Plumcrazy Preston

I did not make this thread to ask for advice from others. I already know what I need to know now that I'm left to my own devices. I posted it to reveal my discoveries on my own to share with you all like a good soul. Sharing is caring. I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh, Lord please don't let me be misunderstood.

What evidence can I provide that I am serious? Should I post copies of the receipts of all the hobby products I've purchased over the past year? We are all innocent until proven guilty. I want a fair trial with a jury of my own peers.

I've just conducted my paint lab work outside my apartment with my postal scale and my calculator and here is what I have come up with; I have an AS college degree so I know some algebra. The specific gravity of paint is quite greater than that of the thinner. The paint is heavier or denser so unequal weights per equal volumes of each product has to be taken in to consideration. The different paints by pigment types measured so closely on the scale I will just use a blanket average weight in grams for them all. I take it the convention in panting is to mix by fluid volumes and not by weights. Doing it by weight will make things much less messier for me. I use grams instead of avoirdupois ounces because grams are much smaller (lighter) units and much more precision on the scale can be attained. My scale is calibrated in both English and metric weights. My scale is only precise to the nearest tenth for ounces but there are 28.3495 grams per ounce. A gram is nearly 1 of 28 divisions of an ounce. In metric mode, my scale is only precise to the nearest whole gram. Grams are not fractionalized on the scale readout. There's not quite 3 grams per 1/10th of an ounce. Empty Paasche 1 oz. jar with lid and seal = 50 grams Empty Testors Enamel Jar, 0.25 fluid ounces, with lid = 30 grams Testors Enamels (from 0.25 fl. oz jars) = 36 grams/fluid ounce [average weight of flat, gloss, semi-gloss, metallic and non-metallic pigments] Testors Universal Enamel Thinner = 22 grams/fluid ounce Small Hex Nut used as a paint mixing agitator in jar = 0 grams, not measurable on digital electronic postal scale Mixing Ratio for Testors Enamels and Enamel Thinner per label on can = 3 parts paint/2 parts thinner for gloss; 3 parts paint/1 part thinner for flat; 2 parts paint/1 part thinner for semi-gloss Weight Formulae for Mixing Testors Enamels and Universal Enamel Thinner Let t = thinner weight in grams and p = paint weight in grams For 3 parts paint/2 parts thinner for gloss: t = 0.42p For 3 parts paint/1 part thinner for flat: t = 0.21p For 2 parts paint/1 part thinner for semi-gloss: t = 0.31p

I have asthma and I'm chemical-sensitive. I don't want any paint odor inside my home or visible paint damage to anything valuable.

Thank you 45, it should be dry for most of the wintertime but again it might be too cold outside to set up the paint tent. What are optimal weather conditions for airbrushing outside even inside a painting tent? I can generally tell if it's too windy and rain or snow makes it out of the question. -humidity? -temperature? Yes, Mother Nature and Father Time can actually slow me down. I have to play it by ear, weather-wise. Better yet, is there a good book on this hobby I can pick up and read?

Right now, it's 71 degrees outside with 69% humidity in Lawton, Oklahoma. It's overcast outside and looking like rain. Is this a less than ideal weather condition to airbrush outside right now even inside a special folding tent designed to be a portable paint booth? Winds are 15 mph south and dew point is 61 degrees. I cannot spray paints inside my apartment and have no special ventilation system for that express purpose.

That said, my plan is still to carefully record information. Gun handloaders work up loads from loading bench manuals and test-fire them at the range to check results. Like painting, there are many variables like powders, primers, case dimensions and bullet weights. Each and every gun and round is a physical law unto itself. Serious riflemen in military sniper training and in shooting matches, try to hit dimes consistently at 1,000 yards. Once the elusive nit is finally discovered, that load gets "etched in stone" as it were. I will use the "loading bench" approach to this hobby. When I finally get a paint mixture that gives me results I like, I will stick with my guns as they say. Yes, even in the shooting sports, one has to test specific loads in specific guns in specific weather just the same.

Oooops, the cat's now out of the bag. I forget to edit that message for posting here. My handle as shown here is NOT my true legal name. No idiot in his right mind would ever reveal is true legal name on forums like this full of perfect strangers but I got a bit careless. So now you all know my true legal first name. I can guarantee you that B. is not my true legal middle initial and Preston isn't my true legal surname.

