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Testors One Coat Lacquers


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I use the Testors products often and lately I've been using Tamiya white primer as it goes on smoothly and thin so as not to hide all the details on the body. I only use grey primer if I'm painting the body silver or black, otherwise the grey changes the shade of the color coat, whereas white primer won't.

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I have used standard Krylon primers under Testors One Shot and Duplicolor lacquers now several times, with no issues.

BUT.............the safest thing to use under pretty much anything is Duplicolor sandable primer from your local auto parts store.

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Just make sure to do a test spray on a plastic spoon or old body before you commit to spraying it on your model. A lot of the Testors one coat paints have out of scale metal flakes in them and are better suited for a bass boat or Manx buggy. They do spray quite well and dry quickly. Don't count on spraying only one coat. It takes at least two to get good coverage. A clear coat is a must.

Test spray on a spoon? Never, I just shoot from the hip and whatever comes out is it. Testing is way to complicated, just like with air brushes, you gotta have the right pressure, the right mix, gotta clean it right, etc.. EASY is the way for me.

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I wouldn't consider them hot, never had an issue with them when it comes to this. The trick to tone down the metallics on the paint is to hit the color with a Dull Coat once dry and then clear them. This tones down the metallics to scale which I also consider way too big.

IMG_2354-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

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I've just used the "one coat" system from Testors and it a bit confusing compared to the quite comprehensive instructions Cruz sent me for amatuer painters. His instructions were based on standard can or powered spray systems. When it came to the one coat, I was confused between the can instructions and his. Cruz gave a thumbs up to my preference of Tamiya fine white primer; for painting, it was recommended once all fine tuning of the primed surface was completed to:

Mist 2 coats of the color paint with 15 - 20 minutes in between before starting wet coats. At this point it appears you apply a wet coat every 20 mins. avoiding runs until you've shot 4-5 coats. After this there are some drying recommendations and prep sanding with 3200 before washing and final clearcoats in the same manner as color.

My confusion with Testors is their "One Coat" method and whether or not I should still mist two coats for adhesive purposes or not. In the end, I misted twice with 20 mins. in between and then applied 3 wet coats the same way. My failure came when I presumed "one coat" meant the paint was really dry. I tried to lightly sand a few scratches on the deck lid 24 hrs. later with 4000 and it started to pull the top coat off. I stopped, wiped with a dry cloth and shot a wet coat which created a run down the trunk lid. Luckily, I am mounting a pro wing and chutes which will cover the mess so I won't try to sand and re-shoot. I'm going to carefully try to use dull coat recommended to kill some of the extreme flake of the mystic green and then mist 2 coats of gloss with 2 coats carefully wet.

Overall, I'd say One Coat paint has it's place in modeling, but for this amateur, I'll use it for shallow cover jobs and use more traditional paints for jobs needing 4-5 wet coats where perfection sanding and polishing kits are involved. I hope this makes sense from a rookie.

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I, too, have had good luck with the Testors lacquer.

I have found that Plasticote automotive primer, and the aforementioned Duplicolor & Tamiya primers, work well also.

One thing to watch out for: the automotive-grade primers are often heavier scratch-filling primers. This can actually be handy if you've got some minor imperfections to hide on your bodywork. However, these primers will bury the scripts and other fine details on the model if too much is applied.

Depending upon the model I'm working on and the situation with its bodywork, I often start out with a first coat of the scratch-filling primer, sand it smooth, then follow-up with the Tamiya fine-grade stuff.

My experiences so far have been that the Tamiya primer will work with most anything you can throw at it. It's expensive, but it's good stuff!

Often times, the paint manufacturers (both model paint and 1:1 paint) will market their paint as a "system", and tell you that you've got to use their primer, their clear topcoat, etc., etc. You'll find with a little experimentation that you can standardize on one basic primer (Tamiya) and one basic clear that'll work with most all lacquers. That way, you won't have to have 2-dozen different primers on your shelf.

Oh yeah, for beginners, keep in mind that enamel paints require their own special primers, etc.

Finally, there's no substitute for doing your due diligence in body prep, cleanliness, etc.

