What the heck? Paint issues.

[ewetwo]

I don’t know what is going on. All the same primer. Nova needs to be stripped again. Ford needs to be stripped again. But Mustang will be fine with some polishing. I had stripped the Ford and Nova in Super Clean before and the plastic looked all etched. I’m at a loss as to what is going on. Same primer on all of them. Can’t blame that I guess. Mustang and Nova both had paint that was ordered from the parts store. The Ford was Model Masters Turquoise Metallic Auto Enamel. And the Model Master doesn’t really look like metallic does it?

[peteski]

I have never seen (Testors) Model Master paints attack or etch polystyrene or ABS plastic kits.  Even applied without a primer. I have painted  many kits over bare plastic using Testors and Model Master paints. Those paints are mild, specifically formulated for plastic compatibility.  Unless of course something changed in the last few years. Still, these hobby paints are sold as such.

Are you sure it is not the primer that is etching the plastic?

[StevenGuthmiller]

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see anything that couldn’t be addressed with a couple of coats of clear and a little polishing 

 

 

 

Steve

[ewetwo]

There is 2 coats of Testers wet clear Steve. I've been waiting a month now for my polishing compounds to arrive from Amazon. The Ford was really rough and the Nova just looked horrible. I threw that can of paint out as I've tried to use it on the Nova twice and both times it looked awful. They are both back in the pond. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

[1972coronet]

  On 3/11/2024 at 2:49 AM, ewetwo said:

There is 2 coats of Testers wet clear Steve.

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Every time I've used Testors Wet Look Clear, it flashed (dried ?) in a dull - maybe semi-flat - finish. After colour sanding and polishing, it bore a nice gloss. 

[peteski]

  On 3/11/2024 at 3:02 AM, 1972coronet said:

Every time I've used Testors Wet Look Clear, it flashed (dried ?) in a dull - maybe semi-flat - finish. After colour sanding and polishing, it bore a nice gloss. 

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Interesting.   Here is my model. Yellow plastic body airbrushed with Tamiya fine white primer, nail polish metallic blue, and Testors Wet Look Clear top coat. It want on smoothly and glossy. No rubbing, no polishing. Maybe it was humid when you clear coated and it "blushed"?

 

[bobss396]

I gave up on Testors enamels long ago. I found the cans to spew a lot of crud onto otherwise decent paint jobs. What are you using for a primer? I shoot mainly lacquers and have finally tried the Extreme Lacquer spray cans, and also their clear over that.

[1972coronet]

  On 3/11/2024 at 3:09 AM, peteski said:

Here is my model. Yellow plastic body airbrushed with Tamiya fine white primer, nail polish metallic blue, and Testors Wet Look Clear top coat. It want on smoothly and glossy. No rubbing, no polishing. Maybe it was humid when you clear coated and it "blushed"?

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Quite likely - cold, definitely ( 30-40 degrees ) . But, it did polish nicely , regardless. 

Nice Cobra !

[ewetwo]

  On 3/11/2024 at 3:09 AM, peteski said:

Interesting.   Here is my model. Yellow plastic body airbrushed with Tamiya fine white primer, nail polish metallic blue, and Testors Wet Look Clear top coat. It want on smoothly and glossy. No rubbing, no polishing. Maybe it was humid when you clear coated and it "blushed"?

 

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Nice Cobra. 

Room temp 70 and humidity set at 35. 

Dupli-color gray primer in the short more expensive can.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Sorry to flog the old deceased equine, but this is another reminder of why it's now, more than ever, prudent to test all the materials and procedures you'll be using on a hidden part of the specific kit you want to paint PRIOR to going ahead and hosing everything, and then wondering what happened when plastic crazes or your paint looks like it was applied with a fuzzy roller.

Edited March 11, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[GMP440]

The paint work looks fine.  Need more coats of clear.  I would try out the Duplicolor engine enamel clear,  It's very good.  I've been using that for many years.

[ewetwo]

Thank you for the input guys.

[Carmak]

I am very curious to see pictures of the cars once they are stripped.

If the paint actually crazed the plastic the surface of the plastic will no longer be smooth even after it has been stripped. Crazing is when the paint/primer reacts with the plastic. Removing the paint will expose the damage caused by the reaction but it will not remove the damage.

If the plastic is smooth after striping, then I would look at a possible issue with the paint/primer.

