If You Work with House of Kolor

[Dr. Cranky]

Hope you find this useful and get something out of the process . . . enjoy:

[Modlbldr]

Doc-

Thanks for the vid. I've been building for years but am just now getting into an airbrush and HOK paints. You responded to a question I had yesterday in another post about mixing brands of paint. This vid really answered some further questions I've had. Now I'm off to HOK website to see about getting some reducer. Is there a "plan B" for reducer that I may be able to find locally instead of shipping from Cali to save time? I imagine if I go to an auto paint supplier I should be able to find an equivalent to 311. What do you think?

I'm excited to use all of my HOK paints that I got for cheap. Over the last year I've bought quite a few of the 1 oz. bottles from my LHS for $1.00/ea on clearance.

Later-

[Dr. Cranky]

Tom, I would not use any other brand or type of reducer. If you want good, heartbreaker-free results, stay with HOK RU 311 or 312 or 310. That's my recommendation, but of course you can always experiment, but I'd hate to see you waste your time.

[Modlbldr]

Just checked it out online and the cheapest I could find it was $16.77 a quart or $49.-- a gallon plus shipping. I figure that a quart should last me a while and not set me back too far. I'll still look locally for it before I order online.

Thanks again for the help.

Later-

[SkinnyDan]

I used to work at O'Reilly Auto and I know we were able to get all of the HOK airbrush stuff, and I believe most other auto parts stores can get them also.

[Modlbldr]

Thanks again guys for the info.

Later-

[crazyjim]

Tom - did you check TCP Global and/or Coast Airbrush? I've been buying the pre-mixed 2 oz. bottles from TCP but I believe Coast has the same items for $1.00 per bottle cheaper.

[Dr. Cranky]

Jim, I get mine from Coast Airbrush and the paint quality and service is always consistently good from them. It takes a while for the stuff to reach me from California, but that's all right.

[Tom Kren]

Thanks now is that 1 oz of paint to 3 oz of reducer? THIS MIXING STUF MESS ME UP!

[crazyjim]

TCP Global is excellent with shipping also and they ship to me in FLA, Dr. Cranky. I've been buying from them but last time I was checking prices, I'm pretty sure Coast had cheaper prices. I'll probably try them next.

What do you think of these 2 ideas? Got a '37 Ford primered in Plast-i-kote black sandable primer and plan to shoot HOK wild cherry over the black and then a coat of two of Tamiya pearl clear coat.

The second one is a '36 Ford with grey sandable Plast-i-kote primer. Planning to shoot a base coat of HOK lapis blue followed by some coats of HOK oriental blue.

Do you think those plans will work? My HOK is all pre-mixed.

[Dr. Cranky]

Yes, Tom, that's right. If you get it from Coast Airbrush, sometimes it comes mixed 1:1 or 2:1, but I prefer and find easier 3:1. 3 parts reducer to 1 part paint. So yes, your math works.

[Dr. Cranky]

Gwyn--yes, HOK paints must be clear coated in order to get the shine in there, and then the clear cut and buffed. I find that the orange peel is diminished when the paint flows a bit thinner.

I like the color and the graphics and the wheels on this one. You can put another coat of clear and sand lightly and then buff.

[cruz]

Thanks for the "catedra" amigo!!!

[MikeMc]

Doc-

Thanks for the vid. I've been building for years but am just now getting into an airbrush and HOK paints. You responded to a question I had yesterday in another post about mixing brands of paint. This vid really answered some further questions I've had. Now I'm off to HOK website to see about getting some reducer. Is there a "plan B" for reducer that I may be able to find locally instead of shipping from Cali to save time? I imagine if I go to an auto paint supplier I should be able to find an equivalent to 311. What do you think?

I'm excited to use all of my HOK paints that I got for cheap. Over the last year I've bought quite a few of the 1 oz. bottles from my LHS for $1.00/ea on clearance.

Later-

Tommy.....are these "Kustom Kolor" paints by valspar.....because if thats what the are....that reducer will not work with them. Those non HOK paints are made in the same colors as HOK, and Valspar made those for wally world, then ww got out of plastic a few years ago, hence those paints are out there cheap....look carefully :huh:

[Dr. Cranky]

When you are a seasoned veteran, experimentation and brand cross-pollination will get you interesting and surprising results. A beginner is going to have a much more difficult time, which is where the idea of sticking within a product line comes in.

