Scalecoat paint on brass

Will, it is hard to find because Scalecoat went out of business a long time ago. I am not sure is anyone else took on the line, but I don't think so. Regular paint thinner is fine for thinning or cleaning up with Scalecoat. You do not need Lacquer thinner

Jeff

Glacierrunner, I am new to this brass model painting. It was a mystery before I started picking the brains of a few model painters and there is ample info on line, but as per your questions here is what I found out and plan to utilize.
Zylol for clean up. It is the primary ingredient in Scale coat 1 thinner. Far cheaper to buy it than use up the scale coat 1 thinner for clean up. I learned of this while researching for a brass paint project. I believe that zylol is available at big box hardware stores.  Be aware that one needs to protect their airway and central nervous system wearing respirator mask, evacuating paint station with filtered vented fan. Or clean up out in a well ventilated place.

I just ordered from Minuteman. They have all the scalecoat 1 (and 2) paints. Color Charts are on the web site. Their scalecoat 1 thinner is expensive. 8 oz is $11.95

zylol comes in one gallon cans if you can find it.

Most of their paint is glossy unless specifically stated otherwise.
black 1010 is glossy. I believe you don’t need primer before paint application. decals so I am told slide on. One can use dulcoat or other finish protective coat.

what are you painting?
best of luck.

www.minutemanscalemodels.com

they also have a number you can call to get someone with an actual pulse!

@mowingman posted:

Will, it is hard to find because Scalecoat went out of business a long time ago. I am not sure is anyone else took on the line, but I don't think so.

As noted above - Scalecoat is available --> www.minutemanscalemodels.com

Regular paint thinner is fine for thinning or cleaning up with Scalecoat. You do not need Lacquer thinner

OR, you could just get the Scalecoat thinner itself.

For the past week I have phoned and emailed  Minuteman numerous times with No response! I want to know which colors are in stock so I can finish this project!  Has others had problems contacting this business?

I've mail ordered from them successfully in the last several months, but have never called them.

Bob

Minuteman bought the rights and product line for Scalecoat paint from Weaver.     They are now making and marketing it.   It is still called Scalecoat.     P&D Hobbies  used to stock a complete line.    Some hobby shops do not like to stock solvent based paints and so will not handle it.

@glacierrunner posted:

For the past week I have phoned and emailed  Minuteman numerous times with No response! I want to know which colors are in stock so I can finish this project!  Has others had problems contacting this business?

Absolutely.  I usually get SCII from P&D, but they were out so I phoned (and left voice message) and emailed Minuteman and got no response for two days.  I called P&D and was told Minuteman doesn't answer or return their messages.

On the third day I phoned Minuteman and got a busy signal; so, I called back in about 5 minutes and Sean (the owner?) answered the phone.  He could not have been nicer or provided better customer service.  I gave him my order and received it promptly.

When I got off the phone with him, however, I immediately called P&D to tell them they should phone Minuteman and hope to catch Sean which, I learned later, they did.

Strange way to run a business.

Maybe he is like me and really doesn't care for telephones.  If he asks for e-mail orders, do it that way.  His website is easy enough to understand.

I have used ScaleCoat products forever. I alway use primer, usually  tamiya. ScaleCoat 1 should be used on brass unless or wood. I have used it on plastic but several very light coats so you don't craze the plastic. That is where SC II works beautifully on plastic.. Prime it , spray it them place your decals and put the flat sealer over the decal. I like ScaleCoat II because you can use good, old paint thinner with it, no problems.

Dick

I've been using Scalecoat I on brass rolling stock  since the 1970's.   (before Weaver purchased the line it was sold by an outfit in Alabama). I find it very durable if carefully applied .   If I've re-detailed the model generally I blast the body with aluminum oxide in a closed blasting booth.  Be sure to wear a good face mask - you shouldn't breath the stuff.   If the factory clear coat is in good shape I don't bother removing it as it serves as a decent primer.  I wash the model in the dishwasher to remove traces of soldering flux and finger oils. I don't run the drying cycle as sometimes the heat can affected the clear coat.  After washing  handling the model should be done with  gloves on. Then it's off to the spray booth (remember the face mask)  to apply the Scalecoat I.  After painting I bake brass models in an oven for an hour and a half at 165 degrees.  Baking improves the durability and further raises the gloss making the surface great for applying wet decals. 

