Old Floquil paints?

[M.R.Field]

Floquil were the very finest model paints known to mankind....then they screwed it all up. In England you could get them from Victors of Islington, dealers in all things American model railroad. They shut down.  So, next, I got my chum in Florida to buy and send me some. These, I noticed, had a different smell and didn't work so well. "Oh here we go", I thought, "unwelcome, unnecessary changes to formula".  Same as cellulose and now they're even trying to foul up our use of the only decent paint left, enamel.  I do use Vallejo for detailing figures as the pigmentation is denser than most and I can get it locally, but I hate acrylics generally.  The only thing that should be water based is orange squash.

 

I don't see why, when we have so much technology, we can't produce a "safe" replacement for the older paint media and damned water based muck is not it!  But of course it was always perfectly safe. My Grandfather made his own paints. He would grind white lead and mix with oils into a paint that he would guarantee for ten years when applied to a London house.  Try getting that these days.  He died of something completely unrelated at a goodly age.  My other grandfather, between cabinet making, restored old motorbikes and painted them with cellulose. He made his own wood stains and polishes. He too, died of an unrelated problem at a reasonable age.

I have used all the so-called "wrong" substances all my life and am also approaching a reasonable age.  I still spray cellulose from my dwindling supply and clean up all things with cellulose thinners, which, considering the lack of paint of that kind, is still freely available, oddly.

 

If we make the world any "safer", we'll all die of boredom as there'll be little to sniff with a satisfied grin, like cellulose, enamel oil paints, Castrol R, St. Bruno, Valor parrafin heaters, road tar,  etc. etc

[Canute]

Jack, thanks for the answer. Been busy.

 

They even include a section for home-made cleaners to keep use of the manufacturer's recommended thinner product for just thinning the acrylic paints as you use it. Can save you a bunch of cash.

[TMAN]

Hey all, 

I'm currently using an old jar of Floquil Buwarks White on my current build of Model Shipways, Topsail Schooner "Eagle." I need to apply multiple coats to any parts that require painting, particularly the metal windlass. I cleaned all the "tarnish & age" off the windless with a fine brass brush & 0000 steel wool; came out real nice. Soaked it in isopropyl alcohol for a quick minute, sprayed the next day with Krylon grey metal primer. Came out real sweet! But...the floquil white isn't adequately covering the windless knees, cheeks & bits.

Do I have to re-prime the part or can i paint over the areas with an acrylic paint?

 

Thanks,

TMAN  

 

[CDW]

Acrylic should cover Floquil okay provided you give the Floquil plenty of time to dry out. I would wait a week. Sometimes paint may feel dry to the touch, but it's still curing under the surface. 

 

[Canute]

With Floquil, if you can't smell the paint, it's dry enough to paint over. That is usually a few days; any sooner and the paint tends to retain brush strokes.

[jbelwood]

Spent the past 6 months searching for a bottle of Floquil Brass paint for the paddle boxes on my

Bluejacket Portland. Visited a long time friend last week and noticed he had a cache of about 400

bottles of various paints acquired over the years that were no longer needed. I therefore dug in and 

came out with 3 unopened bottles of Floquil Brass paint. Life is good.

 

John

[clifforddward]

I h ave an old Floquil painting guide...it says wait a week for full paint cure, at which time Floquil will even hold up to its own solvent.

 

This has always been the method I've followed when I need to apply a different finish over Floquil.

[TMAN]

Thanks, great advice...I'll wait at least a week.

TMAN

[Roger Pellett]

I have some old Floquil paints too that I would like to use.  Does anyone know what solvent to use as a thinner as I assume that the “official” thinner is no longer available?

 

Roger

[CDW]

If I was spraying it on with an airbrush, would use lacquer thinner. If brushing on, turpenoid.  

[Landlocked123]

A few follow-ups on my previous post:

 

Roger - Testors Thinners for their Model Master Enamels or lacquer thinner work just fine with Floquil.

As I mentioned, unused bottles of Froquil generally bring $7-10 on eBay. 

If you have unopened bottles leave then that way until you need them.

Generally, highly separated bottles can be reconstituted, especially if unopened. Sometimes when the pigments are very coagulated, it takes some time.

