Floquil paint availability

I thought that Testers bought Floquil several years ago. So if that is correct, then I doubt that they will bring it back to life.

Oh, I hope someone will produce it again. It's the best scale paint made. Don

I had suggested to Walthers, via their Facebook page, to buy Floquil and PolyScale paints, but their response was to buy the other brands of paint that they carry.

Stuart

If you go to the Testors web site it looks like the Floquil brand name has been dropped BUT they are still cataloguing some enamel based railroad colors.  I don't recall Testors have enamel paints in RR colors other than Floquil?

Cross Reference Chart from Microscale.

Weaver Models  Scalecoat Paints.

Badger Model Flex.

I think that discussion also talked about a lot of these paints having a short shelf life,

especially after opened (turning into rubber).  I was going to wonder why Testors

didn't offer RR colors in those little bottles (which I dislike), but it sounds like they

saw that opportunity.  Luckily, most I build is kitbashed, scratch built, or home road,

so I go with big box rattle cans (which have their problems, too...clogging outlets).

For small jobs and touch-up I use Testors, so I DON'T want that to go away.

IIRC Floquil is a organic solvent based paint.....something the US Govt would like to eliminate and have already done so in many places like California (can't buy lacquer based automotive paint)  So I have little hope that anyone else is willing to manufacture the paint under current conditions.......you could invest big and loose it all at the whim of a Govt agency.

I've been using Scalecoat II for years with great results; it's just hard to find sometimes.

FYI - JP's in Latham, NY has a huge supply of Floquil as he received a major stock order just before Testor's announced its discontinuance.

As to "whim of a Govt agency" - it's real easy to blame the government for our own failure because we didn't FULLY learn about the rules and regulations (both existing and impending) BEFORE going into any kind of business venture.

jackson

What did Pogo say? "We have met the enemy and it is us".  You get what you vote for.

Can't buy lacquer based automotive paint in Calif.?  All the vintage car restoration shops must have run for the border.

Sorry....but there is only ONE entity to blame for businesses, some 50 or more years old, being driven out of business.  I grew up in So Cal....it had a vital automotive restoration and repair industry. A family friend restored classic 30's and 40's era cars. He used the same paints as when the car was built. But between the Govt of CA and the Feds almost all the supplies needed are now ILLEGAL in California. Cross the border into Nevada or Arizona and you can buy whats needed....but it can't be shipped....you have to drive....making it impossible to work on the scale they did for 50 years. I blame these regulations 100% for the demise of all these businesses.....or maybe they did not have the foresight to see ahead fifty years.....stupid business men!!! 

And that's why no one will buy the Floquil line and restart production.

Yes...we get what we vote for......but almost 100% of these regs are put into place by people appointed and have their own agenda and do not or will ever have to be re-elected and have few checks and balances to watch over them. 

Isn't the original Testors paint solvent based? I haven't heard that was being discontinued. No doubt in my mind that Washington is FUBAR but I suspect the decreasing market for RR paints is to blame here.

Pete

The original Floquil was lacquer based. Floquil's original Dio-sol thinner would fry your brain. Many years ago after Testor's bought Floquil it was reformulated as an enamel paint. It uses the same thinner as Testor's Model Master paint line and I really can't tell any difference between Floquil and Model Master other than the colors. In my opinion, Scalecoat II is far superior for painting locos and cars. It goes on smoother and drys glossy making it perfect for decals. I will miss Floquil for their building and structure related colors like concrete, rail tie brown, grimy black, etc. I wish Testors would bring those colors back in their Model Master line. Model Master seems to be just for autos and military models.

Ken

Floquil was organic solvent based......Testors regular paint line is a different solvent based,  petroleum distillate IIRC, that is not currently regulated as much.

I stopped using Floquil before Testors bought them.....I went to automotive paint....did not know they had left the organic solvent formula.

Splitting hairs. Paint thinner is an organic solvent. The old Floquil solvent had a higher volatility similar to lacquer thinner but the new Floquil could be thinned with common paint thinner.

Pete

Agree with Ken (above)about Scalecoat II being superior for trains. As i said earlier JP's Hobbies in Latham, NY ((518) 782-0981) had a big supply of Floquil a few weeks ago. I bought about $50 worth of Grimy Black, Aged Concrete, etc. from him to keep me in those colors for a few years.

jackson

There are many types of thinners.....Organic (plant based) , synthetic (man made), distilled petro based (refined)....all with plus and minuses.

Dave, in the world of chemistry if it has carbon molecules its organic. It doesn't matter if its grown in nature or man made.

Pete

What we were told by one of the distributors at the LHS my repair shop is located at is, Testor will be folding at least some of the Floquil RR colors into their Model Master line of paints. Which may or may not be a good thing, as I've had iffy results finding a good 'thin' for airbrushing MM paints on boxcars.

This Cross Reference Chart shows several crosses to Model Master  (MM)

I personally have been hunting Floquil paints lately and its nearly all gone, having been snapped up by savy rail roaders.  I found ONE bottle of it today. I found ONE can of it on the' bay and that was no good.

I received some other bad news today that Tamiya TS -13 has been outlawed too in the USA. That was THE best clear coat on the market. It is a synthetic laquer so that likely is why its been removed too. Now the EPA is forcing the LAST lead smelter plant in the USA to close December , next month. If you like to shoot your guns get ready to have NO ammo.

Len, I read on the web that Model Master paint is airbrush ready and does not need thinning.

Rob

Well, not what I wanted to hear but I did need to hear it!!

Probably going to try Scalecoat II on some plastic cabooses.

Seems like I am always going around a new learning curve....

Thanks to all who replied!

