Dave G.

I wouldn't go by everyone elses rendition or what most seem to seek at least here of a clear finish that you see here often. Most are after that wet look that back in the 1960's and 1970's we didn't know could even exist yet . Yet many modelers seem to demand just that. I mean paint dried lol !! It didn't still look wet. Even polished to arguably some very rich depth it still didn't look wet. But with practice you can shoot clear and polish to your liking, you don't have to seek that wet look even from clear. GM didn't spend time polishing factory paint. A dealer might, owners might have, but really the acrylic lacquer used on cars at GM wasn't that glossy without some post factory help. A decent clear job doesn't have to look buried in clear and wet looking. It's about thinning, application and polishing. And you don't need or even want 2K clear to get what you're after. It can be done with lacquer, Pledge/Future or Tamiya X-22. And you need to be willing to polish to the desired level. And you don't need Scale Finishes base coat to get started practicing this.

I use many different paints and brands and types these days. Over the years I probably shot enamels most because of the old classic cars I like to build. I mix many of my own solid colors, these days I use acrylics as well as enamel. sometimes lacquer or nail polish..Scale finishes came up for me for a 49 Ford wine and 49-50 Ford teal I didn't think I could get right. But I don't think I want those in acrylic enamel now. Last I knew they were mixing lacquer ( my bad there). Your gold should be fine though for that era car. Heck I might even have shot one that color in 1/1 in acrylic enamel back in the day. I sure used enough of it.

All base coats I've ever dealt with even in 1/1 have been flat ( little to no shine), they level real well too. The clear is the gloss or produces the gloss.. Acrylic enamel top coat will be glossy and polished up will look much like acrylic lacquer. They have obviously changed their formulations. I shot tons of acrylic enamel in 1/1 but can say never have on a model. I shot enamels of various sorts for 30 years in 1/1. You've got my curiosity up now, I wasn't expecting this.

The thread is full of tidbits, it's fine. You're trying to paint a car and the color is definitely a bit unique so things morphed.. The Scale finishes site has also changed offerings a bit . I'd like to hear from Steve about now but my personal choice as presented by your needs, products on hand and their offerings would have to go to enamel. Course your 1/1 was probably painted in single stage acrylic lacquer at the factory. FWIW. Edit: SF metallic flecks were more in scale than 1/1 paint, finer flakes last I knew. I think you will be pleased.

OK.

Well just be careful of the experiments and little extras you need to make it spray etc. Pretty easy to exceed $18 and not get what you want.

Well no one here at the forums will argue with your results Steve. They speak for themselves.

Ya, I'm one to play with paints and make them work but it can take time, effort etc. It works best with solid colors too. And guessing by craft store charts or looking at paints in the bottle rarely gets you there. And get this, sometimes you just simply don't win in the end. Scale Finishes is a pretty sure bet . I'm either going blind or Saturn Gold has some green in it.

If I decided on that particular paint I'd start my test shots over white and over black. One might hit you right away. But they are pure base colors and will give you a feel for the lightest version and darkest for that paint. It's surprising though how the highlights can change too.. It matters too how much you thin and how many coats go down. Also don't conclude anything till you clear coat your tests, that can make a tint pop that you couldn't see before it was shot with clear.

A good thinner also is denatured alcohol, and as mentioned 50/50 or so depending on age. DNA gives a little more wet look finish than IPA. Both level nice if thinned right etc.......

The actual color you get can be influenced by the color you put under it, be that primer or sealer coat of some sort. You would be surprised by how much too. Always test your combo before shooting the model.

Well hey, the whole wife thing is a completely different story, seriously !!! Good luck with that by the way ( ya I have stories, not bad they just have their own ideas). As to the paint, the Saturn Gold I thought I saw somewhere that listed as an iridescent paint. If that be the case you may be on to something with a pearl paint. So is it the Wicked W350 you're considering ?

Ya I get the concept Steve. Not sure it can be pulled off with Createx. Anyone can see the Oldsmobile charts from a simple browser search. It took me about 40 seconds to find one and bring it up. Maybe Createx will match one, I doubt it but ya never know. I bet Scale Finishes would match it though.

Oldsmobile had three golds in 1970, all metallics. No manufacturer I know of had pearls yet in 1970, in fact pearl paint was a high expense custom job in that era, usually buried in about 10 coats of clear lacquer. Clear coating itself was an art not a standard like today. FWIW.

Ultimately regardless what paint you use, it will come out as good as the prep work and your own understanding in applying what ever brand you use. The paint itself is not the magic, learning each ones ways is.