[slusher]

David, I gave up on Testors a long time ago. I have been using Tamiya and Krylon colors. I use Krylon short cuts enamel. Krylon does have a good clear. I have used Testors wet look clear and that’s it from Testors. I have a few colors of old enamels I had in the early 90’s.  I hope you get those too your liking.  I would try to reclear thos body’s with something else befor I strip them..

[ewetwo]

Thanks Carl.  They are already in the Purple Pond.

[ewetwo]

Craig Cermak. Here are some photos for the Ford and Nova. Some from a distance and then really close to the plastic. Question. Since I’ve used Dupli-color primer In the short can with the dark gray cap exclusively. Did they change it? Is there something I need read on the can to know if it’s fit for lacquer? The Mustang in the photos was done at the same time as the Ford and Nova. Model Master paint on the Ford and special ordered cans of paint from the auto parts store special made to code colors on the Mustang and Nova. Have used both of those with no problem until now. The Mustang paint looks great. The Nova painted twice looked horrible. Different color I know but both ordered and bought at the same time. 

[Bainford]

That's some hard crazing. The plastic has been attacked by a hot solvent. 
That one car was not effected may have more to do with the plastic rather than the paint. Models from different manufacturers, different eras, or even different batches can have variations in the composition of their plastic. One kit may have the potential to resist the solvent, so may not be able to rule out the primer so quickly. 
Is anything else common to all three paint jobs? What about the paint thinner? If it's common to at least the crazed paint jobs, it could be a culprit too. 
 

Just spitballing 

Edited March 12, 2024 by Bainford

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just so you’re aware, Duplicolor automotive lacquer primer is hotter than some other primers, so you’ll get much better results using several light coats rather than one heavy one, just as you will with lacquer color coats, or any paint for that matter.

I think that often people get ahead of themselves and begin rushing things, and just as with most things in life, rushing will do more harm than good.

You can spray 3 or 4 light coats of primer 15 or 20 minutes apart and expect much better results than you’re going to get with one heavy coat virtually every time.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited March 13, 2024 by StevenGuthmiller

[ewetwo]

Old Ford kit. New Nova and Mustang kits. Same Duplicolor primer on all of them. Sat 24 hours. Then sprayed the paint. Several light coats. All spray can. Mustang and Nova were the special order auto parts store paint. I’m sure that is lacquer paint. Ordered at the same time. Mustang came out fine. Nova horrible. And Ive used both of those before with no problem. The Ford is Model Master spray can enamel. That came out awful too. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 3/13/2024 at 2:19 AM, ewetwo said:

Old Ford kit. New Nova and Mustang kits. Same Duplicolor primer on all of them. Sat 24 hours. Then sprayed the paint. Several light coats. All spray can. Mustang and Nova were the special order auto parts store paint. I’m sure that is lacquer paint. Ordered at the same time. Mustang came out fine. Nova horrible. And Ive used both of those before with no problem. The Ford is Model Master spray can enamel. That came out awful too. 

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How much primer did you use?

 

 

 

Steve

[ewetwo]

Steve. Are all the short can Dupli-color primers with the dark cap lacquers?

[ewetwo]

Several light coats about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Spray one. Set it aside. Next one. Next one. Wait. Then second. Wait. The 3rd coat. Then sprayed painted them about 24 hours later the same way. Several light coats. Don’t know why the Mustang looked ok.

[peteski]

  On 3/13/2024 at 2:28 AM, ewetwo said:

Don’t know why the Mustang looked ok.

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Different plastic formulations?  When using paints not made to be polystyrene-safe, we always play Russian Roulette with our paint jobs.

[StevenGuthmiller]

  On 3/13/2024 at 2:28 AM, ewetwo said:

Several light coats about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Spray one. Set it aside. Next one. Next one. Wait. Then second. Wait. The 3rd coat. Then sprayed painted them about 24 hours later the same way. Several light coats. Don’t know why the Mustang looked ok.

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Should have been plenty, but I'm not familiar with the "short can" primers.

I use Duplicolor "Sandable" primers, (of whatever color) and Duplicolor "Primer Sealer".

Tall cans.

Usually as many as 4 or 5 coats.

 

Could be the case that the one you're using is a different formula, or as some have said, kit plastic these days is real garbage, or a combination of the two.

 

Likewise, the type of paint that you're having mixed at the parts store is usually extremely hot.

Could be that the primer is just not enough of a barrier for it.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited March 13, 2024 by StevenGuthmiller