Who's used Scale Finishes paint?

[Dave Toups]

I have several questions for anyone who has used Scale Finishes acrylic enamel paint.

How is it to spray?

What primer works best?

Has anyone ever added hardener? If so, what brand?

Anything to look out for?

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I have not used the enamel, but the lacquer is fantastic!

 

The only insight that I can give to you about the enamel is that a highly respected fellow modeler offered to "GIVE" me all of his Scale Finishes enamels at a show this past spring.

He said he hated the stuff.

His statement was, "it never dries".

 

It was enough for me to stay away from it.

But then again, I never use enamel for painting bodies any more anyway.

 

 

Hopefully someone else here can give you a little better insight into the product, but this is all that I can offer.

 

 

 

Steve

[Jack L]

46 minutes ago, Dave Toups said:

I have several questions for anyone who has used Scale Finishes acrylic enamel paint.

How is it to spray?

What primer works best?

Has anyone ever added hardener? If so, what brand?

Anything to look out for?

 

I have used nason hardener it dried good and sprayed good 

[my80malibu]

I have used it before. However it would probably be best to contact Jameston, to answer your questions.

[lghtngyello03]

I haven't used the enamel either so I can't speak of it. But, I have used the lacquer with his 2k clear and it is amazing.

[peteski]

I bought few bottles few years ago. Did a test-spraying onto a spoon. The paint dried fast but never hardened. Even after few months I could easily put a mark in it by pushing the edge of my fingernail into the paint.  I contacted Jameston and he said that if I used hardener, the paint would get hard.   He send me a bottle of hardener with instructions on the mixing ratio.  But I ended up working on other projects and (still unopened) hardener hardened solid in the bottle.  So if I ever get back to the original project, I'll have to order a fresh bottle of hardener.

To me this seems like too much trouble. I rather use single-part paints.  But that's just me . . .

[Quick GMC]

The enamel sprays better than any other paint I have used. It's been a while since I used it, but it laid down like glass. Unfortunately, I have only used it on one body and I had issues of dust and stuff getting into it, so it got stripped. 

 

I attached a couple pics of the 57 Ford I painted with Ford Washington Blue. This has not been clearcoated or touched in any way, this is just the dried enamel

[martinfan5]

On 8/22/2019 at 2:16 PM, StevenGuthmiller said:

I have not used the enamel, but the lacquer is fantastic!

 

The only insight that I can give to you about the enamel is that a highly respected fellow modeler offered to "GIVE" me all of his Scale Finishes enamels at a show this past spring.

He said he hated the stuff.

His statement was, "it never dries".

 

Hey look , hell must of froze over,  its something else that Steve and myself will agree on,  his two stage paints( lacquer) are super duper fantastic,   I got one bottle of the enamel to use and I never actually finished the project in that color because it wouldnt dry, even living in Phoenix didnt help.

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2019 by martinfan5

[Dave Toups]

I wish I would have asked before I ordered the paint! Looks like I'll have to try and make it work. I'll definitely need to do a spoon test.

I liked the idea of the gloss enamel since I'm painting a stock pickup truck and wanted to avoid the deep wet look that you can get with basecoat/clearcoat. I'll email him about the hardener mix ratio. Just curious, did anyone who had issues getting the paint to dry ever try using a dehydrator to help cure it?

[StevenGuthmiller]

47 minutes ago, Dave Toups said:

I liked the idea of the gloss enamel since I'm painting a stock pickup truck and wanted to avoid the deep wet look that you can get with basecoat/clearcoat.

It's relatively easy to avoid that "wet look" you mention, even with a clear coat.

A little polishing will knock that right down if it occurs.

 

 

Steve

[jjsipes]

I have used the enamels and like them. You can achieve a nice shine with no clear. Of course I haven't dug a fingernail into them to see if they totally hardened or not as I place them in a case when completed. Here are a few that I have airburshed.

