Sludge paint

Gloss or Flat paint?

Well, let's see if I can shed some light on my years of experience using Testors.

• If it's getting old, then you will notice clumps, bumps, flakes and sludge. Try stiring the paint in the bottle with something like a toothpick. Stir for awhile, lift the toothpick, does it have a glob of paint on the end? If yes, it's getting or is old so either try thinning with paint thinner (mineral spirits same thing) or replace with new.
• If the paint is fine, then use a wetter brush and don't work it so much. Meaning try to cover the area with minimal brush strokes. The more you go over the same area, the more you disturb the paint that's starting to dry, which will cause bumps.
• What type of brush are you using? Please don't tell me one of those Testors brushes. Get yourself a nice soft natural bristle brush, they're not that expensive.
• Testors paint seems ok for covering small areas. When covering large areas you have to keep the brush wet and work fast. Or slightly thin the paint.
• I usually don't have to paint a second coat. But on those rare occassions, I found it best to let the first coat dry for a few days. If it has a rough finish, lightly wetsand it with very fine grit (600 or even finer is better). The longer you can let the paint dry the better.
  

One thing to be careful about when buying paints. Make sure they shake and mixup in the store. Sometimes they sit on the shelf so long they're past their usefulness. If you have nice fresh paint, dry brushing quickly over your wet surface to smooth it out shouldn't hurt the finish.

Hope that helps a little.

How old is that paint? It sounds like it has gone bad, from your description. It should not be separating in a few minutes.

The paint is about two years old. At least I bought it about two years ago with the hopes of renewing my old childhood hobby but with three kids and all, I finally started construction of one of my accumulated kits.

I have added a few drops of Testors paint thinner to the bottle of flat black and it now gives me enough time to paint by brush what I have to before it gets all gummy like. I guess it dries quickly giving me that rough appearance.

Hi again.

I have this bottle of Testors gold and this I have to shake up as I use it. This does seperate really fast. What seperates from what I don't know.

Paint stability varies greatly. As I don't use Testors enamels, I have little current experience with them. However, two years is not excessive age for a paint that has been properly stored with the lid tightly screwed on to clean threads and bottle mouth. It is possible that the paint was quite old when you bought it, or that the lid was not tightly on while it sat on the store shelf—I've encountered a surprising number of those.

Your description of the gold paint sounds like a lacquer. Metallic paints are the most difficult to keep for longer periods, due to the nature of the pigment.

I have some Testors paints that are much older than two years.

Try stirring with a toothpick, after a few minutes do you still have sludge on the end of the toothpick? Can you see actual chips or flakes of paint when you first start spreading (especially the flat colors)? If so the paint is probably past it's prime.

Testors silver, gold, (any metallics actually) seperate quickly while using. I have to constantly shake the bottle if it's an extended painting session.

The flat colors seem to have a shorter shelf life, especially once opened. Flat paint also dries very quickly, yes, even while brushing it. So working it less is the trick with flat paints.

In general enamels, especially the metallic's, will seperate in the container I think a bit quicker than other types of paint, because the pigments are rather heavy.

Adding thinner to the paint can cause it to dry a bit quicker, giving you less time to "work" the paint with the brush. So be careful how much thinner you add to the paint.

Try laying down a wet surface of paint and then quickly go over it with a dry brush (some paint, not much) in one long smooth stroke per area. Also use an appropriate sized brush for the area so you can cover it with minimal brush strokes.

A good little trick or habit to get into, is don't paint directly from the bottle. Wiping the excess paint from the brush on the edge of the bottle is the worse thing to do. You end up knocking off the dried flakes of paint back into the mix. I either dip my brush into the cap after shaking the paint (short guick painting sessions), or I poor a little into a small container about the size of the cap (longer painting sessions). That way any dried paint doesn't end up back in the bottle.

Remember to have a thick enough layer of paint once you smoothed it out, it will tend to self level a bit. Especially the gloss paints.