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Like everything, practice is the key, everyone always finds a way to go around the painting process. I do want to apologize publicly to Mitch, I was a little rude to a question that he sent me in a personal message and didn't realize it after a few hours down the road. I have no excuse but to say I am sorry and that I am always here to help.

Now, these paints, when shot out of a can definitely do work a little different than let's say the regular Testor's enamels from the can. I still consider the mist coats to be the best way to paint but that's for me, I am sure I can't say the same for everyone. These do cover much quicker than the enamels and you sure can get away with less coats but like everything, practice is the key. I have shot them out of an airbrush and they work terrific but personally, when I am doing a body, I like using them out of the can.

I used them to paint this 'Cuda about 4 years ago and as I said, I think the metallics are way too big as seen in this picture:

DSC05382-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

I will say that when you are ready for your wet coats, try to go easier and less heavy because as I said, they cover much quicker than the enamels. I wetsand everything from my primer, to my color coats and of course my clears if I decide to use them, painting is a process in which you need to pace yourself and have a lots of patience.

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Like everything, practice is the key, everyone always finds a way to go around the painting process. I do want to apologize publicly to Mitch, I was a little rude to a question that he sent me in a personal message and didn't realize it after a few hours down the road. I have no excuse but to say I am sorry and that I am always here to help.

Now, these paints, when shot out of a can definitely do work a little different than let's say the regular Testor's enamels from the can. I still consider the mist coats to be the best way to paint but that's for me, I am sure I can't say the same for everyone. These do cover much quicker than the enamels and you sure can get away with less coats but like everything, practice is the key. I have shot them out of an airbrush and they work terrific but personally, when I am doing a body, I like using them out of the can.

I used them to paint this 'Cuda about 4 years ago and as I said, I think the metallics are way too big as seen in this picture:

DSC05382-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

I will say that when you are ready for your wet coats, try to go easier and less heavy because as I said, they cover much quicker than the enamels. I wetsand everything from my primer, to my color coats and of course my clears if I decide to use them, painting is a process in which you need to pace yourself and have a lots of patience.

Cruz: I'm not insulted in any way! I kinda attached myself to you for info because you were so informed and produced such great results. No apologies necessary. BTW, your 'Cuda is just what I'm trying to achieve with my modeling goals. In fact, my homemade roll bar looks just like yours! Your engine looks like a twin plug donor Hemi with resin hi-rise manifold and twin carbs too. Anyway, I'm always appreciative of any help here and I truly believe if I wait it out for a while and be patient, I'll shoot my dull coat to cut down on the metalflake and then start the clear coats. Cruz is a great source of info and his work is incredible!

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I like everything about the Testor's One-Coats other than the size of the flake, as previously noted. It DOES look good if you're after the bass-boat or KustomKar look, which I was going for here.

This is 5 full wet coats (necessary for full coverage in this color) of color over gray Duplicolor high-build primer, with a final coat of white Duplicolor sandable primer to make the orange "pop" more. The color was topcoated with 3 coats of Testors wet-look clear, and has not yet been sanded and polished in this photo.

DSCN5585.jpg

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I like everything about the Testor's One-Coats other than the size of the flake, as previously noted. It DOES look good if you're after the bass-boat or KustomKar look, which I was going for here.

This is 5 full wet coats (necessary for full coverage in this color) of color over gray Duplicolor high-build primer, with a final coat of white Duplicolor sandable primer to make the orange "pop" more. The color was topcoated with 3 coats of Testors wet-look clear, and has not yet been sanded and polished in this photo.

DSCN5585.jpg

Ace: a few q's if you don't mind. Can you explain how you put 5 coats of "One Coat" one; did you mist a couple of coats, then wet coat the next 5? If so, how many minutes in between each coat? When you put the final primer coat on, how long did you wait before you sanded it off? Cruz and I talked and he gave me excellent instructions for painting, but I think I left out the fact I was using One Coat, which confused me. I still misted the 1st 2 coats, then shot 3 wet coats (20 mins in between each) after waiting 20 mins from the misting.

