Model Railway Forum

I use coffee stirrers but think I will invest in an electric version.

I do agree with you Steve. I use gray Halford primer I also have found some other Halford colours useful . They do some greys which are good for coach roofs. You know the ones which start off white. OK will give in with the electric mixer they may be worth while. Perhaps I did not give the idea enough thought. Some times mixing up the paint can take ages stirring the little monkeys I opened a tin of GWR 1923 loco green other day and was stirring it for 20 minutes with the end of my paint brush. That was new stock and only just arrived, not as if it had been sitting in my cupboard for the last 12 months.
So sorry Terry your mixer is good idea.

Somewhere there is a list of Halford colours that match railway colours.

footplate1947 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:25 pm ............ So sorry Terry your mixer is good idea.

No need to be sorry John, these forums are for sharing our ideas and experiences for the benefit if all.

As said above, wash the plastic in soapy water, rinse then dry, then paint with a good primer, Halfords do one made for plastic, they also do an Acid Etch primer if you have any metal parts on their own. Then mix the paint then mix it some more, just make sure all the settled pigment is fully mixed, one or two lumps left is not acceptable. I use one of the Trumeter mixers list above, had it for years now, Badger also do a version but that is more expensive.

Then use a quality appropriate to your paint thinner, for both airbrush and hairy stick painting and if brush painting try and find a slow or levelling thinner, that helps reduce brush marks and when done properly can rival the airbrush.

Don't paint with undiluted paint, it will look awful, 2 or 3 thin coats is the minimum you should aim for.

Paul

[quote=footplate1947 post_id=10399 time=1553424612 user_id=232]
About this patchy paint. I take it you are using tinlets of Humbrol or something similar. There are quite a lot of different paints on the market.
Fist thing to do is before opening the paint make sure it is mixed be give it a shake. Often the paint inside will have settled into a solid lump and believe me it takes some shaking followed by stirring to mix ready to use. So before you use it open it and give it a good stir and often you will find that in spite of the fact you have been shaking it for a minute or two most of it is still a lump on bottom of the tinlet. Rule is stir it well......John

Im afraid I got some cheap paint from the local model shop and it was very watery which is probably what the trouble is, thanks for taking the trouble to reply to my post much appreciated

Hi all I would just like to thank you all for your help to my paint problem much appreciated

Have you tried to put end of a brush (The Handle end) into the tin to see if paint has solid lump. It will stick into it. Paint not mixed properly does look watery on the top. By the way, are you using Acrylic or oil base paint and what make is it.

Walkingthedog wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2019 8:41 pm Somewhere there is a list of Halford colours that match railway colours.

Brian,,,,,,,,,,,,It is RAF Kinloss Model Railway Club.
They have Halford car spray cans equivalent colours for Railway models. ( or near as dam it) I have bought some from their list and yes very useful it is too...............John

Thanks John I shall have a look.