Anyone remember old paint cans?

[TarheelRick]

These are all from the early 70's around 72 or 73.  Three are some variation of candy red, one is candy green, and the other gloss black.  As you can tell I used paint cans as holders for my bodies when I painted.  Also notice the middle bottom can is leaking around the bottom.  Someday I want to open these cans to see if the paint is any good, and if so shoot it througn my airbrush.

[gbdolfans]

I remember using the old Pla Soft Spray rattle cans. Best paint I have used,and, that includes Tamiya. Always went on smooth and dried to a very nice gloss.

[Mark]

The old paint can still be good, even if the can hasn't got any propellant to push it out.  

Before decanting, though, get that paint mixed.  Solid colors in particular will settle something fierce.  Shake, shake, and shake some more, then swirl the can around until the agitator ball slides easily around the bottom of the can.  I've revived a can of Pactra Hot Rod Primer...now to find the right thing to spray it with...

[4mula1fan]

I've got a bunch of paint from 20 plus years ago. I tried to use a duplicate the other day, and it wouldn't stop spraying after I pushed the nozzle down. Guess I'll try the next one upside down so at least the propellant with be the only thing coming out, then I can decant. 

[1972coronet]

6 hours ago, Casey said:

Just stumbled upon this vintage AMT Kandy Kolor by Barris flyer:

Maybe Round2 could make some of those cardboard , "mini-box" type replicas of those cans and / or displays ?  Inexpensive , nostalgic , and a neat addition to displaying of completed kits .

[OldNYJim]

On 6/3/2020 at 12:59 AM, TonyW said:

I've got a few old cans. I use them as photo props...

 

 

I like the tracknose Black Widow!

[blizzy63]

[pack rat]

Bringing this old thread back is tempting me to start playing with these oldies again.

I've successfully painted kits with all but the Outlaw Green and Orbitron Blue.

[karbuildr]

I'd love to have those old Roth colors again, not to mention the AMT lacquers. I actually remember the ad graphic Robert posted.

[tim boyd]

On 12/4/2015 at 12:02 AM, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

The paint was barely usable when it was fresh, I'll bet it's some wonderful stuff now! 

 

Steve

Actually, depending on the particular color, those old Testors cans did some pretty amazing work.  Along the way (I'm thinking around 1990 or so), some of the formulas became far less user friendlly.  I am presuming (without confirmation) this was the result of EPA regulations on what was considered to be harmful substances in the paint).  And regardless of the year, those Testors Candy Colors were notorious for delivering inconsistent results (some very good, others very not good!)  

The original Testors spray Gloss Black?  Good enough, amazingly, to deliver a Best of Show winning paint at a 1970s Regional MPC Contest and a top ten award in the 1979 MPC National Championship.  Post-1990....my experience is that this color was extremely troublesome.  

Anyone else experience this?   TB 

[Sam I Am]

I still miss Pactra, it sprayed soooooooo much better than Testors.

[Brudda]

On 1/19/2025 at 10:31 AM, Sam I Am said:

I still miss Pactra, it sprayed soooooooo much better than Testors.

You will like this Sam. Never used. And 69 cents. 

[pack rat]

This old thread inspired me to see what I could do with an old can of Roth Orbitron Blue.

It took me awhile to coax the paint into my airbrush jar with repeated shaking, and it was tough to apply as it laid down very thin.  It took several coats to minimize high spots at panel lines/runs etc.  

Added bonus....those whitewalls are 60-year-old AMT stick-ons.

Next up....Outlaw Green.

