Molotow Pens not Shiny

[Joe Nunes]

Curious as to what tip size would be best for items like chassis parts, roll bars and similar 1/25 - 1/24 scale parts?

Joe

[LL3 Model Worx]

5 hours ago, Joe Nunes said:

Curious as to what tip size would be best for items like chassis parts, roll bars and similar 1/25 - 1/24 scale parts?

Joe

I'd recommend buying the "refill" bottle and just airbrush the stuff...

I personally can't keep the tips from clogging on the pins, and continually wasting costly ink trying to re prime the tip is irritating.

But the ink itself is amazing and so are the pens, when they actually work.

[Joe Nunes]

Thanks, Leroy. Trouble is that I have never airbrushed anything...can't believe I admitted that!  When I get my spray booth and then vent it to the outdoors I will try out the airbrush. Should be REALLY interesting to say the least. 

Joe

[LL3 Model Worx]

17 hours ago, Joe Nunes said:

Thanks, Leroy. Trouble is that I have never airbrushed anything...can't believe I admitted that!  When I get my spray booth and then vent it to the outdoors I will try out the airbrush. Should be REALLY interesting to say the least. 

Joe

It's not near as complicated or surrounded in wich craft as some would have it seem.

I'll be honest... I don't have a paint booth. Sometimes if I have to spray alot of stinky enamels or lacquer I'll do it in my garage. But I spray acrylics at my desk literally all the time for years... I just spray over a small trashcan.

With the tip sizes and pressures I use overspray isn't really an issue... 

Airbrushing acrylic paint is FAR more challenging than enamel or lacquer because it can be tricky to thin and spray because of the way/ speed it dries.

Just get a good respirator and practice... you'll find it's super easy.

I use "cheap" klean strip lacquer thinner to thin and clean both enamels and lacquer... can be had by the gallon at home depot or equivalent. Just don't use it to thin acrylics ?

[Bill Eh?]

1 hour ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

It's not near as complicated or surrounded in wich craft as some would have it seem.

I'll be honest... I don't have a paint booth. Sometimes if I have to spray alot of stinky enamels or lacquer I'll do it in my garage. But I spray acrylics at my desk literally all the time for years... I just spray over a small trashcan.

With the tip sizes and pressures I use overspray isn't really an issue... 

Airbrushing acrylic paint is FAR more challenging than enamel or lacquer because it can be tricky to thin and spray because of the way/ speed it dries.

Just get a good respirator and practice... you'll find it's super easy.

I use "cheap" klean strip lacquer thinner to thin and clean both enamels and lacquer... can be had by the gallon at home depot or equivalent. Just don't use it to thin acrylics ?

You mention not using lacquer to thin acrylics. I use Mr Hobby Self Levelling Thinner to thin acrylics all of the time.

[LL3 Model Worx]

7 minutes ago, Bill Eh? said:

You mention not using lacquer to thin acrylics. I use Mr Hobby Self Levelling Thinner to thin acrylics all of the time.

Interesting...

Tamiya acrylics?

Tamiya acrylics are not true water based acrylic, they are alcohol based and thin with water also and just as well with lacquer thinner.

Try thinning some vallejo or craft paint with it and it will curdle like cottage cheese.

Same as putting alcohol in with vallejo it will curdle.

Been there done that.

If you are doing that with success please do tell me, as I'm very interested.

[stitchdup]

1 hour ago, LL3 Model Worx said:

Try thinning some vallejo or craft paint with it and it will curdle like cottage cheese.

Same as putting alcohol in with vallejo it will curdle.

Been there done that.

If you are doing that with success please do tell me, as I'm very interested.

with the vallejo paints the bottle caps tell you if its enamel or acrylic. You can thin some of them  but i cant remember the designation for the caps. I know when i'm using their weathering products i have to use them in a certain order or they react

[LL3 Model Worx]

11 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

with the vallejo paints the bottle caps tell you if its enamel or acrylic. You can thin some of them  but i cant remember the designation for the caps. I know when i'm using their weathering products i have to use them in a certain order or they react

When I talk about vallejo I mean mainly the model color range. They do have some alcohol based stuff like the "Metal color" and "Liquid gold" etc...

[Joe Nunes]

Say, Leroy, what's hooked up to that Fender amp?

  Joe 

[Zippi]

As someone else mentioned I did a test shooting it through my airbrush at 15 psi and no thinning.  The results were much better than anything I've sprayed out of a rattle can.  The bumper is kit chrome just for a comparison next to the headlight buckets.

[LL3 Model Worx]

1 hour ago, Joe Nunes said:

Say, Leroy, what's hooked up to that Fender amp?

  Joe 

A plethora of different flavors at any given moment... but currently that Charvel Model 2.

[Joe Nunes]

You win!?  I only have a Fender Fat Telecaster and a Washburn electric acoustic, a Fender Princeton Chorus and a Marshal MG15CFX, and a DigiTech RP500 effects box. Seems like a lot of us model builders like to play an instrument, too. 

And I don't think I will EVER have as many paint containers in my shop as you have either! ???

Joe

[Bill Eh?]

On 11/23/2022 at 2:52 PM, LL3 Model Worx said:

Interesting...

Tamiya acrylics?

Tamiya acrylics are not true water based acrylic, they are alcohol based and thin with water also and just as well with lacquer thinner.

Try thinning some vallejo or craft paint with it and it will curdle like cottage cheese.

Same as putting alcohol in with vallejo it will curdle.

Been there done that.

If you are doing that with success please do tell me, as I'm very interested.

Late reply to your question. The two brands that I use are Tamiya and Mr Hobby. I have not used Vallejo and was unaware of the gumming up problem.