A word of caution about baking models in a kitchen oven - you must control the environment.  In the 1980's a close friend (in the O Scale Kings Hall of Fame) painted and baked 4-5 up detailed Precision Scale hoppers on a tray in his kitchen oven.  Unfortunately he went back down to the layout without telling his wife that he had trains in the oven.  She decided to treat the family to a home baked cake and pre-heated the oven to 375 degrees.  Later when my friend went to remove the models from the oven he found them in a mound on the tray  - an intermingled cluster of sheet brass, lost wax castings, and solder.  In a word - meltdown.  Weeks later another friend, partly as an act of brotherhood, purchased the mess for a very generous price.  With considerable time and talent he reconstructed all the hoppers.  Old timers in the DC area refer to the cars as "Chernobyl Hoppers".   I have a Chernobyl PRR H21 running on my layout today.

I had a similar experience with a Gem Reading 0-6-0 camelback which I painted Scalecoat Steam Power Black and placed in the oven to bake dry on low heat.  I must have underestimated the oven's "low" setting, because the engine turned into parts.  Following a few days of stunned shock, I was able to return the engine to a brass state and re-solder it back together.  This was years ago, yet it still runs today, and is a fine runner on my roster.  I pretty much gave up baking brass following that experience, but found that Scalecoat will produce a very durable surface on a model if left to dry naturally, particularly when left outside on a warm summer day in sunlight.

I have baked a lot of paint, usually in a toaster oven with a good thermometer placed inside. Anywhere from 150-200 degrees is golden.  Never had a melt down but a PSC SP brass caboose I had painted for a guy once had an accident. It even had a nice rechargeable battery in it that charged from track current and lit the markers. All done, decaled and sprayed with flat , I was holding it upside down by the trucks as I walked away from the spray booth and wouldn't you know it, the boss that one of the truck bolsters was screwed to let go, must not have been soldered good, and to the concrete it went.

Maroon tells me he did that to a cast Alco PA in a toaster oven.  Easy fix with my jigs and a MAPP torch - turned out to be the "straightest" cast PA I have seen.

My baking experience has been mostly positive.  The Greek is not fond of the odor, but then she puts up with a lot.  I set 180, let it go for 45 minutes, and turn it off for a one hour cool-down.  Scratch-resistant, even over rattle can primer.  Plus, it dries a lot faster.  I still wait two weeks for striping or decals.

Thanks guys for all the Great information! I have ordered all the scalecoat 1 and thinner from Minuteman online! I'll be careful drying in the oven--- great stories!

Is minuteman still in business? On 8/15 , I placed my scalecoat order on line and received an order number. Since then crickets! I have called the last two days and the phone is not working!  Anyone heard from this company? Thanks, Don

@glacierrunner posted:

Is minuteman still in business? On 8/15 , I placed my scalecoat order on line and received an order number. Since then crickets! I have called the last two days and the phone is not working!  Anyone heard from this company? Thanks, Don

I'm getting that sort of behavior from a lot of companies lately - the new normal.  Off for August?  Who knows.....

@glacierrunner posted:

Is minuteman still in business? On 8/15 , I placed my scalecoat order on line and received an order number. Since then crickets! I have called the last two days and the phone is not working!  Anyone heard from this company? Thanks, Don

I placed an order with them for Scalecoat II paints on 8/16 and UPS delivered them 8/21.

I order from Shawn, using his website.  It takes a while but he's a one man show.  He's trying his best.  One of the issues he's dealing with is getting the glass bottles & caps.  The Rona seems to take priority.