Now where does that leave me? I will have to set up my own outdoor lab one day, weather permitting in SW Oklahoma, with my electronic digital postal scale, my notepad, my pencil, my pill cups, my pipettes and my calculator to get these weights per unit volume down pat and recorded. Does anybody here hand-load gun ammunition with reloading manuals? Does anybody here understand working up loads? I'm a man of level measurement and precision. I hate guesswork. I hate wasting money, time and energy. I want to work up paint mixtures as near perfectly as feasibly possible. I don't know how to get stuff to "milky consistency". It's not something measurable. It's not something one can hold a steel ruler to. I lack that skill. I believe in pursuing consistency in one's workmanship through accurate weights and measures, data recording, lab testing and numbers crunching. I'm a former automobile mechanic by trade. I had torque wrench's, hole gauges, thickness gauges, dial indicators, steel rulers and shop manuals with printed data in them to work with. Painting is pure physics, algebra, meteorology and chemistry.

Here is their verdict: Hello, After consulting with our Research & Development team and resident airbrush expert, we are able to provide the following information: As far as the weight of the paints, each individual paint has a unique weight, depending on pigments used. With that being said, our team does not feel that weight is key in the thinning process. There is no fixed amount of thinner to be added to paint for airbrushing. Factors such as type of airbrush and compressor are more influential than the paint. A good starting place is 1/2 paint, 1/4 thinner and 1/4 gloss clear. All thinner and paint settles too fast; the gloss clear keeps everything in suspension. The goal is to achieve a milky like consistency, not runny or watery. We hope you find this information helpful. If you have any additional questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Jenn Gitter Product Support Representative

I need my plastic pill cups still on mail order. Those are for cleaning up airbrush parts. I still am waiting for a response from Rust-Oleum. What else could I do paint practice on the cheap besides the car bodies tbill offered to send me? Plastic drink cups? Campbell's soup cans? 2-litter plastic soda bottles? 1 gallon plastic spring water jugs? In SW Oklahoma I live in an apartment and cannot spray indoors. I have to wait until the weather is right to put up my paint booth tent outside up. We had 55 mph winds the other day here. I have limited space to store stuff too. I am not actually working on model cars right now but a model diesel truck tractor. The hood, cab, visor, sleeper, air cleaners, sleeper steps, steering column, battery box and cab step have to be painted in body color. The cab interior ceiling will be painted in body color as well as the underside of the Kenworth conventional hood. The interior bucket will be white. A semitrailer model is to follow the tractor. Following that will be a jet plane and then a helicopter.

Thanks, tbill, but my plan is to practice first on plastic part runner material from model kits. I'm not out to make the hobby industry super rich with expensive painting flops if I can help it. I'm still waiting for a few things before I can start my painting practice as a greenhorn airbrush person.

I don't plan on priming my plastic for mixed Testors enamel as a base coat. Just a light scuff with 1,000-grit sandpaper followed by a warm-soapy-water cleaning of parts and complete air drying as a prep. I don't like to sand too much or the rivets molded into the truck cab and sleeper unit get worn down. I had to sand and scrape off with an Xacto knife a bunch of mold flash on the edges of the hood, cab and fenders. Over the years, I've painted a bunch of parts with a hand brush and Testors enamel and some parts with Testors flat or semi-gloss enamels in spray cans and never found priming necessary. Testors enamels seem to bond well and level well with model kit plastics.

Does lacquer thinner harm any of your plastic models in any way when used as a base paint mixer? My current project is an EXPENSIVE amt brand truck model kit, the Kenworth W-925 tractor. I plan to do a painting test session using runner material from the model kit. I will first follow mixing directions from Testors/Rust-Oleum as a starting point. If I follow manufacturer directions and recommendations, I might have a better chance of getting satisfactory results right off the bat and possibly reduce expenditures of time, money, energy and resources. I also have a new can of Klean-Strip lacquer thinner from Walmart. I need more economical material for clean-up after painting than enamel thinner. Besides, I will need the lacquer thinner for Testors Dullcote and Glosscote mixing later on. Various customer reviews on amazon.com indicate 1:1 ratio is preferred with these products. I should also do a trial of top coating over my test runner material with cured base enamel with spare decals applied.

