Anyone Order Scalecoat Paint from Minuteman Scale Models?

[Kisatchie]

Has anyone here successfully ordered Scalecoat paint from Minuteman Scale Models? Was everything (or most everything) you ordered in stock?

Thanks.


Hmm... I prefer Sherwin
Williams...

[peteski]

I have not, but their booth was right across our NTRAK layout at the Springfield show.  They has a large quantity of the paints for sale. Both Scalecoat and Scalecoat II.  I would say they have most colors in stock.

I spoke to the proprietor and his girlfriend (she lives in my neighborhood!).  He seems like a nice and dependable guy.  I would say go ahead and place an order. 

[Kisatchie]

I have not, but their booth was right across our NTRAK layout at the Springfield show.  They has a large quantity of the paints for sale. Both Scalecoat and Scalecoat II.  I would say they have most colors in stock.

I spoke to the proprietor and his girlfriend (she lives in my neighborhood!).  He seems like a nice and dependable guy.  I would say go ahead and place an order. 

That's good to hear. Scalecoat II is my favorite paint.


Hmm... I'll wait until
they come out with
Scalecoat III paint...

[nkalanaga]

I did, and got most of the order, all for spray cans.  They called to see what to do about the colors they couldn't fill, and I gave them substitutes.  The problem is that they literally COULDN'T fill some of the colors.  It seems that, sometime in the past, the pigment supplier changed the pigments, which is why the old owners reported having trouble filling the cans.  The new owner told me that when they tried, the cans exploded, and they had paint all over their walls from exploding cans.  It seemed to affect mostly the yellows, oranges, and greens.

When they called, in early December, they were trying new pigments, and hoped to have all colors available in a few months.  I got the impression that, even if the cans didn't explode immediately, they wanted to leave them on the shelf for a while to see what happened.

But the colors that didn't explode were in stock, they shipped the same day we talked, and the package arrived in good time.  They send it USPS Ground, so it takes a few days, but that's due to hazmat regulations.

Bottled paints weren't giving them any problems, and as far as I know, they were all in stock.

I'd say go ahead and order, but if you want spray cans, you might want to call or email to see if the colors you want are available.

[randgust]

I'll resuscitate this old one at least temporarily.

On a test I got a 'new can' of Scalecoat II Conrail Blue in the spray via Walthers.

Holy smokes, I was amazed.   For a rattle can of anything that's some of the best paint I've ever seen.   I tested it on some raw brass scraps first and did scratch & solvent testing.   It's amazing hard and durable and had excellent adhesion, perfect surface for decaling, good coverage.

This is for my TrainCat etched brass N9E caboose and I DO NOT want to screw this up!  So far, excellent results.    I never had a particular love of Scalecoat I unless the color wasn't available anywhere else, now I think I'll check this stuff first.

I do own an airbrush, but I swore off solvent paint in it years ago.   I've had wonderful successes and notable, hair-ripping failures.   If I can get what I want in a rattle can, and it works in testing, you have me at hello.

[peteski]

On a test I got a 'new can' of Scalecoat II Conrail Blue in the spray via Walthers.

Holy smokes, I was amazed.   For a rattle can of anything that's some of the best paint I've ever seen.   I tested it on some raw brass scraps first and did scratch & solvent testing.   It's amazing hard and durable and had excellent adhesion, perfect surface for decaling, good coverage.

I do own an airbrush, but I swore off solvent paint in it years ago.   I've had wonderful successes and notable, hair-ripping failures.   If I can get what I want in a rattle can, and it works in testing, you have me at hello.

Thanks for sharing your experience.
But I'm I'm confused. Scalecoat II is also an organic-solvent-based paint (the stinky type).  It just has slightly milder solvents than Scalecoat I.  So you are ok with stinky paints in spray cans, but not in your airbrush?

[Joetrain59]

I recently placed on order, for a custom color, CNJ Green. Spray can and 1oz. bottle. Very nice on phone, and would mix color the next day, or early this week. Haven't gotten order yet of course. They intend to make the CNJ Green part of the line. I remember Weaver having trouble with filling yellow in spray cans. Hope that problem is cleared up. Will let you know when paint arrives.
 Joe D

[AKNscale]

I have, quite a few times. They were great and fulfilled everything I ordered. Granted I only use Scalecoat I, but I’ve had zero issues with them!

[eja]

When I opened this thread, my first thought was Dee is back!  Then I noticed the date on the first post.

Sigh !   I miss Dee.

ed

[ljudice]

I have too - no issues!

[nkalanaga]

I haven't reordered, since I still have plenty, but hope to get some of their new Big Sky Blue eventually.  I did use Scalecoat bottle paint a few times, years ago, and found it to be one of the most frustrating brush paints I've ever seen.  It took a week to dry, and was almost impossible to keep dust-free while drying.  Of course, it was probably meant to be airbrushed, but I didn't, and still don't, have one.  Living in a small trailer, with 3 other people, a cat, and two dogs, I painted outside, or not at all!

On the other hand, the spray cans work fine, and dry fairly quickly.  I've NEVER had one clog, unlike Floquil, which seemed to come from the factory pre-clogged, and simply couldn't be cleaned.  And, since the paints in the bottle and can are the same, touch-up is easy, if needed.

As for the filling problem, yes, it was solved, and I did eventually get the unfillable colors I needed.

[ljudice]

I found scalecoat cans - on a warm, dry day - outside - produce a nearly flawless finish - dry in minutes...

[randgust]

Huh, I guess you're actually right.   I don't mind stinky cans in a spray can and I do mind stinky solvents in an airbrush.

I generally find that I can go "Pssst....Psssst" and be done in 10 seconds and simply leave the room with another light coat on a spray can, and I've got a 20-minute setup and then a full teardown with an airbrush, with lots and lots of solvent to make sure I got everything clean, and I can't just leave it.   I figure I probably get 10 times the solvent exposure with an airbrush than I do a can for under 30 seconds of actual paint application.   My indicator is always the headache.   I simply won't use solvents in an airbrush anymore, although I've had good luck with most Badger and some Pollyscale (RIP).

Scalecoat I was horrible for solvent odor, part was that it took so d*** long to dry.  II is just bad, and it quits outgassing in about 30 minutes.

[peteski]

Huh, I guess you're actually right.   I don't mind stinky cans in a spray can and I do mind stinky solvents in an airbrush.

I generally find that I can go "Pssst....Psssst" and be done in 10 seconds and simply leave the room with another light coat on a spray can, and I've got a 20-minute setup and then a full teardown with an airbrush, with lots and lots of solvent to make sure I got everything clean, and I can't just leave it.   I figure I probably get 10 times the solvent exposure with an airbrush than I do a can for under 30 seconds of actual paint application.   My indicator is always the headache.   I simply won't use solvents in an airbrush anymore, although I've had good luck with most Badger and some Pollyscale (RIP).

Scalecoat I was horrible for solvent odor, part was that it took so d*** long to dry.  II is just bad, and it quits outgassing in about 30 minutes.

To me airbrushing and spray-can painting results in about equal amount of stink. I often hear people lamenting the fact that cleanig the airbrush is a chore and that they rather use spray cans. I my method of airbrush cleaning takes less than a minute.  See this post (and the entire thread). Sounds like you could really use a (ventilated) spray booth. 

[nkalanaga]

The paint smells the same either way.  The main reason cans usually don't stink as bad is that most people use them outdoors, and can stand upwind.  By the time the parts are taken inside, most of the solvent, and the odor, has blown away, and there is no after-painting cleanup.

Warnings always say "Use with adequate ventilation", and it doesn't get much better than outdoors, with a light breeze.