[jjsipes]

I will also say that I have found that the metallic enamels need clear on them which i have done with these. The one time I used the Lacquer I was not happy with results. Not sure if it was the weather or me.

[StevenGuthmiller]

9 minutes ago, jjsipes said:

I will also say that I have found that the metallic enamels need clear on them which i have done with these. The one time I used the Lacquer I was not happy with results. Not sure if it was the weather or me.

 

 

Are you sure that you have this stated correctly?

In the above post, you said that you used the Scale Finishes enamel on the '57 Chevy.

 

 

Steve

[jjsipes]

44 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

 

Are you sure that you have this stated correctly?

In the above post, you said that you used the Scale Finishes enamel on the '57 Chevy.

 

 

Steve

Yes. The 57 Chevy was the Scale Finishes Enamel but I used Tamiya Clear over it the first time and had issues. Then I stripped and airbrushed again but used Scale Finishes Clear the second time and it turned out great.

 

I used their Lacquer on this 69 Camaro and have what looks like etch marks all over it. It didn't lay down like their enamels for me. Like I said not sure if it was me or the weather, could have been to humid.

Edited August 29, 2019 by jjsipes

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, jjsipes said:

Yes. The 57 Chevy was the Scale Finishes Enamel but I used Tamiya Clear over it the first time and had issues. Then I stripped and airbrushed again but used Scale Finishes Clear the second time and it turned out great.

 

I used their Lacquer on this 69 Camaro and have what looks like etch marks all over it. It didn't lay down like their enamels for me. Like I said not sure if it was me or the weather, could have been to humid.

Most likely not enough of a primer barrier, spraying the paint too heavy, or both.

Just like all other lacquers, Scale Finishes lacquers are a hot paint and require a very good impervious base to guard against the lacquer reaching the plastic.

 

By the way, what you show in this photo is really no issue at all.

Give it couple of coats of clear, polish it out, and it will look top notch!

 

 

Steve

[Tankman]

Its a late post, but Truley the best paint I've used . I never had a problem with the enamels or the lacquer.  Some of the best if not the best. For me anyway. 

[JeffinIss]

This info is timely.  I wondered if Tamiya lacquer can be used over SF enamel.  I guess I’ll have to order their lacquer or go with my old standby: MCW lacquer.

 

I got that Ford Woodland Green and white SF was selling a few years ago. I didn’t know it was enamel until I got it. Others have complained about enamel not drying quickly.

 

I also have some clear they were sending free which says so mix Aand B parts I never got the B part, I guess. This sounds like a hardener.  What a hassle!

 

 

[Mike 1017]

Great stuff. My number one paint supplier. I only wish that colors were showed as the ones on Splash Paint. My number 2 choice

[Radretireddad]

I bought one bottle about a year and a half ago and wasn’t happy about the $12 price and the fact that the proprietor recommended using only his primer which I also bought. The primer went on fine but the color finish was full of all manner of foreign material. Since I was still relatively new at airbrushing I decided to strip the body and try again later after gaining some experience. The second attempt yielded the exact same results on a scrap body so that was enough for me. I managed to get a perfect color match and a beautiful smooth, even coat from my own acrylic blend. It’s rather frustrating that someone has made the effort to manufacture and market a broad line of factory color matched hobby paints that I can’t use. 

Edited May 8 by Radretireddad

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

I bought one bottle about a year and a half ago and wasn’t happy about the $12 price and the fact that the proprietor recommended using only his primer which I also bought. The primer went on fine but the color finish was full of all manner of foreign material. Since I was still relatively new at airbrushing I decided to strip the body and try again later after gaining some experience. The second attempt yielded the exact same results on a scrap body so that was enough for me. I managed to get a perfect color match and a beautiful smooth, even coat from my own acrylic blend. It’s rather frustrating that someone has made the effort to manufacture and market a broad line of factory color matched hobby paints that I can’t use. 

You probably got a bad bottle.

Hardly a reason to impugn an entire product line.

