Badger Model-flex paint

[mike_lawyer]

Hey guys -

I have been out of the hobby for about 7 years, and am looking to do some airbrushing of locomotives.  Previously I used Floquil paints, but I know Testors no longer produces that.  I see that Badger has a Model-Flex line of railroad acrylic paint that is supposed to be airbrush-ready.  Does anyone have experience with this line of paint?  Can it really be used with an airbrush without thinning?  Thanks for the help.

[diezmon]

I've also been using these in the last few months, learning as I go.   Here's a post you may find useful too:   https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=44797.0

What I've found is I need to add a little flow improver to get better results, using Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver.     I use a gravity feed brush so I haven't found I need to thin the paint at all.  I just add a drop or two of the flow improver.

I found that I do need to prime the plastic first.  I tried the spray bomb method, but the acrylic seems to just bubble up.  Now I'm using Model Master acrylic grey primer, which is working much better.

It's not as easy as I remember, when I was painting with the sink bombs ten years ago or so.  I feel like the acrylic is more temperamental, distance and pressure matter more. 

On my last model, the orange turned out great, but the green turned out a little 'speckled', not sure why.  But it's hidden once the last flat coat is applied.

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[nickelplate759]

I think "speckled" means the paint went on a little too dry, or maybe a little too far away from the airbrush.

I've had mixed results with these paints.  The actual colors are good.  Sometimes I've gotten a great finish, sometimes I've had trouble getting it wet enough to lay down smoothly but not so wet as to cause sagging or drips.   Almost always I have trouble with my airbrush getting clogged.   I may try again with the flow improver and see if that helps.

[dmidkiff]

Before switching to Tru Color, Badger ModelFlex was my preferred acrylic. I had good, thin, smooth results with the paint. I always thinned it just a bit before shooting, never straight from the bottle.

The trick I found that worked very well for a good acrylic paint job was to shoot a very light coat over the entire model and let it dry, that gave the plastic some tooth to go heavier with a second or third coat if color coverage was needed. I learned quickly that too much acrylic paint would run and pool like a wash. So I got in the habit of shooting from one direction on one side of a model, then immediately moving to another side of the model. By the time I had gotten paint on every side, I'd go back to the first side again and shoot from another angle to get the details, that side would already be dry. For me shooting acrylics, building multiple, light coats worked best letting each coat dry before the next. Not the same method for solvents...

[mike_lawyer]

Before switching to Tru Color, Badger ModelFlex was my preferred acrylic. I had good, thin, smooth results with the paint. I always thinned it just a bit before shooting, never straight from the bottle.

The trick I found that worked very well for a good acrylic paint job was to shoot a very light coat over the entire model and let it dry, that gave the plastic some tooth to go heavier with a second or third coat if color coverage was needed. I learned quickly that too much acrylic paint would run and pool like a wash. So I got in the habit of shooting from one direction on one side of a model, then immediately moving to another side of the model. By the time I had gotten paint on every side, I'd go back to the first side again and shoot from another angle to get the details, that side would already be dry. For me shooting acrylics, building multiple, light coats worked best letting each coat dry before the next. Not the same method for solvents...

Wow, I had never heard of Tru Color!  I just checked their website.  They have an impressive amount of railroad solvent-based paint, which I really prefer to acrylic.  How do you like the Tru Color paint quality?  Is any thinning needed or is it ready right out of the bottle?

[JMaurer1]

HATE acrylic paint! You just about have to use a primer first and if there is just about anything on the model they don't cover worth a darn. Then again, Tru-color isn't much better. Who thought it was a good idea to put paint in a frosted white container so you can't really tell the color? I was trying to match the color MT used on the SP passenger cars so I could paint some additional cars...forget about it. But it's okay, since almost nobody carries decals any more.

Rant mode [off]

[dmidkiff]

Wow, I had never heard of Tru Color!  I just checked their website.  They have an impressive amount of railroad solvent-based paint, which I really prefer to acrylic.  How do you like the Tru Color paint quality?  Is any thinning needed or is it ready right out of the bottle?

I love Tru Color, best paint I've ever used. I've figured out the best way to work with it here in Colorado, but everyone and everywhere has different variables. I always thin them with straight lacquer thinner. I find that once bottles sit for a couple of months, the thinner in them starts to evaporate. it's pretty easy to thin them everytime and I've never had a bottle turn to sludge like some others have noted.

Doug

[peteski]

While I can't answer the original question, there is no need to abandon stinky paints (yet).

While I do use water-based paints for certain things (like the small amount of weatherign I do, and for certain other tasks), I refuse to migrate to them (especially for airbrushing).

Back when Floquil was available, I did use it (mostly on structures and scenery), but for painting locos, rolling stock, and vehicles I have been (for  decades) using Accu Paints.  But those paints also disappeared some time ago.

But there are still several choices available in the old-school lines.
Tru-Color paints are almost identical to Accu Paint. The are easily airbrushed. They are polystyrene-compatible and they go on in a very smooth and thin layer which is very durable.  The finish is also semigloss (not flat like Floquil), so there is no need for gloss clear for dealing.  Actually, as noted, Tru-Color has greatly expanded their paint line to also include some flat colors, and also automotive colors.  I hope they hang around for a long time as the paints are awesome!

Then there is Scalecoat and Scalecoat II. Both are excellent paints with semigloss finish.  Scalecoat II is plastic safe.  I also use these.