I ask because just when I thought my car was ready 24 hours later, I was going to start misting gloss clear coat (One Coat type) when I discovered 2 blunders. 1st, there were some undetected brush scratches on the rear deck lid ('66 Nova) from when I had to strip the 1st attempt at painting off and I missed them and 2, since I don't have access to a dehydrator or paintbooth, it looks like a spider's web drifted down from the rafters in my garage and left a small trail on the roof. I tried to lightly sand the scratches with 4000 grit but it started to ruin the paint. I finally gave up and lightly shot a coat to cover the imperfection on the roof and the trunk lid developed a run.

No matter, it's built in the same vein as yours and Cruz's, but I have a chrome promod wing to mount and twin parachutes where the run is so it'll be fine for my 2nd build in 45+ years LOL :D

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I have very mixed feelings about the Testor's One Coat paints. I bought A can of Star Spangled Blue to do this project, after the first can I had to strip and repaint the whole thing, it was WAY too thick, and would not harden and also bubbled in places like something was in the can. Stripped and shot again, this time with can B, bought at different location...Again, odd bubbling like contaminants in the can, (yes, I wash, prep, high quality prime and sand etc etc ) stripped, back to first location and bought can C........same color, ,,,decanted into airbrush jar, let gas out a few days before thinning a bit, and shot through airbrush. I had to let this thing sit for weeks before I could polish out as the paint was soft. (I live in Phoenix valley, humidity WAY not an issues either)

I like the color, but One Coat my butt.,..unless you want a thick gloopy mess that just will not harden you have to do it in layers,

I do like what I ended up with, but I will stick with my airbrush and decant when using these types of paints, but mostly automotive paints from the start will save me work., Besides, spray cans may be easier, but you will never get as thin of layers with a spray can.

med_gallery_8985_800_1818.jpg

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I have very mixed feelings about the Testor's One Coat paints. I bought A can of Star Spangled Blue to do this project, after the first can I had to strip and repaint the whole thing, it was WAY too thick, and would not harden and also bubbled in places like something was in the can. Stripped and shot again, this time with can B, bought at different location...Again, odd bubbling like contaminants in the can, (yes, I wash, prep, high quality prime and sand etc etc ) stripped, back to first location and bought can C........same color, ,,,decanted into airbrush jar, let gas out a few days before thinning a bit, and shot through airbrush. I had to let this thing sit for weeks before I could polish out as the paint was soft. (I live in Phoenix valley, humidity WAY not an issues either)

I like the color, but One Coat my butt.,..unless you want a thick gloopy mess that just will not harden you have to do it in layers,

I do like what I ended up with, but I will stick with my airbrush and decant when using these types of paints, but mostly automotive paints from the start will save me work., Besides, spray cans may be easier, but you will never get as thin of layers with a spray can.

med_gallery_8985_800_1818.jpg

med_gallery_8985_800_554812.jpg

Mark: to me, this top looks beautiful with none of the slight orange peel I've got on my 1st attempt with the product (I have to start researching that subject next; I'm returning to modeling after 45 years off) and it's plenty shiny. So what I'm hearing from you is that despite the name, multi-coats are mandatory as Cruz advises, but must there be a 2-3 week wait to polish it out and if so, what polishing system did you use? Did you ever apply their "one coat" clear glosscoat as well?

I'm preparing to spend $30 on an aerosol propelled kit which will allow me to get to acrylic paints which I understand are more forgiving and it also contains what appears to be a variety of spray nozels for different situations or perhaps paints. I would prefer cans I suppose as they are a one piece apparatus, but I'm tired of stripping bodies (2 so far from the same kit). I realize there is a learning curve for me, but I really enjoy the build process with the innovative techniques I'm learning here (cutting a syringe for creating spark plugs, using parts from donor kits, etc) more than struggling with paints. Thanks for any info.

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I use them alot, and even with applying them to bare plastic. They are not a HOT laquer. I never have any thick appearance. If you use the clear, you can buff to your hears content, i have never burned thru.

Cooltoys1: I used the One Coat and laid down 2 coats of misting and 4 coats of wet with some orange peel on the roof/trunk lid and some run where the trunk lid rolled from horizontal to vertical. I'm very new to painting so I know I'll figure it out with some research. My question is about your use of the One Coat clear coat. I am going to use it hopefully; how did you apply it? Misting coats then wet coats? How long did you wait between each spray and how long did you wait for it to cure before buffing? What technique did you use to buff? I'm not expecting perfection so early in returning to model building, but painting sure has been a pain in the tail. Thanks and Christine was a great body that was run on a Top Sportsman in the 80's.

