good approximation of marine red ocre color?

[lgfrench]

I tested out some Valspar Tractor and Implement Primer with some Minwax matte clear coat and it looks a pretty good match to ME bulwarks red and Caldercraft red ocre.

[Hubac's Historian]

Pic?

 

[timjina]

I think a lot of  builders are making it hard for yourself. I always stay well clear of oil and spirit based paints and never us finishing oils like Tung oil etc on my work............There are so many lovely acrylic paints on the market ( just remember it's a model and not a real ship) in saying that, you will obtain a more realistic finish with acrylics and they will be a lot more forgiving for you. To obtain a color as close to the real thing as possible, all I do is go to the local hardware or paint shop and look at the 1000's of color swatches they have. When I have selected the right swatch ,I buy a sample pot. Some stores will mix in flat or semigloss .I also have on the shelf a clear  acrylic varnish although I hardly ever use it.  All I pay is around $ 5.00 for 300ml and that will last many models.. I hope this is of some help. Acrylics are all I use and have never been disappointed. The drying time is fast as well, enabling a fine sand after about an hour if needed. All the best to you and happy modelling...We have an amazing hobby, take care.....Jim

Edited February 6, 2020 by timjina

[Steven1]

Speaking of acrylics, I've overcome my fear of them and have had great luck with Tamiya acrylics. Here's the bottom of my Emma C. Berry; a mix of 5 parts XF-7 red and 1 part XF-64 red-brown.

 

Steve

[wefalck]

Paints come in different qualities, meaning the pigments used can have different quality and can be ground to different fineness and homogeneity. Higher quality paints obviously have better pigments finer ground. Higher quality has its price though.

 

In general, the paints sold to modellers are of higher quality, particularly those derived from and made by companies that originally catered for artists, e.g. Vallejo (Spain) or Schmincke (Germany). These paints typically achieve better coverage with fewer coats, thus keeping your details and shapes crisp and clear. Therefore, it is not such a good idea to use industrial or general purpose paints on static models at least. For working models that may see relatively rough handling the logic could be different.

 

Artists' and modellers' paints also come in so many different colours that it unlikely to not find a suitable one for prototypes before standardised paints/colours were introduced sometime after the end of WW1. Paint compositions and recipies varied even within navies, so ships may not have looked as uniform, as we today tend to think.

[reklein]

I think an approximation is the best you can hope for. Too many factors involved with getting the right color. You can take a color sample in to the paint store and match it there with the color swatches. But when you take it outside it may look totally different in the sunlight. Best try to replicate the look under which the colors will be displayed.

[Roger Pellett]

I worked for 36 years in two business fabricating heavy steel assemblies- high pressure piping.  Customers routinely specified that piping be primed prior to shipment to the job site with “red oxide primer.”  This was a cheap construction primer that would protect the piping until it could be erected and insulated.  In 2000, this paint formulated by a local paint manufacturer cost about $14 per gallon, less than a quart of quality acrylic enamel.

 

My point is that red oxides are widely used as paint pigments because they are cheap, and my experience is that there is no standard formulation or color standard. Boat yards and ship yards would have used what was available locally at the lowest price.

 

 I would, therefore, suggest using model railroad colors.  Years ago Floquil used to sell a color called “Boxcar Red,” I am sure that someone today produces an equivalent color in an acrylic.

 

Roger

Edited February 20, 2020 by Roger Pellett

[wefalck]

The pigment is iron-oxide-hydroxide (FeOOH), called ochre. It can be found as a mineral, but also produced synthetically. Natural minerals vary in colour from yellow (ochre) to a blueish red (ochre), depending on how much crystal water the mineral contains, what kind of impurities and how much residual clays perhaps.

 

A classical source was the Roussilon region in southern France:

From: https://www.francetoday.com/travel/travel-features/provence_travel_why_is_roussillon_red_fact_and_fable/

 

All artists' and modelling paint makers have various (red) ochres in their range.

[bartley]

On 2/6/2020 at 4:20 PM, timjina said:

I think a lot of  builders are making it hard for yourself. I always stay well clear of oil and spirit based paints and never us finishing oils like Tung oil etc on my work............There are so many lovely acrylic paints on the market ( just remember it's a model and not a real ship) in saying that, you will obtain a more realistic finish with acrylics and they will be a lot more forgiving for you. To obtain a color as close to the real thing as possible, all I do is go to the local hardware or paint shop and look at the 1000's of color swatches they have. When I have selected the right swatch ,I buy a sample pot. Some stores will mix in flat or semigloss .I also have on the shelf a clear  acrylic varnish although I hardly ever use it.  All I pay is around $ 5.00 for 300ml and that will last many models.. I hope this is of some help. Acrylics are all I use and have never been disappointed. The drying time is fast as well, enabling a fine sand after about an hour if needed. All the best to you and happy modelling...We have an amazing hobby, take care.....Jim

I used to  buy these sample pots as well but eventually I found that the coarse pigments in house paint resulted in a "grainy finish".  I now bite the bullet and pay the money for model paints such as Valejo and I  believe the finish is superior.

 

John

Edited February 21, 2020 by bartley