Plastic Spoons for testing paint?

[Can-Con]

5 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

"Flexible" plastic is not styrene. If you MUST test on spoons, get the "harder" ones.

This points up the fallacy of testing on spoons I've been harping on for YEARS.

Plastic spoons are ALMOST NEVER MADE OF THE SAME STUFF AS MODELS, so trying to determine chemical compatibility is impossible with spoons.

ALL YOU CAN DO WITH SPOONS IS A COLOR TEST, and because of the spoons small area, you CAN NOT learn to spray paint on spoons.

 

Wish I had known you 13 years ago when I sent that tip in to S.A. Bill, I wouldn't have bothered.  

Just burn's my biscuits that almost everyone including, I see, one of the model paint companys does it but almost no one believes that I sent the idea to the magazine and I'd never seen anyone do it before.

Heck, I don't even do it unless I want to see what 2 colors look like together before I waste the paint on a body. 

Edited February 14, 2018 by Can-Con

[Ace-Garageguy]

5 minutes ago, Can-Con said:

Wish I had known you 13 years ago when I sent that tip in to S.A. Bill, I wouldn't have bothered.  

Just burn's my biscuits that almost everyone including, I see, one of the model paint companys does it but almost no one believes that I sent the idea to the magazine and I'd never seen anyone do it before.

Heck, I don't even do it unless I want to see what 2 colors look like together before I waste the paint on a body. 

I believe you came up with it, and I think it has some excellent uses...particularly in looking at two-tone combinations, or interior colors next to paint, etc.

I have a collection of test-spoons that was done by a fellow ACME member as a demonstration of all the various silvers and "chromes" on the market a few years back, and it's been most valuable for getting in the ballpark on certain effects. And surprisingly, when the guy who did it was giving it away, nobody but me even wanted it.

AND...in years past, many models were made pf much harder "styrene" than what a lot of kits are made from today, and spoons, generally being relatively hard polystyrene, made a somewhat more relevant test medium than they do now.

But to get a good indication of what something is really going to look like on a model, or in particular how aggressive solvents in a certain product may attack plastic, the best test is to shoot a part from the specific kit.

And while we're at it, I also now advise people who want to improve their spray technique to practice on junk bodies if they have enough, prepped exactly as they'd prep a model, or in lieu of that, to use the smaller polycarbonate soft-drink bottles. These can be scuffed and primered and sanded just like a model, and as most of them have some surface details, they can be useful for learning how to turn the model as you shoot paint (for good overlap and maintaining a "wet edge"), avoiding dry-spray and orange-peel, and getting in that magic zone that lets paint "flow out" slick without running.

[crowe-t]

1 hour ago, MarvinGardens said:

What both Bill AND I were getting at is that certain paints and certain materials don't play well together. Since the original poster went and got the harder spoons for the color test, that is what mattered. 

I may offer up a word of advice here: What brand of paint are you testing? Reason I ask is that even on one of the harder spoons, I have had Dupli-Color leach through the primer and etch the spoon. It may have been my doing (I may have sprayed it either a bit too wet or without enough primer). Before you try the paint on the model, use a piece of the sprue the parts are attached to as a paint compatibility test. That way, you will know 100% whether your paint choice will work on your model. Having a model you spent so much time on destroyed at the paint stage sucks!

I'm testing Gravity Colors paint.  I'm just using the spoons to get an idea of the color.  Gravity Colors paint is very safe on models.

[peteski]

Wow!  And plastic spoons started all this?  I feel like adding my 25 cents (adjusted for inflation) to this. I'm not a chemist, but I play one on online forums. I know enough to be dangerous.

Yes, polystyrene (colloquially known as styrene) is a plastic resin.  Pure polystyrene is a clear and very brittle plastic material.  But mixing in additives/plasticizers/dyes makes the polystyrene more usable and less brittle. This is the material used for our plastic kits. Sometimes those kits are made from ABS (another plastic from the polystyrene family).

Different manufacturers use different amounts and types of additives in their polystyrene. That is the reason why different kits react differently to the same type of "hot" paint. Some kits bodies will craze, while others wont.

Plastic spoons can be made from polystyrene or from other materials like polypropylene.  Easy way to tell which ones you are buying is to check the recycling symbol on the package. If it shows #6 then the spoons are polystyrene. Those are the spoons you want.  Others won't work as well for a spoon paint test.  Paint will adhere well to the #6 spoons and not so well to others. But for testing paint compatibility with plastic kits, the only reliable way to do that is to test-paint on the actual kit plastic (spare parts or the parts tree).

[Pete J.]

Ok, here's a different thought.  Have you ever been in an auto paint shop and seen a display with a bunch of small oval plastic shapes that sort of have a car shape on the wall as paint displays?  Well they are called speed shapes.  They are widely used by auto paint companies to test paint.  They are ABS plastic and with a little research can be found quite inexpensively.  I was lucky some years back to find an online paint supplier who was clearancing a bunch of "Mini" speed shapes out and bought a hundred for about $25 if I recall.  I like them because they are about the size of a small model car body and have the curves to see what the color will look like as it plays over the various curves of a body.   

[Matt Bacon]

2 hours ago, Pete J. said:

 I like them because they are about the size of a small model car body and have the curves to see what the color will look like as it plays over the various curves of a body.   

The ones Airfix had at Scale Model World to show some Humbrol paints, especially the prismatic colour change effect rattle cans, looked like Mclaren had used one as the prototype for the MP-12C...

best,

M.

Edited February 15, 2018 by Matt Bacon

[HDDan]

I like the harder spoons myself. I find the more flexible spoons have a deeper valley that adds engineered rigidity to compensate for the softer material. The deeper valley of these spoons usually result in a decrease in the angel of attack as it enters ones mouth causing total mustache submersion.

