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Sign Painters One Shot Enamel


jwrass

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To All:

Recently I have seen more chatter about Sign Painters One Shot used as a alternative to regular modeling enamels, I have some 40 plus years experience with these products and they are a great alternative to the regular enamel modeling paints. I have used these products on models and plastic sign blanks (corplas a styrene sign blank material) with great results.

Much of what I will post here is information that has been passed on to me by many great teachers and mentors over the years, with that said every bit of information I share about these products I have tried and I would say I have had a 98.% success rate.

A little History first, When I first started lettering and pinstriping in 1972 their where several companies that manufactured what was often called bulletin colors and were made for painting signage on everything, Buildings, Vehicles, etc, this was before the advent of the vinyl lettering that started in the early 80s. Kenith Howard (AKA Von Dutch) who started the pinstriping craze in So Cal In the 50s Used Bulletin colors for striping as his father was a sign wrighter and Dutch had a able supply of paint to choose from. Their are only a few companies that still manufacture any type of enamel lettering and pinstriping paint and One Shot would be the most recognizable and available as a complete paint system.

I thought it was prudent to give a little history to get to where we are going on the tips and tricks of using this product

One Shot Comes in 46 colors which in that palette are Silver, Gold, And Copper all colors can be intermixed without any problems they are 100% compatible, they also have 10 Pearlescent colors and 8 Fluorescent colors, a tinting White a tinting Black and a Clear Coat. All 100% Compatible.

One Shot brand is a Oil Based Enamel

They also have their own line of reducers Fast/Med/Slow a Hardener additive and a Flatting paste.

Tip #1) Very economical! You can purchase a 4 oz can for between $7.45 to $12.99 which when thinned to spray can yield 8 to 12 oz. For brushing use straight out of the can with a touch of thinner.(see tip #6)

Tip #2) You do not have to use their reducers! Mineral Spirits Or Turpentine work fine.

Tip #3) If you want to add a hardener to the paint you do not have to use their brand, Even though it is Oil Based in composition I have used PPG and HOK urethane hardeners with no adverse reaction.

Tip #4) You can reduce this product for spraying with lacquer thinner for faster drying times with no adverse effects. I know the story...... enamels and lacquers don't mix and that is true however, in this case this product breaks the rules

You know all the fades and cartoons etc on the lettering of all of the 1:1 Revell Funnies and Top Fuel cars of the 70s these were all done in a process called wet on wet. The main copy was all hand lettered with straight One Shot and the fades were done with One Shot thinned with lacquer thinner. I know this to be a fact as I have become friends with many of the people who originally painted these cars back in the day. I worshiped and read about these guys in all the magazines and tried to emulate them at any chance I got. Through the Pinhead and Letterhead Movement that started in the 90s I have attended many charitable events and panel Jams since 1998 and have pushed paint around with some of these greats, In my world these people are like Rock Stars! The stories I have heard about the hey day of custom painting the greatest cars of all time makes my head spin!

Tip #5) Use a good brush when applying this product, not modeling stumps. Purchase some good lettering Quills like a Mack 179 brown, a Mack 189 grey or a French Masters Series 3173. Sizes # 0 & 1 will work great for most hand brushed parts if you want to get brushes in smaller sizes you can trim the 0s and 1s or purchase liner brushes as they come in smaller sizes made by the same manufactures. These brushes are made of squirrel hair, the browns are softer than the greys and typically are easier to control and leave a smoother finish. Either brush with this paint should flow out dead flat

Tip #6) Palette the paint into the brush! Meaning: Dip the brush in the paint and stoke it back and forth on a shiny magazine page, fully load the brush to the shape you want, all the hairs of the brush should be wet, if you overload the brush stroke it off to a portion of the palette that has no paint to get the consistency and shape of the brush you desire. If the brush starts to drag or pull, litely dip your brush into a small container of clean thinner and work that into the paint to get the consistency you want. Repeat this process as you paint.