Once opened, thoroughly clean the paper liner in the cap, the lip of the bottle, and the threads (both in he cap and jar) with lacquer thinner.  Screw the cap on snuggly and store upright in a cool dark place.  I keep mine in desk drawer in my basement workshop.

I have found that he best place to find new old stock is in the vanishing number of Mom and Pop hobby shops in small towns.  I live in New England and whenever I find myself in a old town, I check to see if there are any hobby shops around.  I’ve been lucky enough to find old Floquil display racks with bottles marked with 1970s prices which the proprietor will usually honor.

Jack (as usual) is right on point with the MicroMark paint stirrer.  It works great when reblending separated paint.  It’s also easy to clean.  After stirring, I stick it in a small jar of lacquer thinner, give it a spin for a second, and wipe dry with a paper towel.

Finally, a word of caution, do not make the mistake of thinking that the same color paint from different bottles will be the same color.  This is especially true with 15-25 year old paint.  Please don’t ask how I learned this😖..

 

Best,

John

Edited January 14, 2018 by Landlocked123

[Roger Pellett]

If different bottles of the same paint shade do not match, the bosun simply could not exactly match the old color when mixing up a new batch!

 

Roger

[mischief]

Just a off topic related remark.

Remember when a lot of us drank water from a old rubber garden hose....Now it would be a tragedy and might enlist a visit from the green police.

I still use all of the old  model paints  when I can find them and I am 77 1/2.

 

Ed K

[Jack12477]

5 minutes ago, mischief said:

Just a off topic related remark.

Remember when a lot of us drank water from a old rubber garden hose....Now it would be a tragedy and might enlist a visit from the green police.

I still use all of the old  model paints  when I can find them and I am 77 1/2.

 

Ed K

Do you also remember playing with Britains Limited LEAD soldiers ?  I still have mine !  And yes I drank water from the garden hose too. And I'm also your age.

[mtaylor]

Maybe drinking from a garden hose explains a lot about our ages and our chosen hobby? 

[Brandy H.]

I am wondering if anybody knows what the bright oil 818670 is used for? I’m assuming it’s an additive that makes your colors brighter but I’m unsure. I also have the glaze which I’m assuming is a top coat for shine/gloss finish. My uncle died a year ago or so and we cleaned out his house. He was really into model ships etc. I am a crafter so I’m hoping to be able to use everything in some of my projects. I have 75 bottles or so of different colors. Any knowledge on what bright oil and glaze are used for, will be much appreciated. 

Thanks Brandy.

[Canute]

Not sure about the bright oil, although it may be a glossy brownish-black paint, to simulate an oil puddle.

 

The Glaze was an additive for making the Floquil paints dry to a gloss finish. Normally, the Floquil were matte or flat finishes. If you wanted to apply water slide decal to a flat painted surface, the decals could dry with a lot of silvering, caused by air trapped under the decal. You would mix a little Glaze into the paint to make it glossy. I don't remember the ratio you'd need to use the glaze. I would paint the surface with the Floquil, then gloss it with Pledge/Future/Kleer. That's an acrylic floor treatment, but works a charm on models, too.

[thegrindre]

I used Floquil paints and drank from the garden hose too. I'm now 72 1/2 and see that I have a good 5 more years to go to get to your ages. LOLOL I can at least plan for the next 5 years anyway. 🙂

[P_Budzik]

I had a long history with Floquil.  It was the only hobby paint I used.  Awhile back I put up a web page just about Floquil.  I have a PDF of the original "little red book" that Floquil published explaining their paint and how to use it.  I also have the original railroad color chart up as well.

 

The web page is here: http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/floquil-paint/floquil-paint.html

 

[John Licharson]

I used to use lacquer thinner only to clean my airbrush and generally, and Diosol only for thinning for painting.  I’ve now used my last drop of Diosol.  

I was simply going to use the lacquer thinner on the current project and see some recommend Testors to thin Floquil.  Are there any others with experience of both?

 

On another point, unable to find any more Engine Black, I used Tamiya’s acrylic black (gloss) and it did provide a very fine, thin finish, perfect for decals. 