Also, there is a line of Humbrol paints from England.  These have been around for as long as the Testors PLA enamels, I have used paints in those little tins way back in the '70s, when I lived in Poland.  They are very good enamels, similar to the above mentioned Testors (which is also still avalid choice for stinky hobby paint.  I believe that Humbrol also offers water-based paints now, so make sure to select the correct paint.

Tamiya also has a wide selection of stinky paints in spray cans (which can be decanted and airbrushed).  Excellent paints, especially their military colors for weathering and structures.

[randgust]

I've had surprisingly good results with brush-application of Model-Flex.    I've airbrushed it and sometimes the results are great, sometimes it was a disaster.   One of the worst botched-up paint jobs of my life was with airbrushing Model-Flex.  And some of my very best.

The good news on brush-application is that it goes on very thin, and the chances of leaving brush marks is about zero.  But the first coat especially will look absolutely terrible.   Don't panic although every bone in your body will scream.   Let it thoroughly dry and do another thin coat, relax.    By the time you get to an overspray clear coat you may realize that unlike some of the solvent paints, this stuff doesn't eat the coat underneath to produce brushmarks so it works rather well and all the stress over airbrushing probably isn't worth it.  And it's not thick enough to build up either, applies very smooth and glossy.   But one coat won't do it.

I know that the first time I brush-painted the PRR Brunswick Green on my GHQ L1 I about gagged watching it apparently ruin my model, by the time I got to the third touchup coat I realized that this stuff was completely different from Floquil in behavior.



Most times I take such abuse for NOT using an airbrush I won't even admit to it, particularly here.   I've even upgraded my airbrush equipment twice and still feel like an amateur that has about a 30% chance of ruining something.   I ALWAYS test paint on a junk shell first, with the same primer, etc., before I touch an actual project shell.

[OldEastRR]

Have used Model-Flex Badger acrylic for years, and acrylic hobby paints since they first came out. The very very very best thing about them is you can clean up with water. Sometimes there's a lot of clean-up. Airbrush cleaning takes a lot of "solvent". Water as solvent has no hazardous chemicals or odor. Badger is good stuff, but dries flat and their color line-up isn't as extensive as Tru-Scale.
Recently used Tru-Color as a request on a custom paint job. These first tries on 3 pieces of equipment turned out excellently. It was a two-color passenger car scheme. Using the airbrush consistency paint I got a nice even finish (multiple coats) and unlike the flat finish of Badger paints it's semi-gloss . Which Peteski says, is very good for decaling.
Minor nit: The TCP bottles have different sized caps than the Badger so you can't just open a TCP bottle and stick on a Badger feed-tube cap on it and attach to the Badger airbrush.
But if you want to use Tru-Color you should buy their special Thinner. That's really the only thing that cleans it up. Acetone and even MEK do a little, but it you want completely clean brushes or airbrush you need their thinner. You can buy either a one ounce bottle or a 16 oz can (for $43).
And it does smell.The thing is with non-acrylic paint, it's not just a "stinky" smell you get, but all those complex air-borne chemicals making that smell heading into your nasal passages and lungs. Best to use a paint booth, paint outside, or set up near an open window with a fan behind you to avoid breathing that stuff in.
But the most important thing about airbrushing is to do it well. It takes time and practice (and a lot of mistakes) to be able to do a perfect, unblemished coat with an airbrush. That makes me think Tru-Color is more for the advanced model painter.

[rgengineoiler]

     I have been using Badger Model Flex Paint for two years now and love the results I get.  I always prime with their primer and let it sit for 30 to 40 minutes in the dust free air booth and then shoot the color.  All the Railroad colors I use and also for structures are great with no complaints at all.  Wood, Metal, or Plastic, as long as I prime with Badger Model Flex Primer the results are excellent.   I run two older Badger 150 air brushes with ex. fine tips and lay the paint on from about 10 inches away.  I have never missed the solvent based paints and these paints have a good hard surface when cured.

    I keep an almost complete Railroad color set on hand for my needs.  I use them straight most of the time but on occasion I might have to add a few drops of distilled water with an eye dropper if my DRIP test is not to my liking.  I buy 500 lots of plastic coffee stir sticks and always stir the paint before painting and check the DRIP test thickness.  Never shake these paints.  I found that out two years ago as the air bubbles take forever to come out and will effect the spray on the model.  Lastly, these paints are very reasonably priced and lids seal tight when through painting until the next time.  This is my opinion on your question.   Doug   

[thomasjmdavis]

Old East-

Most of my Model Flex colors come out semi-gloss to gloss finishes... I use very low air pressure, and avoid painting if humidity is very low- I wonder if our pressure settings are different.  There are a few that are distinctly flat, but many are glossy.  Here is my latest, in ModelFlex ATSF blue-


Priming is the key.  Use a white primer (or white paint over gray primer) for lighter top coats like yellow and orange. They used to say you did not need to, but apparently have come round to reality.  The Badger primer works well, I also get good results with Model Master primers and paints by Testors- again, while some colors are flat, many are glossy, and you can often find a paint in their "military" line that is a good match to railroad colors (I have sometimes wondered if the various blue colors adopted by several roads after WWII were surplus naval aircraft paint).  Just generally speaking, I think water based acrylics have come a long way in the last 50 years- better adhesion, better color, and (when glossy) good surface for decals.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I tend to thin mine out a bit with  Tamiya acrylic thinner.... Maybe 10-15 parts paint to one part thinner. I use about 30-35 psi and start with a thin layer first. It's OK of this looks a little speckled, after it dries and you put on a normal coat of paint on it will come out semi gloss and smooth.

I really like Modelflex.