Tip #7) Triple clean your brush! Meaning: Have 3 containers with clean thinner in them ( I use Shot glasses ) rinse in # 1,2 & 3 gently pulling any of the paint from the ferrule of the brush, by the time you get to the # 3 container the brush should be free from paint.

Tip #8) Oil the clean brush with a good brush oil, 3 & 1, Linseed oil, (any non detergent oil) shape it and lay it flat.

When you go to use the brush again clean the oil out of the brush with clean thinner. Now I know some of you are thinking fish eyes! One Shot is a oil based product, any trace amount of oil that could remain in a cleaned brush is compatible with the paint, no fish eyes!

In closing this paint typically dries in 4 to 6 hours with maybe a slight tack. 12 to 24 hours no sticky, no finger prints and it can be waxed after 24 hours although I prefer a paint sealer that will breath. After 7 to 10 days you can scuff and buff to a great shine. The only limit you have with this product in terms of colors and the sheen you want is your imagination. Always test and practice before you commit.

I know I'm most likely forgetting something! If I think of anything of more use I will edit. It is my hope you find this interesting and helpful! JW "RASS"

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Thanks for the tips - should be useful for other paints as well.

I think you fixed the problem I had with One Shot...

My only expereience with spraying one shot was with some advice from a local club member. He used Darby's reducer to thin the One Shot for spraying and he mentioned that it atomizes so finely that the overspray goes everywhere - his paint booth was in the laundry room and red overspray turned all the whites pink. The results on the model were incredible - smooth with very high gloss. So I tried it - in the garage... Thirty years and two moves later I still find traces of yellow One Shot overspray. It stayed wet with the Darby's reducer so it stuck everywhere it landed. I may have to try it again - your instruction to spray with lacquer thinner should eliminate a lot of the oversary problems.

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Great info JW.

I used to stripe race and street cars in the '60's and One Shot was it. Last year, I read on a striper's site that One Shot changed the formula some years ago and the 'new' has less coverage than the 'old'.

Is that your experience?

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Cato,

They took the lead out of the paint during the late 70s or early 80s it's been awhile, ever since then the coverage has not been what it used to be, more so with lettering than with striping. With any large lettering I typically cut a mask on the vinyl plotter and mop it in or spray it.

Striping it's not much of a problem however, I do find myself mixing white, purple or black into my colors to make them cover better.

I have not tried or heard anything about the eco friendly line that has been recently introduced.

Why did you get out of striping? I find it more enjoyable as the years go by! Get the brushes out and get them wet! Cheers jwrass

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Thanks for clearing that up JW.

After I lettered Ivo's Rainbow car in '68;

marriage / racing / career / models / 1/4 scale RC AC / Cobra replica (3 decades) / models / my Pocher Sedanca / lost vision / shakes...

Still have my Beugler (never used) and some Daggers.

Wish I could run some lines but now I paint cartoon characters for my grandkids - and that kicks my arse..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Great post. Nice to come across some other dinosaurs. In 1972 started lettering and striping professionally. Built many a model dirt track race cars in my teens. Hand lettering the sponsors on the model race cars built my confidence enough to hand letter a real race car at 16. Got hooked and the passion has continued for 49 years. Now I'm ready to go full circle - started modeling recently and feel like a kid again.

First Letterhead meet I attended was Kansas City in '83. Then to Raymond Chapman's Texas Letterhead later that year. One of the 'original seven' Letterheads, Mike Reilly, made it to Raymond's meet. Those meets were really inspiring. Not many meets with so few sign artists anymore.

My first post.

Life is good.

R

Edited by Sign Painter
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Hey Ray,

Thanks for you input on the post! Raymond Chapman is a GOD!!!

Our stories follow a similar vein, I started modeling again after a 35+ year hiatus (haven't finished one yet) but I know what you mean! I'm still getting the brushes wet on a regular basis.

Actually there are more Letterhead and Pinhead events than 20 years ago and I try t get to at least 2 or 3 a year.