I have just asked them the following questions via web-based corporate email messaging (and I await for their answers if they can provide this information to me). 1. What is the WEIGHT (in grams or avoirdupois ounces) of a. Testors Flat Enamel per fluid ounce? b. Testors Semi-Gloss Enamel per fluid ounce? c. Testors Gloss Enamel per fluid ounce? d. Testors Universal Enamel Thinner per fluid ounce? I might find it more useful to use my accurate digital postal scale in determining the correct mixtures for enamels and thinner as opposed to trying to measure these products by volume which can be messy, inaccurate and waste product. 2. What is the recommended mixing ratio for Testors SEMI-GLOSS Enamel and Universal Enamel Thinner for airbrushing? The instructions on the 8 oz. can of Universal Enamel Thinner only provide information regarding mixing for FLAT Enamels and GLOSS Enamels. Some of you seasoned modelers here and Testors products aficionados might already know the answers to some or all of these questions already. Please feel free to chime in if you know any of this information already. If the current manufacturer of Testors products is even worth their salt, they should already have such technical information as product weight per unit of volume in their files. Paint is a very scientific matter. There is chemistry, mathematics and physics involved. Does anybody here actually use a scale when dosing out paints and thinners (of any brand) for mixing? It also helps to know the weights of the containers used in paint storage and mixing to zero out a digital postal scale using the TARE function. I received my shiny new red 8 oz. tin can of Testors Universal Enamel Thinner from amazon.com the other day. Over $16 with shipping!!! My word!! I have a good number of Testors enamels in 0.25 oz. bottles and some of them have been opened already and are only partially full. I want to use thinner to actually rinse paint residue out of the Testors bottles for airbrushing and don't want to waste a single drop of paint. Trying to measure products by volume here and maintain accurate ratios would not be very feasible. I have pipettes for dispensing but don't want to rely upon them for accurate product dosing. The Testors Universal Enamel label instructions call for 3 parts paint/2 parts thinner for GLOSS and 3 parts paint/1 part thinner for FLAT. Nothing is specified on the label for SEMI-GLOSS Enamels.

In the army, I was an expert rifleman. I would say painting is like shooting guns and reloading ammunition. A lot of test-firing is needed to perfect things at the range and at the hunting field. One has to work up loads at the bench. I wish model painters had some kind of manual with mixing tables in it like ammo hand-loaders have. Many serious reloaders for guns keep accurate logs with information. Is it a good idea to keep a log for painting experiments? Document one's trial-and-error findings? Painting seems to have many factors involved, many complex variables. date time humidity temperature products used mix ratios materials test-painted compressor settings airbrush needle sizes aircup selection etc.

I already have money now invested in Testors enamels. I have already had experience with Testors enamels. I already have money invested in a Paasche H kit. I have a few more items to get before I start my Paasche H training sessions. I will most certainly do some practice on disposable plastic items before turning that airbrush loose on my $35+ model kits. I don't have a disposable income.

Testors Lacquer Dilutant is no longer available according to my Google search. So it has to be hardware-store lacquer thinner for Testors "Cote" brand top coats. I have already had the experience to use Testors enamels applied with hand brushes and no damage to plastics whatsoever. I have also thinned them with hardware-store mineral experiences with good results hand brushing. However, I would buy the Testors enamel thinner for airbrushing though. I have also used Testors enamels in spray bombs, flat and semi-gloss, with decent results. I'm convinced TESTORS products when used as directed will in no way, shape or form harm the plastics of any model kits because that's what they were expressly purposed for by the manufacturer. I don't mind painting with Testors enamels then waiting a week of more to continue with the project. I cure the painted parts in a closed dust-free cardboard box. I have another hobby to do while enamels are curing for model kits. Trainz railroad simulator game on my PC. I want to go with what I know: Testors.

What I want to build is something that looks nice on my living room shelf or hanging from the ceiling in the case of model airplanes. I want it to look at least as good as some of the die-cast models I already own. Even the factory finish on some these has very slight orange peel observed up close but the cars look "factory quality" at three feet way. In boyhood, I sucked royally at model-building for the most part. Painting large parts with a hand brush and little bottles of Testors enamels left horrible brush marks. Some fellows told me they built sloppy model airplanes and would end up blowing them up with firecrackers on 4th of July. *What you are saying there are no standards or consistency in the hobby paint industry. I'm a man of uniformity and standards. I was in the service. I was a fleet truck mechanic by trade and an automobile repair technician. I believed in going by the book to do the job correctly. I had pride in my workmanship.