You will get you paint as soon as he can send it.

The paint he's producing is just as good as it ever was and worth the wait.

Jay

I agree with Jay. I've purchased Scalecoat from MM over the past couple years and have found it to be the same as it ever was... great.

@glacierrunner posted:

Is minuteman still in business? On 8/15 , I placed my scalecoat order on line and received an order number. Since then crickets! I have called the last two days and the phone is not working!  Anyone heard from this company? Thanks, Don

Yes they are and I recently had a response by email. The product is well worth the wait while the colors you want are actually produced if not in stock. Much the same applies with Tru Color supplies from other stores.

I had similar experiences with MM when my usual Scalecoat vendors (Des Plaines Hobbies and Hennings) did not have in stock the colors I needed and I used the website and followed up with email and voice messages that went unanswered.  I didn't take this personally since Shawn is equally as unresponsive to his dealers--Des Plaines Hobbies specifically.

Try to find the colors from retail outlets if you haven't already done so.  If you have, be patient, and keep calling -- eventually he'll be in and answer which was my experience.

Nice to see a superior product has survived thus far. Hopefully it will not be one of the many victims of the pandemic!

ECI

@Pingman posted:

Try to find the colors from retail outlets........

Not many retail outlets still exist.

At the time, there were two (2) Scalecoat paints, one for brass, metal, wood, (Scalecoat I), and one for plastic, (Scalecoat II).

IMO, any Railroad color would be hard to find.  Last time I sourced any model paint, was via Walther, mail order.  It takes a while to negotiate the Walther's website, though Railroad colors there have also diminished.  IMO

Sounds like my scalecoat should ship soon!  A breakdown in e-mail messages caused the delay . I am going to start taping- what tape should I use to avoid residue when I remove the tape? Thanks for all the feed back!

@glacierrunner posted:

Sounds like my scalecoat should ship soon!  A breakdown in e-mail messages caused the delay . I am going to start taping- what tape should I use to avoid residue when I remove the tape? Thanks for all the feed back!

I use 3M blue painting tape usually as Milwaukee is just 2 colors. I also use Tamiya tape as well.

Dick

@CBQer posted:

I use 3M blue painting tape usually as Milwaukee is just 2 colors. I also use Tamiya tape as well.

Dick

I use both:  the Tamiya for the separation line between two colors, and the blue painter's tape for bulk coverage.  The thinness of the Tamiya is easier for me to handle for the precise color separation mask.

I finally got some scalecoat 1. I bought a cheap oven  to bake the paint once I spray it !  Question is it Ok to spray at 60 degrees outside or should I just wait until next Spring?  I do Not have a place to spray inside! Thanks

@glacierrunner posted:

I finally got some scalecoat 1. I bought a cheap oven  to bake the paint once I spray it !  Question is it Ok to spray at 60 degrees outside or should I just wait until next Spring?  I do Not have a place to spray inside! Thanks

60 degrees is ok to paint in, just watch the RH, ( relative humidity)  and allow a little extra time to flash between coats. I wouldn’t be so quick to toss stuff in the oven at 60 degrees,….if you can, allow the workpiece to get up to room temperature before sticking it in the oven, or put the piece in the oven and gradually increase to desired temp,…..still not sure why anyone would cook Scalecoat, I’ve never had to, I’ve always let air dry for 24-36 hours,,,,,

Pat

Several great comments on this topic, but here's my two cents from my painting experience.  Yes, SC1 Engine black goes down glossy for easy decalling.  I've had trouble when flat finishing where it would "grey" the black down, but that was using SC flat finish.  I believe there are other sealer/finishes that won't give you that effect.  In general, I've always had great results with Scalecoat, and used internet ordering for Minuteman with no problems

For the baking, I've used my late father's setup which consisted of an enclosed paint booth with two heat lamp type bulbs.  It gets the booth warm enough to help paint drying but not soften or melt plastic like an oven will.

Good luck,

Sean McCaffery

Ankeny, IA