[mikemodeler]

On 2/18/2018 at 3:16 AM, HDDan said:

I like the harder spoons myself. I find the more flexible spoons have a deeper valley that adds engineered rigidity to compensate for the softer material. The deeper valley of these spoons usually result in a decrease in the angel of attack as it enters ones mouth causing total mustache submersion.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA !

 

I about pee'd myself reading that, thanks for the chuckle Daniel!

[espo]

On ‎2‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 2:16 AM, HDDan said:

I like the harder spoons myself. I find the more flexible spoons have a deeper valley that adds engineered rigidity to compensate for the softer material. The deeper valley of these spoons usually result in a decrease in the angel of attack as it enters ones mouth causing total mustache submersion.

That explains why my "Stash" is always a mess.  

[NOBLNG]

I bought some at the Dollar Store. They have no recycle # on them but I glued a piece of sprue to one with Testor's model cement and it stuck real well. Would this mean it IS styrene? It doesn't really matter to me anyway, since I am only using them for color tests.

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, NOBLNG said:

... I glued a piece of sprue to one with Testor's model cement and it stuck real well. Would this mean it IS styrene? 

Yes, that is a very strong indication it IS styrene.

Not necessarily the SAME styrene as models, as the formulations are endless.

[mikemodeler]

On 2/14/2018 at 2:30 PM, BigTallDad said:

I have some extra popcorn if anybody's interested...

 

A small bag, easy on the salt and butter, doctor's orders! LOL!

 

[gtx6970]

I use the spoons to get ideas on colors all the time ( the hard white ones btw ) . And not once have I had an issue with reactions.  And Ive been using them for several years.

Especially when I want to compare 3 different reds for an example  if I am trying to get close to an OEM color. The spoons have a curvature  to them so you can see the changes in the color  as the spoon rolls over in the sunlight. Something your not going to get if sprayed on a flat panel.

I don't have to worry about compatibility issues with the paints I use . I pretty much use the  Tamiya, Testors and Duplicolor exclusively which I already know works on models with zero problems.

 

Depending on the type of paint I may even spray it directly on the spoon if I'm in a hurry  , no primer at all. Again not an issue except you might have to account for sunlight coming thru the backside if left in bare plastic

 

Bag of 100 cost me $1 at the local dollar general store

 

Its a simple idea really. If you don't like them or the idea of them, don't use  them . But don't condemn those who do

Edited June 20, 2018 by gtx6970

[crazyjim]

Marcia got me  a resupply of cheap white plastic spoons at Wal-Mart.  Maybe a dollar for a hundred.  I had received some Tru-Color paints and needed more spoons for color samples.

[Oldcarfan27]

What about the hard CLEAR plastic ones? They glue together like styrene. 

[peteski]

2 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said:

What about the hard CLEAR plastic ones? They glue together like styrene. 

Yes, those are also polystyrene. But why use clear when white polystyrene spoons more closely resemble model car's body color?  But if you trying to test some paint you will spray on the model car windows then clear spoons shoudl do the trick.

[crazyjim]

I've used clear spoons before.  White, clear doesn't matter to me because they get Duplicolor primer before paint.

[Baltosale]

I spray 2X or Krylon’s plastic compatible primer - gray, white, black, then spray on any color from any can or use all enamels through an air brush.  I wash the spoons or knives. Then they’re  ALL compatible.  Now I don’t need you  all to ask about Norwegian metallic whale mouth pink lacquer sold on line in quart cans.  Only the canned primers I tried over ten years or so.

[peteski]

7 hours ago, Baltosale said:

I spray 2X or Krylon’s plastic compatible primer - gray, white, black, then spray on any color from any can or use all enamels through an air brush.  I wash the spoons or knives. Then they’re  ALL compatible.  Now I don’t need you  all to ask about Norwegian metallic whale mouth pink lacquer sold on line in quart cans.  Only the canned primers I tried over ten years or so.

Huh?   What's that all about?  That is a one unusual initial post (in a 3-year-old thread). Welcome to the forum Jamie.

Edited May 4, 2022 by peteski

[Ace-Garageguy]

20 minutes ago, peteski said:

  ...What's that all about? 

It's about not understanding what the subject of the thread actually is.

[Claude Thibodeau]

Hi!

I used to rely on white plastic spoons for color testing, but I found a better accessory...

I use the white plastic "cones" upper section that come with the gel based air fresheners (1$ each) that my wife uses inside cabinets, in the rest room, etc. The gel evaporates over time (about a month), and she throws them away. I junk the lower section that carries the remnant of the gel, and get rid of the stem at the top of the upper section (just push it out from inside the cone) so they can stack on top of each other. .

It is white, satin smooth, and doesn't even require primer, handles well, and can't break.  It's great for testing metallics, candies, etc. Once your base coat and clear are dry, you can polish it and write the paint codes inside the cone with a Sharpie. They stack on top of each other, are light, don't discolor, and present curves and notches that reflect light in different gradients, just like a car body. 

Be warned that they are NOT made of styrene like plastic spoons. Therefore, don't use them to judge compatibility of your paint with styrene, but just to test finishes. And those test cones don't lie: whatever the spray can cap shows... you get the true color of your paint here! I have about 50 in my paint area, and "consult" them often to choose color for a build. 

Just my two cents...

CT 

[Oldcarfan27]

I myself prefer the rigid spoons, but I find the paint on it affects the taste of the ice cream in the bowl.

[deuces wild]

I spent the last couple of nights watching "barbatos rex" videos on airbrushing plastic spoons.... He's got a ton of videos on the subject... Check those out on u tube...