[modeleng] Re: modeleng Digest V4 #217

On 10 Oct 2007, at 07:25, FreeLists Mailing List Manager wrote:

>
>
> From: <clif.gwr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [modeleng] Plasti-Kote Paint
> Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2007 21:18:13 +0100
>
> Hi All,
> From my recent experience never use this paint.
>
> I needed a small can of  Black Gloss Paint for the running boards  
> of my latest 5" gauge loco but just lately such cans seem to have  
> all but disappeared.
>
> The only paint that I could find in small quantities was Plasti- 
> Kote which from the description on the jar seemed OK being  
> described as suitable for just about everything. The only  
> difference being that it needed Thinners for brush cleaning which  
> seemed to indicate that it was a type of Cellulose paint.
>
> The instructions also said the it dried without brush marks.
>
> On using the stuff the first problem is that it is fast drying and  
> does not give time for the brush marks to level out.
>  Having given the running boards two coats it looked as though they  
> had been painted with a Tar brush so I decided to sand them down  
> after letting the paint dry for one week.
> On trying to sand them, the paint was so soft that it tended to  
> roll rather than sand down. Having got them as smooth as I could I  
> was  going to wipe the surfaces over with a rag moistened with  
> White Spirit to remove dust, remembering that the paint was  
> thinners based. When the White Spirit touched the paint it promptly  
> softened and smeared making a real mess.
>
> I then decided to remove all the paint using Paint Stripper and   
> start again.
>  I gave it a good coating of stripper, left it for half an hour and  
> then tried to wash it off. Whilst some paint came off, it basically  
> turned to a sticky mess and still stuck to the metal.
>
> I then gave it another dose of stripper, left it for two hours and  
> when I tried to  wash it off, it again left a sticky messy surface.
> The question therefore is what is this stuff if Thinners and White  
> Spirit attack it and is semi immune to stripper.
>
> It looks like the only way that I am going to get this rotten stuff  
> off it to dump the running boards into a bucket of Thinners.
>
> Having hunted all over the place for small tins of  real Black  
> Gloss paint, I eventually found one in a little DIY Shop called the  
> Jolly Bodger so when I do get the paint off, hopefully I can do a  
> decent job this time.
>
> Regards
>
> Clif
>
>

Hi All
I had exactly the same problem with Plasti-Kote. Not only did it  
leave a mess - when I rubbed it down and resprayed from the same can,  
the new layer lifted at all the places where there was a feathered  
edge - if you want to make a 'crackle finish ', this is the way to do  
it!!

I just painted on cellulose thinners which removed it in minutes. BTW  
- I bought cell thinners from a place which sells paints etc for car  
restoration. ( They make retail prices look very silly ). And do  
remember how flammable it is.

I now use their products (carefully avoiding the two pack isocyanate  
paints) and find I get much better results, using a fairly large  
airbrush.

Regards
NormanC



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