[tim boyd]

This one was also painted Orbitron Blue.  Like Mike, I recall it being very thin and translucent and somewhat trickly to apply.  I think I may have applied it over Testors Base Silver.  Both Orbitron Blue and Mysterion Yellow were dropped from the Testors paint line in the US around 1966 or so, but they remained in the Testors paint line in Canada through at least the early 1980s.  I picked up my cans of both at a store in Windsor, Canada, when I was working at the Renaissance Center in Detroit and you could actually go to Windsor for lunch (via the tunnel next door) and be back in time for the afternoon work schedule.  Never ever a chance of that these days.  Here's the car....and Mike,,,,sharp looking one on your end too!   TB

[mk11]

On 1/18/2025 at 9:28 AM, tim boyd said:

The original Testors spray Gloss Black?  Good enough, amazingly, to deliver a Best of Show winning paint at a 1970s Regional MPC Contest and a top ten award in the 1979 MPC National Championship.  Post-1990....my experience is that this color was extremely troublesome.  

Anyone else experience this?   TB 

I wonder if it had something to do with the banning of certain propellants around '89 or so.

This old chevy was painted with that old testors in about '78, still gleams like a new nickel.

Never had the same results with newer paint. Just picked up another thrift store kit, loaded with a bunch of the old testors bottles and what seems like an good, almost full can of that old testors spray black.

Can't wait to try it

Be great to see them reissue the old blues and greens. Sure was disappointed to see this new aqua I had put away turn into a weeper.

Edited March 14 by mk11

[Ace-Garageguy]

One of the best paint jobs I ever did when I was much much younger was with the old Testors gloss black enamel, on the '27T tub hot rod that came in the XR-6 double kit. No trash, no peel. Painted outside on a calm day...along with my hand.

[slusher]

On 1/11/2025 at 8:49 AM, pack rat said:

Bringing this old thread back is tempting me to start playing with these oldies again.

I've successfully painted kits with all but the Outlaw Green and Orbitron Blue.

I remember the black lids not white..

[slusher]

I laid down some beautiful paint in the 90’s with Testors enamel now it is not very good to me but I do use their wet look clear and Dulcote..

[bobss396]

On 6/1/2020 at 12:07 PM, Casey said:

These were flat out amazing paints. My first experience with them was around 1966. 

I still have a couple of cars painted with them.. the texture leaves something to be desired. Like the south-bound end of a north-bound alligator.

Of course we knew zilch about primer, let alone that the Kandy Kolors needed a silver or gold base coat. Looks mighty thin for some reason... 

[tim boyd]

14 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

One of the best paint jobs I ever did when I was much much younger was with the old Testors gloss black enamel, on the '27T tub hot rod that came in the XR-6 double kit. No trash, no peel. Painted outside on a calm day...along with my hand.

What Bill and others above had said...here's my AMT '40 Ford Panel painted with Testors Gloss Black Spray Paint in 1977 or 1978. No polishing or waxing that I recall (although it was a very, very long time ago!).  The model went on to win Best of Show at the 1979 MPC Flint Michigan contest and placed in the top 10 at the 1979 MPC National Finals (6th or 8th place, can't remember which).  Although I will be the first to admit that it probably didn't deserve to win either of these awards, the out-of-the-can Testors paint certainly did not hurt. 

Later on, in 1993 when I painted an AMT-Ertl 1962 Bel Air bubbletop with the the-current Testors Gloss Black, the results were far less admirable.  The thought that Testors had changed the formation in the interim, either at thier own hand or to conform with Federal/EPA standards, never crossed my mind at the time. 

Maybe I should try today's formulation and see if there is any improvement from my 1993 debacle???..TB 

[OldNYJim]

On 3/1/2025 at 3:30 PM, pack rat said:

This old thread inspired me to see what I could do with an old can of Roth Orbitron Blue.

It took me awhile to coax the paint into my airbrush jar with repeated shaking, and it was tough to apply as it laid down very thin.  It took several coats to minimize high spots at panel lines/runs etc.  

Added bonus....those whitewalls are 60-year-old AMT stick-ons.

Next up....Outlaw Green.

What an awesome build - I love seeing someone using those old paints on a project!  

What’s the deal with the whitewalls - are they vinyl rings, or paper or what?  I guess they weren’t decals if they’re ’stick on’… 

[mk11]

You're right, that's a gorgeous build 

The whitewall stickers came in some of the old amt kits