Has anybody had any paint crazing problems on Moebius kits?

[Jhedir6]

David, I don't have a specific ratio that I use if I need to thin the BIN. I like to refer to what I call the "sheeting" action in the jar. Like the consistency of milk, when you swill the jar--------when what's inside the jar settles in a smooth "sheet" that's translucent, then it's OK to airbrush in my experience.

As far as alcohol, just plain 'ole Isopropyl alcohol has worked for me. Either 70 or 90%.

Mark, you make a good point about the paint consistency these days. Like everything else, manufacturers (doesn't matter the product) or trying to stay ahead of the game as far as their costs are concerned. So it very well could be that they're substituting more solvents instead of solids. 

All the more reason particularly with the kind of work I do on models, to barrier the plastic as much as possible. I've come to distrust the plastics in kits today, as well as the paint coming from the manufacturers------especially using the 1:1 automotive stuff. 

Thanks Bill. I'm planning on giving it a go tomorrow. I picked up one of the new Camaro snap kits and I'll use it on that as a test bed. I was curious about the alcohol as I have both 70 and 91, just didnt want to waste any of the BIN using the wrong percentage. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

There is a more general discussion about this in the modeling questions in the general modeling section. It also has appeared with some of the revell kits. Has anybody tried the duplicolor over some older plastics to see if it has done the same thing?

I've shot SEM self-etching black primer (one of the hottest rattlecan primers known to man) over ancient Johan plastic with zero crazing problems. And that's Duplicolor gray on the hood and deck. Again, no crazing.

Today's kit plastic is garbage.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Ace-Garageguy

[Mark]

Jo-Han plastic always seemed to be harder but more brittle than other companies' stuff.  Once I heard about the use of "regrind" (recycled plastic that has already had a pass through the molding machine) and how the inclusion of that tends to make the finished products a bit less brittle, I figured maybe Jo-Han didn't use any regrind in their plastic.  Or if they did, they used a lot less of it.  Supposedly it's good in moderation, but too much of it makes the plastic rubbery, which is what seems to be happening lately.  

Not all of the older stuff is high quality.  Some of the early Sixties AMT annual kits are nearly as rubbery as some of the recent Revell stuff.  I remember using Duplicolor primer and paint in the mid-Eighties, on an AMT '62 Fairlane that I built to match my car at that time.  The body and hood soaked the primer up like a sponge.  I didn't get crazing as pictured on that Moebius Satellite body, but after the first coat of primer I was seeing swirl marks on the body, a sort of "grain" created by molten plastic flowing through the tool under pressure.  It took a number of thin coats of primer, dusted on from a distance and wet sanded between each coat, to get that thing to the point where I could shoot paint onto it.  The first couple of coats of paint were applied pretty much the same way, dusted on.  The Fairlane kit parts had the engraved info on the chassis and under the hood from the promotional model.  My car has a six-cylinder engine, so I removed the underhood info mentioning the V8.  That area "ghosted" repeatedly.  I wound up brushing thickened primer onto that area a couple of times, again wet sanding between applications.  The area involved was where the underhood insulation goes on the 1:1 car, so it got painted a different color.  But getting the area smooth was problematic.  I'm glad AMT made a minor screw-up on that promo and kit, leaving off the V8 emblems that should have been on the front fenders...that saved me a bunch of grief.

[Dave Ambrose]

I ran into this problem with Duplicolor primer on an AMT Double T build. I sanded it out and reshot it with Model Master primer. I now use Tamiya and Mr. Color primers, and haven't had any problems.

Plastic composition can vary with heat and pressure needed to mold, and I doubt it's very well controlled. After my one bad experience, I don't use Duplicolor any more. I also decided it obscured too much detail. As far as I'm concerned my current primers are much better, albeit more expensive.

[martinfan5]

I ran into this problem with Duplicolor primer on an AMT Double T build. I sanded it out and reshot it with Model Master primer. I now use Tamiya and Mr. Color primers, and haven't had any problems.

Plastic composition can vary with heat and pressure needed to mold, and I doubt it's very well controlled. After my one bad experience, I don't use Duplicolor any more. I also decided it obscured too much detail. As far as I'm concerned my current primers are much better, albeit more expensive.

You are paying for peace of mind that the primer you are using is not going damage the plastic, and that is priceless.

Tamiya primer is not all that expinsive if you are smart shopper,  Hobby Lobby sells Tamiya primer, and after the coupon, and after taxes have been applied, comes to just under $8,  plus Ebay is a good place to get Tamiya Primer.

[BubbaBrown]

I haven't had a problem since I did away with dupli-color  That's  about all you can find anymore. I have to special order plasticote.