24 replies to this topic

[Junkynotch]

Wel, after the less than impressive adherence qualities of the Spaz Stix paints I was using, I decided to go to the dark side. I've always used solvent paints to paint things and still do somewhat. This time I figured I try some water-based.

 

After doing much research I decided on the Parma paints. I picked two translucent colors and had a go. Also while I was throwing caution to the wind I went ahead and did some goldleafing for the very first time.

 

These pics were after a twenty-minute paint session. Still have to do some refinements. All in all I'm very impressed with paint adherence and distribution out of the airbrush (I thinned it with 20% Parma thinner). My only gripe is the amount of cleaning to get the airbrush clean. Other than that it masked great and had excellent coverage.

 

 

[Racer36]

A friend of mine uses Windex to clean his airbrush when using Parma paints and he says it is way faster. Maybe worth a shot?

[Tex]

Cleanup is a drawback of sorts, but... you can do it in the kitchen sink.

[Foamy]

Spaz Stix for some reason, sticks fine on r/c bods.

They don't flex like slot bodies.

I am sorta glad it doesn't stick for someone else.

Was kinda hoping I was doing something wrong. . .

 

All the water based stuff will scratch off kinda easy, but won't fall off in sheets like Spaz Stix.

[Tex]

Something that really helps water-based paint stick to lexan is scuffing up the surface to be painted with steel wool. First, I clean it with soapy hot water, scuff with steel wool, and then rinse... shake off most water & then use a paper towel to make sure no water spots remain, even little tiny droplets deep down in narrow crevaces.

[Johnny]

Hi Guys,

We do use Createx, Wicked and Auto-Air colors on our slot car bodies.

We do mix all of them together with excellent results.

The one thing that did not work as well as the others is the Candy 2o.

[Junkynotch]

The brown body next to the green car was sprayed with spazstix. It was cleaned with dawn roughed up with steel wool , cleaned again, then wiped with model laquer thinner. Like foamy said the first bit of flexing it lifted off in a few places. Love the color selection just not the adherence. As far as windex I have used it for years cleaning my airbrush for the few water base paints I use. But the kicker is you should still shoot a laquer after it because it can attack the orings and or packing glands. A lot of times I thin water based model paints with non ammonia windex. Which works well. But I don’t like to experiment too much when I first try a new system. I must say I will buy some more of the Parma paints to play with because my wife appreciates me not stinking the house up. I have a spray booth downstairs vented directly outside with a fan, and that spatzstix is just too intense.

[Junkynotch]

Johnny do you thin them at all or just straight out of the bottle? A lot of people shoot them straight.but I know some of the colors require more air and I’m not that comfortable running that psi through some of my airbrushes

[Bill from NH]

We do use Createx, Wicked and Auto-Air colors on our slot car bodies.

Johnny, Createx makes the Parma Faskolor paints in Connecticut, along with their Wicked & Auto-Air lines. Some of the Faskolor colors seen to have more pigment in them than the same color with the Createx label. Solid red & black come to mind.

[Nate Graham]

Hi Joe,

Nice to see your work as always.  Re thinning, etc. - as I am sure you know, it is ALL about the viscosity/needle size/pressure relationship. After playing with low tech brushes, I got an Iwata Eclipse and with a .2mm needle, lacquers, and about 20ish psi did great. createx at 30+ also worked but Faskolor needed thinning. in the last 4 years, I am convinced they changed the spec on Faskolor because with a 0.3 needle , the newer stuff sprays well at 30-40 psi. Some colors do need more pressure as Steve Koepp described at the R4.  switching to a Badger Patriot with a 0.5 or an iwata neo with a 0.4 needle also works great in my hands. occasionally, some colors need a little thinning and with small amounts of water, medea, iwata, etc thinners. all have worked and I see little difference as long as only small amounts are needed. TPC global knockoffs of the above have worked but always seem to clog more often. go figure. re thinning, it is a texture thing. you will see when the viscosity is right for the type of result you want in your brushes. It also depends if you are shooting for a straight opaque color or a semitransparent fade between colors. some thinners will help this and can get the look like the nice body you won concours at R4 with. grin. 

[Dominator]

Spaz Stix will work but I believe you need to wash the body with features alcohol. I believe that is what Bob Hughes does.

[Ramcatlarry]

Spaz Stix will work but I believe you need to wash the body with features alcohol. I believe that is what Bob Hughes does.

?'features' alcohol?  isopropyl  in windex , what is 'features'?

[Dominator]

Sorry, auto correct. Should be denatured alcohol.

