Testors New Color Shift Paint

[chippern73]

Has anyone tried the new Testors Color Shift paint? They come in 3 oz spay cans in 4 colors. I have only tested their Galaxy Blue. It shifts between blue and green depending on the angle to the light. You need to spray it over gloss black in two light coats. Anything heavier and the effect goes away (still a nice green color). The item painted goes from a medium green to a dark blue. When I used a clear coat on it it did take some of the color shift and gloss away. But once buffed it looked good. 

I will be painting a 1956 Chevy with it and when finished I will post photos of the paint job.

I found it at Hobby Lobby (not sure if I can mention them). Not on EBay.

[gman]

Yes, you can mention them. There is a whole thread devoted to HL:

I saw those Testors color-shifting paints on my last trip into HL. I wasn't too sure on how nice they would spray, as the paint on the caps looked like a pretty textured finish.

You should post up some photos of the paint on the model ;).

[iamsuperdan]

Very interested! I love the effect on guitars, could be very cool on our builds.

 

[peteski]

FYI, Alclad has been selling similar paints for few years now, although I can't find them on their website. For example ALC 203 is Gold to Green and ALC 201 is Green to Blue.  I have both, but haven't used them on a car body yet.  Pearl-X also has similar color shifting powders (those are available in craft stores). Those have to be added to clear lacquer for spraying.

[tbill]

Any new info on this stuff? Grabbed a couple cans of it today, wondering how it works, and any tricks /tips for using it?

[vamach1]

Use black metallic as a primer.  I painted a Mustang Cobra with it.

Edited December 30, 2018 by vamach1

[Joe Handley]

That looks like that factory colorshift paint!

[tbill]

2 hours ago, vamach1 said:

Use black metallic as a primer.  I painted a Mustang Cobra with it.

So, do you have to mist coat, or can ya lay it on like normal? Looks great by the way .

[vamach1]

1 hour ago, tbill said:

So, do you have to mist coat, or can ya lay it on like normal? Looks great by the way .

Thanks.  Pretty much sprayed like normal.  I used a Testors metallic black which took a while to dry and shot it with clear after maybe three coats of the colorshift paint.

I found the paint at Michael's. Retail is about $9 so use a coupon.

Edited December 30, 2018 by vamach1

[tim boyd]

I just painted an NHRA style "competition coupe" body with the new Testors color shift paint.   I was very pleased with the outcome - almost no orange peel, excellent gloss, went on perfectly with two light coats.  

What I was much less satisfied with was the current formula of Testors Gloss Black enamel which you are to use as a basecoat for the Color Shift paint.  Sags, uneven coverage, slow to dry, et al.  This is a shame as the original 1960's/1970's Testors Gloss Black spray was fabulous - nearly foolproof, no orange peel, quick to dry, and terrific glossiness.   I noticed the differences in the Gloss Black enamel spray paint starting around the early-mid 1990's, and it has gotten worse from there.  I suspect that the EPA regulations  among other factors, have caused the decline. Very sad  

Fortunately today we have both Testors and Tamiya spray paints that work far better than the current formulations of spray enamels.  And at least for me, ring my trial, the enamel based Color Shift paint also largely shared the favorable lacquer-like characteristics.   Hmmm......  TIM   

PS - the talented model builder who goes by the name "Bone" (based in NW near Seattle I think), recently did a bunch of test bodies using the Testors Color Shift paint over other color basecoats, including bright red IIRC.  The result looked, well, terrific to my eye.  TB  

Edited December 30, 2018 by tim boyd

[tbill]

Good info guys, I’ve primered up a spare body I had laying around, so that will be the test subject for this. 

Thanks guys?

[Ironman63]

I bought 3 different colors from Michael's for 25% off shortly before Christmas.  I plan on using it on a Lambo Veneno I have, just haven't decided on which color yet.  Thanks for the tip about the undercoat color.  The car looks great.

[vamach1]

I decided to test it out on a spare Cobra body.  What do you all think?  This was an extra body so I did not worry much about it being perfect - it was just to see how it would look.

Edited April 21, 2019 by vamach1

[Jim N]

 

You have to take your pictures outside to see the full effect of the paint.  The ones above were painted with Rustoleum Color - Shift paint, but I expect that the Testor's will be the same.  The Magnum is purple to blue and the Monte Carlo is green to gold.  This paint went on the same as the Testor's.  There has to be a black base coat and then light coats of the Color - Shift paint.

[peteski]

If you look through the fingernail polishes in the drug stores, or supermarkets (or even dollar stores), you can usually find some color shifting ones.

[Baldpainter]

Is the color shift paint an enamel or a lacquer?