Testors Spray Paints

[NOBLNG]

How good are the Testors spray enamels and spray laquers? I have bought all the models I like at Michaels and now need something else to use my 50% off coupons on! I figure I should start stockpiling paint now. They only carry the Testors enamel, laquer and transparent paints. Are they any good or should I spend triple the money for Tamiya at the LHS?

Thanks for any opinions, Greg.

P.S. the transparents...are those like candies?

Edited June 15, 2018 by NOBLNG

[Ace-Garageguy]

There are going to be lots of opinions to answer your question. I'll list mine based on my own experience. Other opinions may very well be different.

Personally, I only use Testors rattlecan enamels for smaller parts that I want a high gloss on, but that are too difficult to polish. Things like wheels and engines in showcars, irregularly shaped, etc. Some of them have a tendency to bubble on sharp edges, and they take forever to dry...often days before you can handle them without leaving fingerprints.

I like Testors lacquer rattlecan paints, but with some caveats:

1) I think the "Metalizer" line is great, very useful for producing bare metal finishes once you know the tricks to getting the results you want.

2) Their "one coat lacquers" are metallics with very large (for scale) flakes. They work well for wild kustom or drag cars, or dune buggies and racing boats, but the flake is WAY too big for anything normal. They can also take several coats to get complete coverage.

3) Their basecoat/clearcoat system works well for me. The basecoats in the line are usually duplicates of factory production colors. Available in several solid and metallic colors, the metallics have much finer flake than the "one coat" line, but they're still sometimes too big. The base dries flat, and needs the clear to achieve high gloss, but the flat finish of the bases can be very useful for duplicating low-sheen effects like interior fabric and leather. The clears dry relatively quickly, and can be polished to a high gloss. 

NOTE: Another option for lacquer colors and clears that come in larger cans is the line from Duplicolor, available at real-car parts stores. There are many real-car colors available, and though their "metallic" paints may have too-large flakes, the "pearls" and "micas" often look about right. Testors lacquer clears work very well over these too.

NOTE 2: Stocking up may not be the best idea. All paints settle as they sit, and the dip-tubes in rattlecans are known to become clogged over time. Sometimes this can be cleared, sometimes not, and there's also the risk of long-term-stored paints getting chunky, or losing propellant.

NOTE 3: Any rattlecan paint can be "decanted" and airbrushed, which solves some of the problems noted above.