Drop me a PM and I will give you more information! I feel honored that your first post was here! Jimmy "RASS"

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Very cool, TKNS. If the passion grabs you and desire burns, the only way you'll get good at it is practice, practice, practice. You'll need to find about an extra hour every day. Don't stop. Before you know it you'll gain some confidence and want go out and start making money. I practiced for two years before I was confident to even stripe somebody else's car. I have to thank my mother-in-law for allowing me to borrow her extra refrigerator for my shop when I started my business. I started using it to practice on. One day the phone rang and I forgot to wipe off the practice striping. Oh well. Then all the stripes started stayin'. One day the MIL stopped by. She liked to have had a holy cow. We just laugh about it now. She's a cool MIL.

Best regards,

R

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Very cool, TKNS. If the passion grabs you and desire burns, the only way you'll get good at it is practice, practice, practice. You'll need to find about an extra hour every day. Don't stop. Before you know it you'll gain some confidence and want go out and start making money. I practiced for two years before I was confident to even stripe somebody else's car. I have to thank my mother-in-law for allowing me to borrow her extra refrigerator for my shop when I started my business. I started using it to practice on. One day the phone rang and I forgot to wipe off the practice striping. Oh well. Then all the stripes started stayin'. One day the MIL stopped by. She liked to have had a holy cow. We just laugh about it now. She's a cool MIL.

Best regards,

R

Thanks Ray,

it is an amazing art form. I got a techniques book that is a good starter and goes through all the basics of brushes, lodging, paints design etc. I agree lots of practice is needed, going to take some time to even get half decent.

Thanks for the encouragement bud,

Scott

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and techniques. I dabble in one shot have used it on some of my model cars, brushed on only. But now will try the lacquer thinner mix and see what happens through my airbrushes. Also I want to fix some bad striping on my truck and experiment with scrolling. Back in the 70's friends and I liked to go to SIR near Kent, Wash. to see the 64 Funny Car spectacle. Really enjoyed wandering the pits and marvelling the faux finishing on the race cars (ie. headlites and chrome). So much better in real time than magazines. Sad that the "vinyl boutiques" ruined the sign writers craft but I believe there is a rennaissance happening as we speak and hands on work will be more appreciated. Glad you mentioned Von Dutch, funny how that name became a designer label, huh ?

Cheers Eh!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hey Guys, Thanks for the comments on this topic! My original intent was to give information as One Shot as a alternate paint and I got many posts and PMs by people who have used it for signs and striping. For those of you who have swung a brush in the past and who are still doing it... Much respect!!!!!

To all who are interested, any World of Wheels car show will have a Pinstriping Bull Pen ( The concept started in Milwaukee, WI. In the early 2000s)

The Artisans typically work on a killer panel at home (many hours) and then do panels in the bull pen ( were you are welcome and ask a brother or sister of the brush for tips and they will help) that take maybe 1/2 to a hour to complete, all panels are auctioned off for charity (Children's Hospital in our case) Panels are typically $25 to $200 for panels done on site and upwards of $3000 to 4000 for the for those really killer panels.

Ray, I love the story about the frig, My mother had the most awesome Washer, Dryer, Wash Tubs etc for miles around.

Scott, As many have said practice is the key!!!!! Welcome to the club!! If you ever need any help p.m. me, always willing to help.

Gordon, Yeah I don't know how Dutch's name got tagged as clothing line, I do know there is litigation on the subject. I do some vinyl work (YUCK) but it pays the bills. With the advent of the nostalgia race car movement their is allot of old school paint going on ( STICKERS!!! WE DON"T NEED NO STINKING STICKERS)

To all: Their is a three part youtube video of Kenny Youngblood (the master) doing a faux grill, headlights and rear taillights on a 70 Mach 1 nostalgia Funny Car, Check it out!!! It is so cool.

Keep It Wet!!!! Jimmy "RASS"

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  • 1 year later...