If you had contacted the proprietors, they would have been more than happy to replace the defective product free of charge.

By the way, Scale Finishes does not manufacture the product.

They merely mix and package DuPont automotive paints specifically for the hobby.

It’s also not necessary to use Scale Finishes primer.

As it’s simply an automotive lacquer, any good quality automotive lacquer primer will suffice.

I use Duplicolor primer.

Works just fine.

 

 

Steve

Edited May 8 by StevenGuthmiller

[Radretireddad]

17 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

You probably got a bad bottle.

Hardly a reason to impugn an entire product line.

If you had contacted the proprietors, they would have been more than happy to replace the defective product free of charge.

By the way, Scale Finishes does not manufacture the product.

They merely mix and package DuPont automotive paints specifically for the hobby.

It’s also not necessary to use Scale Finishes primer.

As it’s simply an automotive lacquer, any good quality automotive lacquer primer will suffice.

I use Duplicolor primer.

Works just fine.

 

 

Steve

No doubt you’re correct but at this stage I’ve found there isn’t any color I can’t closely match with readily, locally available and far more economical acrylic paints. For me, all the benefits acrylics offer have rendered enamels and lacquers unnecessary.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

No doubt you’re correct but at this stage I’ve found there isn’t any color I can’t closely match with readily, locally available and far more economical acrylic paints. For me, all the benefits acrylics offer have rendered enamels and lacquers unnecessary.

Of course.

You do you.

I just don’t want anybody to get the impression that Scale Finishes paints are somehow an inferior product.

The discovery of MCW and Scale Finishes products was a true epiphany for me!

The ability to easily access any factory correct color in a premixed, ready to use  form, saves me the time and aggravation  of either having to try to find it in a spray can, or trying to duplicate it myself for airbrush.

I routinely take many months to complete a project, so cost is all but meaningless to me, as I rarely paint more than one or two projects in a 12 month period anyway, and it’s more important to me to have an accurate representation of the chosen color than it is to save a couple of dollars.

Acrylic paint is nearly foreign to me as I use lacquer exclusively for bodies, and mostly enamels for everything else.

I’ve never felt the need to make the transition to acrylics, and most likely never will.

 

 

 

Steve

Edited May 8 by StevenGuthmiller

[Radretireddad]

6 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Of course.

You do you.

I just don’t want anybody to get the impression that Scale Finishes paints are somehow an inferior product.

The discovery of MCW and Scale Finishes products was a true epiphany for me!

The ability to easily access any factory correct color in a premixed, ready to use  form, saves me the time and aggravation  of either having to try to find it in a spray can, or trying to duplicate it myself for airbrush.

I routinely take many months to complete a project, so cost is all but meaningless to me, as I rarely paint more than one or two projects in a 12 month period anyway, and it’s more important to me to have an accurate representation of the chosen color than it is to save a couple of dollars.

Acrylic paint is nearly foreign to me as I use lacquer exclusively for bodies, and mostly enamels for everything else.

I’ve never felt the need to make the transition to acrylics, and most likely never will.

 

 

 

Steve

I’m not disparaging either MCW or SF products. Who wouldn’t love having access to the factory matched color pallets these suppliers offer? Nor am I suggesting anyone here should abandon what works for them and try something else on my recommendation. I’m simply saying, I don’t need to use anything else to achieve the results the technique I’ve worked out has been giving me.

[StevenGuthmiller]

4 hours ago, Radretireddad said:

I’m not disparaging either MCW or SF products. Who wouldn’t love having access to the factory matched color pallets these suppliers offer? Nor am I suggesting anyone here should abandon what works for them and try something else on my recommendation. I’m simply saying, I don’t need to use anything else to achieve the results the technique I’ve worked out has been giving me.

Certainly.

I’m not suggesting anyone change their paint regimen either.

Just offering my opinion on the product in question as this is a thread about Scale Finishes paint.

Nothing more.

 

 

 

Steve