I think we have two concepts going on here in the thread. One being the title question about Autoair, then interjected is suggestions about using regular Createx. People need to note that the two are not really the same products. That said, I watched a 5 minute video from a Createx rep saying you can prime with any primer. They do have their own but the paints will go to and stick to any good primer. Then he went on to thinning. I'm gathering the Createx is thicker than Autoair by the nozzle requirement and thinner proportions. It seems their gloss improver product is only used in the Autoair but I could be wrong. I doubt it's needed anyway if clear coating. But the number at any rate I believe was 4030. And then one last note, Autoair has a true candy line, these are basically transparent colors that very obviously need a base coat under them. All the selection of paints are not translucent in nature though, they do have an opaque line made up mostly of solid colors. FWIW. So all this said, members were headed off to HL to buy into this line. What did you get, Createx or Autoaire ?

Well I think you can save a few more bucks ! Just keep your ratios right. Never mind my other ingredients if yours works, we may not have the same brands or climate for that matter. The key being if they work. A fellow here tried my recipe and in the end it worked great for him, he really liked it especially for craft paints. But initially he tried Goldens retarder and it screwed everything up.

70% is (but more important available locally) cheaper, you just adjust the water so you end up with 30%-35% alcohol, so 60% iso to 40% distilled water using 70% drug store iso will give you 30% actual alcohol content in the blend.The 35% is fudge factor lol. Easier to find 70% for me.. I do my retarder and flow aid different than you, I mix 3oz batches at a time and 4-8 drops of Liquitex retarder to the 3 oz blend depending on time of year. I use a whisker of Dawn dish wash liquid for flow aid. It's way less than a drop, I just get some on a mixing stick and wipe it in there ( stir). So the retarder stops tip dry and the flow aid to break surface tension. I have Liquitex flow aid, it's designed to mix either 10 or 20-1 according to the instructions then add that blend to your paint but I hit on the Dawn and like it. It just takes a trace amount of Dawn though. I used to use 91% iso before covid hit and could not find it locally any longer. 70 pops up here and there, right now I have plenty.......So with 91 I used 40% iso to 60% distilled water. Lately been playing with denatured alcohol but haven't gotten far in testing as yet. It works great straight up in Tamiya acrylic though ! Denatured is what's in washer fluid, since I never liked washer fluid for craft paint and my own thinner works heads and shoulder above washer fluid in craft paint, I'm not overly excited about jumping in head first. But I am thinking a blend of iso and dna might have potential.

Not sure if spruslayers is the same as mine and I haven't used mine in Createx yet, where he has.

Good to know the home brew thinner works, their proprietary thinner has maybe held me back from buying into them a little. But basically I'll use about any paint for my base color coat that will spray evenly anyway. I have craft paints, some hobby paints, artist acrylics all spraying nice with my home brew thinner, so I haven't exactly been chomping at the bit to get Createx. Maybe next time I'm near some I'll pick up a bottle of pearl something ( I have a T that might look good in frosted deep purple pearl).

And as far as thinning, you need enough to make the paint flow out or level out but not so much you can't load the brush. I make a thinner I use in most acrylic paints for airbrushing and that works fine for brushing too. All your craft paints will thin with just water really, or a thinner for airbrushing. Tamiya acrylic paint brushes best with just retarder added. Some folks over in FineScale Modeler forums use Tamiya only retarder but I use Liquitex only because it's fully liquid and I have it on hand. Works great. Also with Tamiya and some other brands try lapping strokes or so called touching strokes rather than over lapping strokes, it will flow together if mixed right.

Try taklon brushes for acrylics and see what you think. I like that for acrylic paint.

I'm a tree shooter too for the most part, certainly for small parts that are all one color . The body and or fenders/hood etc are removed of course. That said, some things need a brush, it really helps a lot to thin the paint a little to both keep film thickness down and brush strokes out.

I have two Minicraft Model A roadsters in 1/16, one unopened and the other was too but now am building on it.. Someplace out in the world is the sedan, that I want lol ! I paid $60 each for these because they were sealed boxes and buy it now, never opened but they are around cheaper than that. I haven't checked lately on the sedan. They also make a Model A delivery panel in 1/16 fwiw. Another I'd like to land is the 28 Lincoln touring car. I'd like the 1/24 Parckard too, you know some day assuming I last that long lol !.

For me 1/16 is overgrown 1/24. In both those sizes I like the classics era cars. I'm doing up a 1/16 Minicraft Model A roadster now actually. I have a 1/16 Entex Mercer all painted and ready to assemble for a year now, just haven't gotten back to it. Pretty much you're stuck with building these stock. In 1/24 the Deusenbergs , the Packards and Cadillacs are decent sized. Minicraft has a few construction things I think they could have avoided but they turn out nice, just take your time. The Entex Mercer has many details but that paint with stripes is quite the task. Back in the day I built the 1/8 Jag, Big T and Big Deuce. Of those my favorite was the Duece. But that was back in the 1960's, I couldn't begin to tell you of the details, plus to find a kit today you discover they are all expensive . The Entex and Minicraft kits are around and the 1/24 Connoiseur Classic series Monogram kits are quite decent if you like old classic/antique era cars.