laid down like glass. Unfortunately, I have only used it on one body and I had issues of dust and stuff getting into it, so it got stripped. I attached a couple pics of the 57 Ford I painted with Ford Washington Blue. This has not been clearcoated or touched in any way, this is just the dried enamel
martinfan5 Posted August 26, 2019 Posted August 26, 2019 (edited) On 8/22/2019 at 2:16 PM, StevenGuthmiller said: I have not used the enamel, but the lacquer is fantastic! The only insight that I can give to you about the enamel is that a highly respected fellow modeler offered to "GIVE" me all of his Scale Finishes enamels at a show this past spring. He said he hated the stuff. His statement was, "it never dries". Hey look , hell must of froze over, its something else that Steve and myself will agree on, his two stage paints( lacquer) are super duper fantastic, I got one bottle of the enamel to use and I never actually finished the project in that color because it wouldnt dry, even living in Phoenix didnt help. Edited August 26, 2019 by martinfan5
Dave Toups Posted August 28, 2019 Author Posted August 28, 2019 I wish I would have asked before I ordered the paint! Looks like I'll have to try and make it work. I'll definitely need to do a spoon test. I liked the idea of the gloss enamel since I'm painting a stock pickup truck and wanted to avoid the deep wet look that you can get with basecoat/clearcoat. I'll email him about the hardener mix ratio. Just curious, did anyone who had issues getting the paint to dry ever try using a dehydrator to help cure it?
StevenGuthmiller Posted August 28, 2019 Posted August 28, 2019 47 minutes ago, Dave Toups said: I liked the idea of the gloss enamel since I'm painting a stock pickup truck and wanted to avoid the deep wet look that you can get with basecoat/clearcoat. It's relatively easy to avoid that "wet look" you mention, even with a clear coat. A little polishing will knock that right down if it occurs. Steve
jjsipes Posted August 29, 2019 Posted August 29, 2019 I have used the enamels and like them. You can achieve a nice shine with no clear. Of course I haven't dug a fingernail into them to see if they totally hardened or not as I place them in a case when completed. Here are a few that I have airburshed.
jjsipes Posted August 29, 2019 Posted August 29, 2019 I will also say that I have found that the metallic enamels need clear on them which i have done with these. The one time I used the Lacquer I was not happy with results. Not sure if it was the weather or me.
StevenGuthmiller Posted August 29, 2019 Posted August 29, 2019 9 minutes ago, jjsipes said: I will also say that I have found that the metallic enamels need clear on them which i have done with these. The one time I used the Lacquer I was not happy with results. Not sure if it was the weather or me. Are you sure that you have this stated correctly? In the above post, you said that you used the Scale Finishes enamel on the '57 Chevy. Steve
jjsipes Posted August 29, 2019 Posted August 29, 2019 (edited) 44 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said: Are you sure that you have this stated correctly? In the above post, you said that you used the Scale Finishes enamel on the '57 Chevy. Steve Yes. The 57 Chevy was the Scale Finishes Enamel but I used Tamiya Clear over it the first time and had issues. Then I stripped and airbrushed again but used Scale Finishes Clear the second time and it turned out great. I used their Lacquer on this 69 Camaro and have what looks like etch marks all over it. It didn't lay down like their enamels for me. Like I said not sure if it was me or the weather, could have been to humid. Edited August 29, 2019 by jjsipes
StevenGuthmiller Posted August 29, 2019 Posted August 29, 2019 2 hours ago, jjsipes said: Yes. The 57 Chevy was the Scale Finishes Enamel but I used Tamiya Clear over it the first time and had issues. Then I stripped and airbrushed again but used Scale Finishes Clear the second time and it turned out great. I used their Lacquer on this 69 Camaro and have what looks like etch marks all over it. It didn't lay down like their enamels for me. Like I said not sure if it was me or the weather, could have been to humid. Most likely not enough of a primer barrier, spraying the paint too heavy, or both. Just like all other lacquers, Scale Finishes lacquers are a hot paint and require a very good impervious base to guard against the lacquer reaching the plastic. By the way, what you show in this photo is really no issue at all. Give it couple of coats of clear, polish it out, and it will look top notch! Steve
Tankman Posted September 1, 2019 Posted September 1, 2019 Its a late post, but Truley the best paint I've used . I never had a problem with the enamels or the lacquer. Some of the best if not the best. For me anyway.
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