[Junkynotch]

I'm not knocking the spatzstiks. Like anything else some things have their places. I have a k5 blazer body on my nitro tmaxx that seems to hold up well painted with that exact same bottle I painted the slot car with. But that rc body is a lot thicker. I think for spazstix to work for me it needs a flex agent of some sort. Like some one posted above too much flex..maybe some more experimentation is on the order...

[Junkynotch]

Hi Nate. Nice to speak with you again. Hope you'll be at this years r4. I've got an iwata eclipse with a .5 needle that I bought to shoot Vallejo paint out of exclusivity. It's a beautiful brush but I just don't much care to use it. Just doesn't feel right in my hands, plus it doesn't have a trigger stop on it. For The parma paint experiment I used my trusty old paasche h model with a number 3 tip out of the gravity feed cup. The brush really liked the paint viscosity, I was impressed. That's my go to brush I've painted a lot of stuff with it. Bought it in 1997 or 98 never have bought a part for it, looks like brand new. My detail brush is a paasche talon tg. Haven't tried the parma paint with it because it's a little more complex to clean because of the needle. But that thing will feed any kind of paint.....so maybe more experiments are in order.

[Dan Miller]

Does Tamiya PS series paint adhere better than Spaz Stix ?

 

Do the Tamiya fluorescent colors have the same "POP" as the Spaz Stix  fluorescents ?

 

Any waterbased fluorescents that really scream color and stick well ?

 

Are the new can Pactra paints as good as the old bottle paints ?

 

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

 

. 

[Johnny]

Johnny do you thin them at all or just straight out of the bottle? A lot of people shoot them straight.but I know some of the colors require more air and I’m not that comfortable running that psi through some of my airbrushes

Joe,

We do reduce the paint. We feel it gives a better flow of paint. We also use all of the other product from Createx/Auto-Air/Wicked.

 

Johnny, Createx makes the Parma Faskolor paints in Connecticut, along with their Wicked & Auto-Air lines. Some of the Faskolor colors seen to have more pigment in them than the same color with the Createx label. Solid red & black come to mind.

Bill,

the Parma Fascolor is no longer available in Norway, so we switched to the Createx/Auto-Air/Wicked which is available at a couple of Art Stores and a Motor Cycle Shop.

[Bill from NH]

Johnny, Parma has been in a downward spiral for 3 or 4 years. Some of their products have had a spotty availability, others, such as 16D Deathstar motors, are no longer available. Don't feel too bad about having no Faskolor, most of their colors are available under the Createx label too. I haven't bought any recently, but Createx has been considerably cheaper here in the US.

[Junkynotch]

Dan I only know about the pactra. The pactra paints stick well, but very limited in color selection. Duratraxx (spelling) have a very good adhesion and pretty decent color selection. But they are chemical based and stinky.

[Junkynotch]

Well not exactly a slot car but I did some more experimenting with the the parma paint. Loaded up my paasche talon and sprayed a model base I was working on. Man I think I really like this paint. This base was primed with tamiya NATO black, dried with a hairdryer and immediately sprayed with the parma fastkolor green. It gave the base a nice satiny, silky finish. Hair dryered yet again, no clear coat, masked it with some medium tack vinyl cut out on my wife's craft machine, and sprayed some more tamiya NATO black. Hairdryered it again and pulled the mask. I normally would clear between coats but I didn't want to loose the sheen. I'll say it again this is some tuff paint. No signs of mask pull, paint lift or anything. Think I found some more uses than just slot cars...

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[John Streisguth]

If you check the Createx website, you'll discover that the regular Createx line is actually made to be heat set, as it is used on clothing. The heat setting makes it able to be machine washed.  So your hairdryer use helped make it tougher.  I have never had any paint flake off of a slot car body using Createx when I use a hairdryer in this manner.  Wicked colors do not need the heat set, as they are designed to dry tough without doing that. 

 

I'm wondering about the wisdom of using denatured alcohol, as it's basically ethanol with other chemicals mixed in to make it unpalatable. I normally use isopropyl.

 

Also, Createx has an airbrush cleaner that works wonders to remove dried paint (4008 restorer).  You just have to make sure you run water or something through the airbrush to get rid of any residue, as it will adversely affect the next paint job if you don't. 

[Foamy]

I use a fair bit of Tamiya PS with good results. I spray it in an airbrush jar, let sit for a day with no lid, spray away.

 

On AutoAir and others like this, you should use the reducer they sell as it is made for this.

[Shooter7mustang]

Although I am not very good yet, I use Aztec paints, ready to shoot right out of the bottle. Adheres well and holds up pretty well.

[flyracing]

http://www.oldweirdh...Airbrushing.pdf

[Bill from NH]

Craig, are you still painting in your kitchen? I've done that a few times with acrylics if my wife is gone for a few hours.