ACL Thick Purple Paint

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I've received my shipment of ACL purple paint...but it's about as thick as molasses. This deson't seem right for a scale model paint, since I can't even brush it on. Mineral spirits, as instructed on the label, doesn't fix the problem. (Won't even mix into the paint.)

Has this stuff started to polymerize in the bottle, or what?

What can I do about it?

-- Scott Orr (orrtv@frontiernet.net), September 06, 1998

Answers

Have been using AccuPaint thinner with apparent success. Doesn't produce as brittle a coat as MEK or Laquer thinner, tho it does contain Acetone, so caution still advised on plastics.

-- Chris Rooney (vanco@mediaone.net), April 03, 1999.

We are aware that the purple paint can be difficult to work with, but hope that those of you who have found ways to thin it will keep sharing your tips. In the meantime we are continuing to seek a new source of water-based purple paint but there are no immediate prospects.

-- Larry Goolsby (LGoolsby@aphsa.org), September 28, 1998.

After fighting with the Royal Purple paint (it's gooey from the bottle and I haven't had luck getting it to thin properly) sold by the Society, and getting poor results, I went searching through stores for something that would match Life-Like ACL models.

Here it is, found in a hobby shop: ProModeler "Gloss Purple" made by Monogram. It's an acrylic and comes in a .75 oz bottle. Cost me about $2.00.

FYI: Some people have told me not to use the Society's Royal Purple paint because it won't thin well (even with laquer thinner) and it will be "fixed." Responses I've gotten from the Society don't agree with that and don't indicate it'll be fixed. While I've had good luck with the organization's products, I can't recommend using this one unless and until it's reformulated to make it suitable for HO and N scale models with fine details.

-- Scott Orr (orrtv@frontiernet.net), September 27, 1998.


Scott: I had the same problems. I tried several thinners and found that Lacquer Thinner does a good job.

-- Ron Jones (k4yn@america.net), September 07, 1998.

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