Tru Color paint

Tru Color is good stuff.  Love it.  Very similar if not the same as the old Accu-Paint.

Rusty

Walthers stocks it now.

The ones I've used have been pretty good. Very accurate colors -- more accurate than the colors put one some ready-to-run products.

I emailed them a few months ago to get their color chart pdf files but haven't bought any of their paint yet.

I placed an order yesterday with Walthers and now wish I had ordered some of the Tru-Color paint while I was ordering because I ordered a new compressor (TC-20) from TCP Global/Airbrush Depot on Aug 7 thru Amazon and got it today!  I had an old Miller compressor I've had since the early 70s and just had to replace it with something quieter.  This TC-20 is very quiet, I haven't put it thru an actual paint test yet, but it ran well and easily adjustable.  I even had an adapter already for my Badger Crescendo 175 so all I need now is some Tru-Color paint and something to spray it on

Guys,

you can order direct from them... http://www.trucolorpaint.com/

I found it works well as a spray paint but not so great with a brush. Has anyone tried their line of brush paints yet. How does it compare with their spray paint?

Pete

My early results weren't great. I've since started thinning about 2/3rds paint to 1/3rds Acetone with great results. My favorite go to color for weathering is their Grime. Their Grimy Black and Weathered Black don't seem the same as Flouquils.

 I'll have to check out the new Rail Brown. A must have color for couplers. As far as brushing. Results weren't good but the now carry a line of often used colors for weathering. I have some but have yet to try them. As far as spraying. I use boubou le action Badger with about 20lbs. of pressure.

 I've been purchasing from harborbeltlines.com with great service.

I bought some at a hobby shop in Columbus Ohio to try.....and I needed some Chessie yellow. I brushed it on and it worked OK....but needed a second coat but yellow over black no surprise!

My only issue was after drying a week or more I applied the second coat and it lifted the first coat.  I then had to carefully apply a 3rd coat.

I have recently used their basic black color to paint some All Nation boxcar underbodies.  I paint with a Pasche H Model air brush with a medium tip using CO2 regulated to about 20 psi for a pressure source.  I could not get the new paint to flow without thinning it with Acetone.  Once I did that, it went on nicely and resulted in a very smooth finish.  I am glad someone has started making a solvent based paint again.

When I paint models that decals are to be applied to, I almost always use Scalecoat lacquers.  Their paint dries with a gloss finish ready for decals once it dries completely.  On a metal model, I will bake the painted model in an oven at 175 degrees F for about an hour to speed up the drying process.

Joe Foehrkolb

I got this from spring York.


Link to my photo bucket page.



Link to my photobucket page.

I have been using it lately and like it very much.

Dave

The gold standard for me was the original Floquil that used Dio Sol as the solvent. It was dense and dried relatively quickly. One coat would usually cover and you had to try and make it run. It also covered well when applied with a brush.

By comparison, Tru Color dries as fast if not faster but it's transparent by comparison. It takes about three coats to reach the final color. At first I thought this was a drawback but have since found a way to use this quality as an advantage. Instead of mixing colors to try and match an existing color I use a base coat that supplies the shade the Tru Color lacks, then apply Try Color until it matches.

Example, I have yet to find a Pullman Green that matches exactly MTH Heavyweights and have had little luck mixing paints. Tru Color has a brown tint compared to MTH's paint. By accident when I discovered how transparent Tru Color was I tried a few different base coats including Floquil Dark Blue and Floquil Pullman Green. My Dark Blue sample with two light coats of Tru Color Pullman Green achieved the closest match yet. I think if I had applied one more coat of Tru Color I would have been back to its native "too brown" tint.

I like the fact that Tru Color stays in suspension and requires little shaking or stirring.

Pete

I am with Joe on the Scale Coat.  So is this stuff the Floquil replacement?  I liked Floquil for underbodies and steam mechanisms.  I have resorted to shooting some rattle can flat black into a jar, then re- routing it through the Model H.

Bob,

True-Color is a lacquer.  Works best with a primer.  Jimmy Booth uses lacquer but blasts the surface of the model prior to painting and doesn't use a primer.  I prefer Gunze Sangyo 1000 or 1200 thinned 50/50 with regular lacquer thinner as my primer. Most times I thin The True-Color paint by 50/50 also.  Like most lacquers it can be thinned at any time......even if it's dried and like all lacquers it dries via evaporation.  Older bottles will thicken considerably due to evaporation of the thinner.  It probably costs more but I use their thinner for reduction and a mix of acetone & lacquer thinner for clean up.  It's basically the same paint as the old Accu+Paint and Star Brand (PBL).

Early Floquil was a lacquer also but by the end it was an enamel.  That's why the old formula won't mix with the new.  Even the thinner (what they called diosol) changed when formulas were modified.