There is a price for testing: MONEY, ENERGY AND TIME. I guess testing is still cheaper than ruining a $50+ model kit. I think for my first paint trial, I would start out with a 1/1 on the mixture, use Paasche H number 3 needle and the proper associated parts to go with it and 35 psi on my compressor. It seems like this hobby is pure trial and error. I need to run a proving-grounds session before committing an expensive kit to the airbrush.

I just bought a new Paasche H airbrush kit and some airbrush accessories. I also have some Testors enamels. I saw the Andy X video on YouTube about using the "modified Don Yost" methods for airbrushing car bodies. It calls for 1/1 Testors enamel and lacquer thinner. My concern is lacquer thinner might harm the plastic in some plastic model kits. I have the following plastic model kits slated for painting and building: 1. AMT Kenworth W-925 truck tractor (in progress) and AMT Wilson cattle trailer 2. AMT Bell 205 rescue helicopter 3. Atlantis Boeing 727 jet plane I plan to give all those above models (except for the truck trailer) a custom base color using Testors GRAPE enamel. The airplane and the chopper will look like private aircraft with custom paint. 1. Am I better off to just use Testors Enamel Thinner in place of the lacquer thinner for the "modified Don Yost" method? 2. Will Testors enamel paint thinner level the paint as well as the lacquer thinner does in the Andy X video? 3. Is lacquer thinner still best to clean up the airbrush well? 4. Is the airbrush mix still 1/1 with the Testors enamels and Testors thinner? (207) Passche H Airbrush - The Scale Model workhorse ! - YouTube After the base coat has cured, I plan to apply water slide decals and seal them in by airbrushing Testors Glosscoate or Dullcote over them, starting out with a couple of mist coats to protect the lacquer-hating decals. 5. Should lacquer thinner or enamel thinner be used to thin Glosscote or Dullcote for the airbrush? 6. Is the mix 1/1? 7. Can I create a semi-gloss/satin top coat by mixing equal parts of Glosscote and Dullcote? I want to seal the decals on my Wilson cow trailer to give it a semi-gloss finish over an aluminum-painted body. Not too flat and not too shiny. I have already purchased the Glosscote and Dullcote in glass bottles. Is this video still a good method for top coating over decals using the Testors "Cote" products in bottles? (207) (HOW TO) use 2K clear on model cars/clear over decals - YouTube

I will still have to be able to neatly cut the gaskets to fit the inside of the lids somehow. Should gaskets be glued in place so they don't fall out?

You mean it's not logical for the average Joe to assume there should be a sealing part underneath that cap in the picture? The inside of the lid is not shown at all. Is it only logical to assume that if a seal is included it should be pictured separate from the lid? Do people here have stocks in the Paacshe Corporation? Do I have to even ask the dealer for water-tight battery caps when I buy a new car? Also, look at the list price on those goofy little lids, $1.40 + tax and shipping and no lousy piece of cork to seal the paint even!! Were the cork oak crops in Mediterranean Europe ruined by bad weather? Come now, people!! Also look at the description: Description 1 oz./29cc Plain Cover L/Gasket I interpret the L to mean LARGE as in large-diameter cap and the slash to mean "and" like a hyphen as in a singer/actor or a refrigerator/freezer. Yes, a refrigerator SLASH freezer meaning it's BOTH a refrigerator and a freezer. Yes, a Plain Cover L(arge??)/Gasket meaning the merchandise is both a cap (the L possibly meaning large or light because it is white in color) AND a gasket. Is L/ the standard abbreviation for LESS as taught in American schools? If the lid were otherwise listed as "cover sans gasket", I would know exactly what that meant. H-191 | Making Quality Spray Paint Equipment in the US Since 1904 (paascheairbrush.com)

I did not FORGET to order gaskets; I rationally assumed they were included. I guess people who paint or use an airbrush for a living or as a hobby must have brain damage from breathing all those fumes. Paasche's philosophy must be that such brain-dead people don't follow common logic and plain rational English. They don't cater to customers who actually have living brain cells, evidently. Frankly, I think Paasche is just trying to nickel and dime unsuspecting folks. A new Paasche airbrush kit seems like a new HP printer. It's seems like a good deal at first until you have to buy all those extras. The price of an HP toner cartridge is about as costly as the original Laser Jet printer. Like crappy Big Three brand automobiles, you essentially "buy things twice".