I raided the local hobby shops and spent my train budget for two months on Floquil and Polyscale ... love the stuff.

Has anyone tried Weavers line of paints or are they the Scalecoat that is being referred to?

I'm old enough to remember when 410M paints (THE railroad color line of manufacturers and hobbyists alike) of the 40's-50's reached the end of their business line.  Hari-kari, weeping, wailing, sackcloth & ashes, gnashing of dentures, sanguinary thoughts, bloody bloviations...it was all there then.  And so it is now.

We move on.

Noticed the other day in preparing an order with Micromark for our store (LHS) the following items...

http://www.micromark.com/micro...-2-ounces,11278.html

http://www.micromark.com/micro...-2-ounces,11281.html

http://www.micromark.com/micro...-2-ounces,11282.html

...for some examples from this line of acrylics.

Also....

http://www.micromark.com/valle...nd2-ounce,11298.html

http://www.micromark.com/valle...nd2-ounce,11291.html

http://www.micromark.com/valle...nd2-ounce,11295.html

...from this other manufacturer's line. 

Ergo, there are other choices/suppliers.  I, too, like Scalecoat I & II very much.  Things will settle out. 

Maybe the hysteria over Floquil's demise would be a good excuse to consider yet another forum category...Painting/Weathering/Restoration...or some such repository for all of the creative suggestions that will emerge.

FWIW, always...

KD

There's also Tru-Color paints.  Solvent based.  Very similar, if not the same as the old Accu-Paint. 

Takes a little getting used to, but once you do, it's good stuff.

Rusty

Rob,

For whatever reason, I've never had good results using Model Master straight from the bottle, and haven't figured out a good thinning ratio yet. I've got "formulas" for Floquil and Polly-S going back years, and I'm not looking forward to going through all that again.

Tom's Train Station in the Raleigh, NC area still has a pretty good selection of Floquil and Polly-S in stock. To be fair to everyone the do limit sales of any one color to 3 bottles per visit, but you can buy as many colors as you need.

I have heard good things about this line of paint as well as the fact that they are continuing to add additional RR colors to their product line.

Also keep in mind that a lot of colors (earth tone) can be purchase at paint/hardware stores.  Here is a thread earlier this year with a lot of good information.

A post that I had made on the linked thread above.

We have a light brown latex paint that we use on the Modules.

Edit 3/21/2013 Add paint mix.   I took a small part of one of the modules to the local hardware store and had them match the paint color.   This IMO is a pretty good base under most any scenery detail.

Benjamin Moore & Co.
Interior/Latex/Flat N215   Regal Premium Flat.
Base N215-3B Quart
BK 6 1/2 shots
BR 2 3/4 shots
OY 13 shots

We had done a thread a while back on basic Rock Color.  I pulled some information from a Kalmbach how to book.   There are several earth match colors listed in this thread.

Copy my post of this thread link . February 24, 2013  Help with painting plaster rock molds.  Several base paint colors listed.

It is usually a diluted wash of latex paints.  Carefully looking for the high-lighted detail you want.   I would practice on some of the scrap generated for the very nice wall that you built.  Lighter is usually better, you can always darken it down with an india ink wash.
Rocks    Click on the underlined phrase to view a slideshow.

Noted on a previous thread was a How to: book  Realistic Model Railroad Scenery By Dave Frary.  Kalmbach.  Great reference source.


Here are somes choices from the 2nd edition of the How to listed above.
Copied from page 24.
Latex Mud and earth colors.

Earth:
(1.) Tru Value Hardware Tru-Test No. C220 Dusty Sage or No. C216 Antelope.
(2.) Pittsburgh Paints: No. 3491 Franciscan Gold, No. 3610 Poplar, or No. 4489 Tulip Wood
(3.) Sears Easy Living No. 600 Autum Wheat Dark, No. 589 Sage, No 574 Parisiene Beige, (satin finsh only- this is OK because after thinning the paint loses its shine), or No. 068 Sand (a good light earth color).
(4.) California Paints: No. 35C-3D Boca Raton or No. 35B-3D Cameron, (a little on the red side but good for rich farmland).
(5.) (Sherwin Williams Fringed Jacket is an earth color that I haven't tried.)  Noted penciled in add in my book was SW1118.
Mud:
(6.) Tru Value Hardware: Tru-Test No. C214 Sugarloaf.
(7.) Pittsburgh Paints: No 4491 Leather Vest, No. 7483 Earthenware, or No. 4606 Yorktown Brown (reddish).
(8.) Sears: Easy Living No. 585 Guernsey Beige
(9.) California Paints: No 35C-4A Oakheart or No. 36C-3D Cassel Brown.

Color names and numbers change with home decoratiing styles.  Most stores have a cross-reference book to match old names and numbers to their replacements.  Ask the store clerk.  If you still cannot fine the exact colors mentioned above, use your color chip to select something else.

These colors are only starting points.  Your own taste or the prototype you're modeling may differ, so feel free to substitute colors you like!
Also buy a quart of flat white for lightening and use with tinting colors. If the earth or mud seems too dark, add flat white before diluting the paint.


Best wishes on your project.
Mike CT

RJT:  Scalecoat is the brand name that Weaver uses for it's RR colors.  They have two different formulations:  regular Scalecoat for woods and metal items, and Scalecoat II for plastic models.  Colors offered are the same in either type of paint.  Of course, both are also available in spray cans or in 1 or 2 ounce bottles.

I've used these finishes for years without any resulting problems, and Weaver will make up special colors for special projects.

Paul Fischer

I also remember 410M paints, I may still have an old bottle around somewhere. Scalecoat is a good substitute for Floquil solvent based paints, and Badger Model Flex is a good substitute for Polyscale.