Combat grade paint.

[nghia59]

So a friend of mine turned me on to this brand of paints that's made for field weapons and is rated to be super resilient to scratches. I am considering using this for transforming toys as it is completely permanent and even sticks to steel. Let me know what you guys think.

http://www.houtsente....net/index.html

Most of your DYRL colors here...

http://www.houtsenterprises.net/dur_bloomberg.html

- Nghia

Edited December 19, 2011 by nghia59

[Jasonc]

The DYRL colors are a bit dark, in my opinion. The yellow maybe alright, the blue looks too dark. The red maybe OK, but not my first choice. As for the strength of the paint, it seems to be specifically made to bond to steel, so I don't know how plastics would hold up against it. Part of the strength of paint is its ability to hold onto the material it is bonding to, not just its own strength after hardening. If it holds just as well on plastic, it maybe a good option. Other things I'd want to know are: Can you mix the colors, is there a version you can use in an airbrush, how thick does it come out, what other type of paint will work with it (enamel, lacquer, acrylic). For me, the biggest question would be the mixing. If you can mix colors, you can get ideal colors you need by making them yourself. Of course, you could always give them a try, and see how they work out, but it looks to be pricey paint. If you do give it a try, please let us know. If it does work, I'd be more than happy to put it on my valk unassembled kits if it truly does hold up that well.

[nghia59]

Things I do know are that they are made for airbrushes, so that means you can mix them, and they also bond to plastic as they can be applied to stocks and grips. The sample I've seen in the store looks like the paint shrinks down to a pretty thin yet opaque consistency and is hard as nails on all the surfaces. As for using other types paints on it I think that you might be out of luck as its made to repel just about everything.

- Nghia

[Jasonc]

Things I do know are that they are made for airbrushes, so that means you can mix them, and they also bond to plastic as they can be applied to stocks and grips. The sample I've seen in the store looks like the paint shrinks down to a pretty thin yet opaque consistency and is hard as nails on all the surfaces. As for using other types paints on it I think that you might be out of luck as its made to repel just about everything.

- Nghia

Interesting...am I correct in assuming that because it's made for military and tactical purposes, it's also a matte finish? For transformable toy customs, this stuff sounds like it'd be ideal, but as long as they have a wide enough range of color. I've been interested in trying out the dye process, and see how that works with Yamato plastic. That's probably the other process that I haven't seen anyone really attempt.

[nghia59]

Interesting...am I correct in assuming that because it's made for military and tactical purposes, it's also a matte finish? For transformable toy customs, this stuff sounds like it'd be ideal, but as long as they have a wide enough range of color. I've been interested in trying out the dye process, and see how that works with Yamato plastic. That's probably the other process that I haven't seen anyone really attempt.

They have everything from high gloss to matte. Its for everything from military to pimped out competition shooting.

- Nghia

[Boroboy]

Found this thread while looking for the best paints for the Yamato unfinished valk kits. I've used Duracoat on some polymer stocks in the past and it is as good as advertised if you prep the surface properly (i.e., degrease and lightly blast it). Glossiness depends on how much hardener you add, but you can matte it down with a light coat of clear. The colors do mix like regular paints, so you can get the exact color you're looking for so long as you've got the right things to mix. I know they're at the SHOT show this week, but I placed an order that will hopefully ship next week. Hadn't even thought of using it but after testing various auto grade and modelling paints on sprues with unsatisfactory results (I play with my toys, so scratching is definitely an issue...), I'll try it out and post back once I've painted one. Thanks for the tip - totally forgot about this stuff!

Vince

[Jasonc]

If it comes out to be that good, I'll buy some too. Although, it looks like I'll be doing quite a bit of mixing.

[raven029]

Nice thread. I am considering some involved projects restoring trashed 1/55 Valks to have for myself. Getting informed before I even start sanding them down. I have always wanted a camo VF-1(A/J/S) etc. Camo desert, camo urban, etc. Not going to be easy but if anyone has any tips, feel free to.

The paint for field weapons makes sense from a durability perspective.

[Boroboy]

Just got the confirmation that the paint should arrive Wednesday. I'll update next week with how it goes.

[reddsun1]

Hmm--so which would look better on a 1A Cannon Fodder? Tactical "Desert Beige," or "Desert Warrior"?

[Boroboy]

It looks like Duracoat is promising - I sprayed some sprues last night, and even though it's not a full 24 hours, it's doing better with plastic on plastic rubbing than fully cured automotive paint did. Also tried some dyeing, but the results were uneven. The soft ABS (like the hands and pilot figure) took the dye fairly quickly and evenly, but the harder sprues (I'm assuming it's POM) didn't take it nearly as well, and high points/thinner parts came out darker. Since the Duracoat takes a few weeks to fully cure, I'll do some real scratch tests in a few weeks, but so far it's done better than anything else I've tried. On the downside, I'm likely going to spend north of $150 on paint to finish up the four kits that I want to do!

As for a 1ACF, I'd get the paint chips before I bought. From their paper catalog and my monitor, the Rhodesian Tan actually looks like it might be closer than the other two. I'm doing all non-canon schemes except one, so I've got some leeway with the colors.

One more thing - use a spray booth and respirator. This stuff is nasty! The wife made me move from my basement spray booth out to the glass studio because she could still smell it upstairs even with the ventilation system on. I'll try to finish up one kit this weekend and post pictures, as well as the torture tests in a couple weeks.

[Reïvaj]

Cool, very intersting. Keep the updates coming!

[Boroboy]

Many thanks again to Nghia - looks like Duracoat ftw. The sprues have cured for about three weeks now, and the blasted surface still hasn't scratched with over 10 minutes of part to part sliding. Very slight glossiness, but hasn't broken through to bare plastic. The sanded sprue is holding up equally well, but takes more time to prep than if you have a sandblaster/Air Etch available. The tumbled sprue is starting to flake after a minute or so, but I used a much finer media there than I probably should have. Finally, the untreated sprue showed the most flaking, but it still held up better than the model paints or the cured AutoAir. Great find, Nghia! Of course, now I've got to come up with a new paint scheme since Yamato announced the Cavalier - that was going to be my first one! Maybe if I lighten the blue that I got and start on a Max 1J, they'll rerelease M&M (missed them first time around!)...