[LL3 Model Worx]

21 minutes ago, Bill Eh? said:

Late reply to your question. The two brands that I use are Tamiya and Mr Hobby. I have not used Vallejo and was unaware of the gumming up problem.

No problem.

I kind of figured so.

Tamiya and Mr Hobby both are not true water based acrylics... they can be thinned and cleaned up with water but they are actually alcohol based. One of the reasons they are so smooth and dry so fast. They can absolutely be thinned with lacquer thinner, alcohol... or even water.

While Vallejo model color, model air, game color, game air and other acrylics like Army painter, Citadel, most craft paints etc... will curdle up when mixed with isopropyl alcohol. You can however use wood alcohol in small concentrations... just not isopropyl or lacquer thinner.

Wish I had a local supplier of Tamiya and MrHobby... its really great paint.

 

[LL3 Model Worx]

On 11/23/2022 at 7:06 PM, Joe Nunes said:

You win!?  I only have a Fender Fat Telecaster and a Washburn electric acoustic, a Fender Princeton Chorus and a Marshal MG15CFX, and a DigiTech RP500 effects box. Seems like a lot of us model builders like to play an instrument, too. 

And I don't think I will EVER have as many paint containers in my shop as you have either! ???

Joe

Sounds like you are set then... I have an addiction to strings and styrene. I've been thinking about downsizing alot of my guitar rig. I mainy play through headphones these days and use a Helix. It's an unbelievable piece of equipment honestly. You can literally dial in any sound you can imagine and the sound quality of digital these days is unbelievable.

The Fender Twin in that picture does sound great of course... but the Helix can sound just as good in headphones or at a whisper through speakers.

And that's sadly a tiny portion of the paint in my shop. I've got so many Model master enamels and Citadel acrylics and AK products it's pretty absurd... (still probably over 1500 bottles) and still a few hundred spray cans as I've traded off alot recently.

I do alot of commission miniature painting like Warhammer40k/ DnD etc... thats why I keep so much paint around... and because I purchased a HUGE lot of paint several years ago.

 

.

 

 

 

[Calb56]

On 11/23/2022 at 1:32 PM, LL3 Model Worx said:

When I talk about vallejo I mean mainly the model color range. They do have some alcohol based stuff like the "Metal color" and "Liquid gold" etc...

?

[Mr. Metallic]

On 11/22/2022 at 6:36 PM, Joe Nunes said:

Thanks, Leroy. Trouble is that I have never airbrushed anything...can't believe I admitted that!  When I get my spray booth and then vent it to the outdoors I will try out the airbrush. Should be REALLY interesting to say the least. 

Joe

Airbrushing Molotow is not a requirement. I still recommend buying the refill bottle. It can be applied with very convincing results by hand brushing. Keep a wet edge on whatever you're "chroming", and plan to handle it as little as possible afterwards. I usually do my Molotow immediately before the final time i plan to touch that part.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, Mr. Metallic said:

and plan to handle it as little as possible afterwards. I usually do my Molotow immediately before the final time i plan to touch that part.

This is just one of the reasons, (but one of the biggest) why I don’t use Molotow, and why I continue to try to warn people about it’s shortcomings.

Personally, I can’t quite figure out how I could ever get the body and window trim chromed with Molotow with almost all of the final assembly finished.

The way it is, I generally foil the trim WAY before I ever even get close to installing windows, interior, engine, chassis, etc.

I would not only have the trim all smudged and dulled by the time I was finished, but I’d probably have half of it worn completely off!

 

 

 

Steve

[lordairgtar]

There is an alternative ink from Flysea. Very similar to Molotow but has a more durable finish. I could handle it after a couple of hours without dulling.

 

[IanH]

Resurrecting this old post, just trying out my Molotow pen now, which has been lying on its side for years, and with a bit of a shake and a few pumps the ink runs out nicely... but not chrome, its a shiny grey at best.

Not a consistent grey either, sometimes shinier than other tests stripes.

I have now shaken it until my arm fell off, managed to put my arm back on, but still not a chrome drop coming out of the pen...

Something I am doing wrong, or has it gone bad?

[Bainford]

19 minutes ago, IanH said:

Resurrecting this old post, just trying out my Molotow pen now, which has been lying on its side for years, and with a bit of a shake and a few pumps the ink runs out nicely... but not chrome, its a shiny grey at best.

Not a consistent grey either, sometimes shinier than other tests stripes.

I have now shaken it until my arm fell off, managed to put my arm back on, but still not a chrome drop coming out of the pen...

Something I am doing wrong, or has it gone bad?

It's gone bad. There have been several posts on this topic over the years. The pens don't last more than a year or so. The refill bottles fare much better. My two pens produced a nice chrome when new, but after a year or two they just do a grainy looking silver. My refill bottle, which is about 5-6 years old now, still produces a nice chrome finish. I just used some last weekend and it still produces a nice chrome look.

[av405]

I bought 3 a few years ago when they first came out. 2 of them went bad within a year or so but the 3rd is still going strong about 5 years later. I rarely use it since it's not my favorite chrome "solution," but that pen must be a one-off to have lasted this long. 

[IanH]

Thanks.... So I guess I can stop shaking it now... And rather toss it! 

Edited April 16, 2024 by IanH

[Tabbysdaddy]

1 hour ago, IanH said:

Thanks.... So I guess I can stop shaking it now... And rather toss it! 

If you shake it more than twice you're playing with it. 

[Mr. Metallic]

18 hours ago, IanH said:

Thanks.... So I guess I can stop shaking it now... And rather toss it! 

If you seek out one of the Molotow threads in the Tips or Questions areas there is advice about care and steps to restore the pens. 

My preferred method is to buy the refill bottle and brush it on. and then you don't have to worry about the tip. It's about $30, but it last so much longer it's worth it and easier to use in my opinion.