Steve, that's a jaw-dropping, beautiful model, and a wonderful fade-n-fog paint job. I'd be interested to see if you'd had successful results doing a multi-layered graphic paint job using a variety of paint brands.

[Dr. Cranky]

I'm thinking of stuff like this where you have to mask and layer in graphics:

What I am saying is that the more steps, stages, and elements you bring to a paint job the more the chances of something going wrong . . . so if you cut out the guess factor, I really think it helps . . .

Every time I attempt something like this:

I want to make sure that nothing, other than my own skill, could go wrong or malfunction. Just my two cents worth . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

Point well taken, chap, but here's where I'm coming from. I don't know about you, but lacquer and urethane paints make me nervous--you know, anything with health warnings--so I tend to be a bit more cautious when it comes to all-out mixing of products and such. I know what you are thinking, BUT DOCTOR CRANKY WE THOUGHT YOU RAN A NO-HOLDS BARRED LAB-RAT-ORY! Well, the older I get the more CAUTIOUS about this stuff I've become. I stopped using nail polish because it gave me horrible headaches, even fully protected with a mask, long sleeves, pants, glove, etc . . . so I moved back to acrylics, which is about the time I heard of Auto Air Colors and I started working with it. The automotive paint world hasn't yet found a healthy and environmentally friendly solution yet, but we have to paint on, right?

Your work clearly shows it can be done, but I cannot believe that you did these paint jobs without going through a trail and error stage . . . surely you must have had a few heartbreaks along the way. We all have.

[Dr. Cranky]

Could you, for example, imagine something going wrong when you were working on this one? And I know you are a pro, my friend, and had something gone wrong you probably would have started all over again because at heart you are a perfectionist, and a paint job like this, to get it this beautiful, takes time and IS a labor of love . . .

[Dr. Cranky]

No I was not familiar with the story, which is great, but I was curious about the history of the kit in part because of your wonderful photo archive. I mean, clearly, this looked like more than just a simple resto-job. You did a magnificent job with it, as you have with most of the gems in your collection.

You, Tom Kren and Bill Stillwagon sure do know how to put down one smooth, killer paint job. It's great to be in the hobby and be able to look over your shoulder while you build. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. :lol:

[Duntov]

Thanks for posting this Doc....very good stuff.....I need to take a deep breath and start working with this product!!!!

Thanks again!!!

Regards Bill (Duntov)

[Dr. Cranky]

Bill if you plan on taking deep breaths ( ) make sure the very best painting mask possible. As a matter of fact, mine is getting a bit old, so I'm going to shop for a new one. I will keep you posted on what I find. Cheers, D.C.

[Dr. Cranky]

There are a couple of good ones here:

http://www.coastairbrush.com/products.asp?cat=293

[Teds57]

Virgil im surprised you dont run an air mask ive had one now for 3 yrs and i wont paint without it

[Dr. Cranky]

Tell me more, buddy. I've been looking into it. Can you show me what yours looks like. Very interested.

Steve, yes, great tip. I keep mine in a big ziplock too, although once in a while I forget to put it in and then I have to change the cartridge.

[Longbox55]

Tommy.....are these "Kustom Kolor" paints by valspar.....because if thats what the are....that reducer will not work with them. Those non HOK paints are made in the same colors as HOK, and Valspar made those for wally world, then ww got out of plastic a few years ago, hence those paints are out there cheap....look carefully :huh:

That was my first thought, too. I have a full rack of it myself I got from a local shop that discontinued the plastic kits to concentrate on R/C cars. It is not the same as HOK, as mentioned. It should be mentioned, the line sold at Wal-Mart is not the same as what they sold at the hobby shops. The Wal-Mart version was sold as the "Shimmerin" brand, and is definetly a hot paint. It was sold only in spray cans. The Kustom Kolor sold at the hobby shops is a modified enamel from what I understand. I haven't tried any enamel reducers with it yet, as I bought up all the reducer the shop had, and haven't run out of yet.

BTW, Valspar is the parent company of House of Kolor.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Longbox55