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Ace: a few q's if you don't mind. Can you explain how you put 5 coats of "One Coat" one; did you mist a couple of coats, then wet coat the next 5? If so, how many minutes in between each coat? When you put the final primer coat on, how long did you wait before you sanded it off? Cruz and I talked and he gave me excellent instructions for painting, but I think I left out the fact I was using One Coat, which confused me. I still misted the 1st 2 coats, then shot 3 wet coats (20 mins in between each) after waiting 20 mins from the misting.

I ask because just when I thought my car was ready 24 hours later, I was going to start misting gloss clear coat (One Coat type) when I discovered 2 blunders. 1st, there were some undetected brush scratches on the rear deck lid ('66 Nova) from when I had to strip the 1st attempt at painting off and I missed them and 2, since I don't have access to a dehydrator or paintbooth, it looks like a spider's web drifted down from the rafters in my garage and left a small trail on the roof. I tried to lightly sand the scratches with 4000 grit but it started to ruin the paint. I finally gave up and lightly shot a coat to cover the imperfection on the roof and the trunk lid developed a run.

No matter, it's built in the same vein as yours and Cruz's, but I have a chrome promod wing to mount and twin parachutes where the run is so it'll be fine for my 2nd build in 45+ years LOL :D

In my own experience, the "One Coat" just isn't. It's not any higher build than a lot of other rattlecan paints, but it may have a little more pigment, so you can get away with 5 or more coats, no problem. I've seen a lot of guys try to get by with one coat, and it typically tends to 'wick-up' and get thick around panel cut-lines, raised details, etc. (noticeably darker in these areas) especially if it's shot over bare plastic.

To answer your questions, I'll usually let my final coat of primer dry for at least a week, and final sand any peel out with 1000 grit wet, or scuff it with Comet and a toothbrush if there's no peel to correct. That gives it enough tooth to be able to shoot a full, wet coat of color first. (This works for me, but I've been painting for a long long time, so I recommend plenty of practice first, because too wet and you'll get runs everywhere.) If you get a run, or other flaws in the surface (like excessive peel) you can wait an hour or so and sand them out with 1000 grit wet...CAREFULLY. This stuff is lacquer, it dries quick, and it's just like the stuff we used on 1:1 cars in the '60s.

Shooting full, wet coats vastly reduces the tendency that mist coats have to create orange peel, as the mist dries before hitting the model, and produces a grainy texture instead of flowing-out.

I'll usually let the paint flash fully before shooting successive coats, usually about 5 to 10 minutes between. Once you get full color coverage (I'll usually shoot a black and white test card with the exact same # of coats and wetness as I'm doing the car body) check to see if you have any trash or orange peel to correct. NOW is the time to do it. Sand it smooth with 1500 and shoot one more PERFECT color coat to even out the flake.

Once I'm happy with the last color coat, I'll shoot ONE coat of clear to seal the surface, and let that dry for at least an hour or so before shooting the rest of the clear coats. Small pieces of dust in the clear won't show unless they're significantly darker or lighter than the color, and even if you can see a slight surface irregularity, it will usually disappear when you wetsand and polish.

For me, 3 coats of clear are usually enough to be able to wetsand with 3600 up to 12,000 grit wet, and polish up to a final gloss (without fear of going through the clear). If you end up with a lot of orange peel, you'll need more coats of clear on the car to be able to sand it out. Again, learning to shoot full, wet 'flowcoats' will pay dividends on the polishing end.

Getting all of this stuff down to where you know what you're looking at and how to get it to do what you want it to do just takes time, practice and patience, and a willingness to strip it and start over until you achieve the level of finish you want. I've done many many more poor paint jobs than good ones during the learning process.

One more thing...the orange Chevelle has had a deep flaw shrink out in the decklid over the last year because I rushed it to paint on the same day I shot several thick coats of primer (trying for a contest deadline). There MAY be enough clear on it to sand and polish it again, and there may not. The lesson is just to give your primer as long as you can to thoroughly dry and shrink before final sanding and paint.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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