My boat was painted in One Shot Enamel and for some reason the paint continues to get scratched and marked. I've bought touch up paint to fix the scrapped spots, but I was wondering if there is some kind of lacquer that can be sprayed over the sign to protect it? The boat sits in a marina slip in the ocean.

Thanks

Arnie

Big Slick.jpg

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My boat was painted in One Shot Enamel and for some reason the paint continues to get scratched and marked. I've bought touch up paint to fix the scrapped spots, but I was wondering if there is some kind of lacquer that can be sprayed over the sign to protect it? The boat sits in a marina slip in the ocean.

Thanks

Arnie

Big Slick.jpg

My two cents is that what it sounds like is that the surface may not have been prepped properly. I had used this wonderful paint for over 20 years when I had owned two sign shops and never had that problem. That is why is seems to me it may have been an issue with not prepping the surface, boat paint is tricky not to ruin the finish with a good wax and grease remover. As far as covering with lacquer it may work but again good prep of the surface before adding any paint to a boats surface.

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Arnie,

Darren makes some very valid points!

Their are several ways to remedy your problem however this could be a slippery slope! if you brought this to my shop or I visited the port of call this is how I would approach putting a protective clear on your lettering and graphics.

First lets hope you haven't been using a wax that contains silicone, if you have been your pretty much up the creek with no paddle due to the fact that any product that you will have to use to remove the silicone will most likely damage the paint. if not this is the approach or a variation of prep I would take to the area for a protective clear.

1) Clean the area with a solution of Isopropyl Alcohol and water with a clean cotton cloth or micro fiber (I use various ratios by volume depending on the job) I'd start with a 20% Iso/water. Test in a small area to make sure you are not going remove to much paint (One Shot is pretty durable and I doubt you would remove the paint however test to be sure) You will most likely will have a trace of the colors when you clean the areas but this will be mostly oxidation (not much of a concern)

2) Now you want to remove the oxidation with a light automotive cleaner, I use Meguiars sealer and reseal glaze #7 or corn starch mixed to a paste like consistency. Rub gently as not to remove too much color you just want to knock down the oxidation and perk up the color a bit.

3) Clean the area again with the Iso/water mix to remove any residue and kill the static from rubbing on the hull.

4)  I have used lacquer thinner to thin One Shot for airbrushing and have used lacquer clear over One Shot however it is not for the faint of heart or someone who has no experience in the process or potential failures ( yes I have had failures with lacquer clear over the oil based One Shot..... you don't want to go there!)

5) One Shot makes 3 products that would be compatible as a clear coat over your lettering and graphics they are as follows: # 4003 oil based clear, # 4005 Speed Dry acrylic clear, and # 4005AA Speed Dry acrylic clear in a aerosol spray can. The first two are brush-able products and I would recommend the brushes stated in my original post. I have used all three of these products with success. If it were my boat I would use the # 4003.

6) Give the surface a light go over with a tack cloth and have at it!

I hope this helps! May you have great success in reviving that One Shot and protecting it for many years to come....  Stickers we don't need no stinking stickers!

Peace... Jimmy "RASS" 

 

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  • 2 months later...

I worked my way through college in the 80s as a sign writer (painter).  I love One Shot for airbrushing.  Lays down slick as glass and dries rock hard in a a day.  Not like hobby enamels that are still soft after years.   I didn't know that lead had been removed.  Whatever the formula, it used to be my favorite gloss paint.

 As an aside, I was recently in Boone, NC in Sept 2016.  I have always made it a point to ride by Wheeler's produce stand.  I lettered a sign for them while I was in college in 87 - 91.  THat sign is still legible today.  Barely.  But that is one shot paint we used back then with a good oil based base on the plywood.  This sign is under and overhang, so it has been protected from the worst of the sun.  But interesting that it is still there and still legible.  The business is closed now and will likely be torn down for something new.  Most of Boone has been.  But still there in 2016.

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