 

Finally, whenever I first opened a Floquil bottle, I always put in a couple of bbs (those little round things we shot out of air rifles when we were kids on the farm) in the bottle. Always carried these bottles around in a pocket for a couple of hours before the next use to warm them up and to mix them thoroughly.

 

Never thought it necessary or desirable to get one of those battery powered mixers. First, thought them too flimsy.  Second, I always thought they would spill or spray out of the bottle. Third, why add another piece of equipment to clean up after use. But many like and swear by them. 

[JerryC]

I have a bunch of Floquil paints that I enjoy using. At the beginning of this thread there is a caution about shaking the paint. I’m wondering why? I have a little hobby paint shaker that I’ve been using and I like the results. It is pretty quick at blending the separated components.

[stm]

I think shaking can produce bubbles/air pockets that will remain with the paint for sometime. Plus shaking the bottle can gum up the caps if not cleaned properly. 

[Bob Cleek]

Does anybody have any experience with tru-color paints? https://trucolorpaint.com/ I've heard good things about them. From their website, they seem to be a solvent-based (acetone) acrylic that was produced to replace the Floquil line. I've never seen them in a local hobby shop, but then, "local hobby shops" seem to be going the way of the buggy whip. I'm not a big fan of buying model paint online anyway because you can't really see what color you are getting for sure. 

[Canute]

I personally haven't used them, but I did use their predecessor, Accupaint.  For model railroad users, they seem to apply OK, although needing a primer on resin. The Tamiya fine primer is recommended. The railroad colors are reported as very good. Haven't seen any commentary on ship colors. We're talking 20th Century naval colors.

[Thistle17]

If you go to the Trucolor web site you may find a retail outlet near you. May is the operative word. They do not have a wide distribution. The second problem is that the retailers do not stock all colors. I have spoken to the manufacturer sales department (some time ago) and they will ship. What is needed are some really good color charts with TRUE COLOR which they were considering. Do not have any update on that.

 

Joe

[stuglo]

On 5/9/2017 at 12:24 AM, MEDDO said:

I have a few bottles of Floquil railroad colors which are quite a few years old.  I was wondering if they would still be useful.  The last time I painted anything was about 5 years ago.  Was wondering if I should try to use these or just grab some new bottles of a different brand (it seems Floquil has been discontinued).

 

Here is the Reefer White bottle I have.  I am sure the separation is normal after sitting for a while but just don't want to mess this up.  I am going to try to mix this back up and try it out later tonight when I get the time.  Any thought?

 

Last year I used some  unopened  bottles at least 15 years old. I added a little thinners and it was fantastic. I know nothing on the market to compare. I store all paints upside down anyway. I brushed and the result was very satisfactory.

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, stuglo said:

Last year I used some  unopened  bottles at least 15 years old. I added a little thinners and it was fantastic. I know nothing on the market to compare. I store all paints upside down anyway. I brushed and the result was very satisfactory.

I've used some really old bottles of Floquil over the years, but, in my experience, if you want to thin out somewhat dried up Floquil paint, you've got to use their proprietary thinner, Dio-Sol. I believe Dio-Sol was Xylene. Xylene is a super-solvent used to thin epoxy and enamels. It dries more slowly than Toluene, which serves the same purpose. It was handy for cleaning polished metal prior to coating it with clear lacquer to prevent tarnishing. Inhaling the fumes will cause headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea and breathing enough of it can kill you (which is pretty much the case with any effective solvent.) You'll have to live in a state where people don't believe in global warming to buy it anymore. I don't, so when I ran out of Dio-Sol, that was the end of Floquil paint for me. I don't know if acetone would work for Floquil, but I know for sure ordinary paint thinner won't.

[stuglo]

On 6/21/2020 at 10:46 PM, P_Budzik said:

I had a long history with Floquil.  It was the only hobby paint I used.  Awhile back I put up a web page just about Floquil.  I have a PDF of the original "little red book" that Floquil published explaining their paint and how to use it.  I also have the original railroad color chart up as well.

 

The web page is here: http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/floquil-paint/floquil-paint.html

 

I have the "little red book"