I have to disagree with Joe on Scale Coat.  It's basically an enamel.  It doesn't cure by evaporation and once it's cured (even in the bottle) it can't be saved by adding thinner.  Enamel also cures better when baked (seems like it continues to flow).  Baking doesn't do a thing for lacquer.

I prefer shooting lacquer but Scale-Coat has real advantages also and I use it often also.

Jay

I too always thought Scale Coat was an enamel - some colors took overnight to dry.  Some folks say it can be thinned with lacquer thinner - if it is truly an enamel, then mixing lacquer thinner makes the drying time closer to a month.

Lately ( within the last two decades) I have found Scale Coat to be rather quick- drying, but it still dries to a very high gloss, which I need for decals.

Baked Scale Coat works the best for decals.

Technically enamel doesn't dry, it cures.

This is from a website & talks to enamel

On One Hand: Enamel paint oxidizes.  Many people use enamel paint for the glossy and radiant finish that it can provide. The paint usually air dries to a hard finish and can be used to decorate a variety of things, including glass and wood. Technically, enamel paint doesn't dry, but cures. Curing is a process in which the paint becomes hard by oxidizing.On the Other: Some factors affect drying time.  Humidity and temperature can affect the amount of time that it takes enamel paint to dry. When the paint attempts to dry in a cool and humid environment, drying times could be longer than if the environment is hot and dry.  Individuals should also consider the amount of enamel paint they apply to a surface. The thicker the coat of paint, the longer the drying time will be. The rate of drying time also depends on the type of enamel that is applied.  Bottom line according to Haymes Paint, full-gloss oil-based enamel has a drying time of four to six hours. However, if a second coat is applied, the

Sorry but Tru-Color paint isn't a lacquer it's a acrylic polymer based paint with about the same chemistry as Dupont's Centari Acrylic Enamel.

Chuck,

Well shoot, that's news to me.

Jay

Lacquer and acrylic enamel have a lot in common.  I shot my airplane with acrylic enamel in 1981, and this week I am once again polishing it with #7 polishing compound, just like the old hot rodders did with their hand- rubbed lacquer finishes.  It is trivially easy to spray, dries as quickly as lacquer, and is truly beautiful.

A lot of my old tank cars are also sprayed Piper Cub yellow using acrylic enamel.

It has gone from six bucks a gallon in 1981 to six hundred bucks a gallon if you can get it.  In California, at least, almost all auto work is being done with water-based paints, and if a shop really knows what it is doing the results are spectacular.  Alas, I am too set in my ways, and will probably not acquire the new skills.

hmmmm, I have a gallon of black Centari Acrylic Enamel.  Guess I'll have crack it and see what I can do with it.

I have a gallon of Dupont Duco 44S jet black lacquer.  Been saving both though now I can't really say why.  Probably something to do with California saying I can't have it.

Jay

Tru-Color's website sez:

http://www.trucolorpaint.com/i...php?p=1_21_Chemistry

and

http://www.trucolorpaint.com/i...bout-Tru-Color-Paint

I like the idea of using glossy paint, eliminates spraying a layer or 2 of gloss clear.

From their website:

Q.   What pressure do you recommend for Tru-Color Paint?
A.   We recommend a starting pressure of 25 PSI. This will vary according to the type (make and model) of the airbrush you are using, tip size and the desired quantity of paint you wish to deliver to the model. The optimum pressure, we find, is between 28-32 PSI.

Direct reply from TC:

TCP-005 through TCP-300 are all designed to be applied with an airbrush. These will dry to a  glossy or semi-gloss finish. TCP-800 through 835 are all designed for a regular brush and will dry flat.  The 800 series are much higher in viscocity, but can be diluted for airbrush use without thinner, TCP-015. 

Not sure I understand how you "dilute" the paint without thinner.

Getting back to a previous statement made be me, True Color is a lacquer but it's an acrylic lacquer.  The website says something to the effect, enamel (lacquer).  Enamel & lacquer are both paint but from there they diverge.

I've asked them for clarification.  We'll see what they come back with.

Jay

I placed an order yesterday with Walthers and now wish I had ordered some of the Tru-Color paint while I was ordering

Got my order in from Walthers today, I DID order a bottle of Tru-Color Black (TCP-10-02) plus some Scalecoat II Engine Black (S2118) after all.  Just from shaking the bottle the Tru-Color seems to be thinner than the Scalecoat, will find out soon enough!

I started with Scale II in the late 70s and have used it since. I have tried most other brands but stayed with Scale Coat. I like it because it can be thinned with about anything short of water. It dries to a gloss finish so decals do not require another coat of clear gloss (another chance to screw up the paint job). I am intrigued by the new paint and will try it when I am ready for my next project.

Dick

After I tried Tru color paint I vowed to never use scale coat paint again. TRU color goes on without running and dries so fast that you can sand it or add another color within 30 minutes. You do need to spray it at the highest recommened pressure, 32 psi. I LOVE this paint and it is what most pros use. You can have scale coat paint. 

Rob