Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Do we have an aversion to using Solvent based pain

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 3
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous 1 2 3 template Next
  • #1

    Do we have an aversion to using Solvent based pain

    I've been building models since the mid 1950s. During all this time I have used all kinds of paints. For the most part they have been solvent based materials, Testors, Floquil etc. Lately, I have been using more and more Acrylic water based paints. Less; or, no fumes and generally easy water clean-up. I will say that I do like them, they seem to work well and are simpler to use with water clean-up. However, I have no problem using solvent based paints when the need arises. It seems to me, seeing what other people say about them that they feel I'm taking my life into my own hands and that they feel solvent based paints are dangerous! I'm 65 and have used these paints in somewhat enclosed space and am fine. Maybe others are more susceptible to problems with solvent based paints, I don't know. I know that there are a lot of people who seem to be afraid of everything now-a-days.

    Do you still use them?
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Yes. But not as much now that Floquil has gone out of business.

    There are so many acrylic paints out there to use no need to use the solvent based ones.
    Jerry



    "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." A. Lincoln

    Comment

    • #3
      I have used solvents for many years also. I use acrylics too. Depends on what I'm painting. I also use pastels and chalks instead of any paint on many of my wood and plaster builds. And I really like Hunterline stains for wood as well. I find that acrylic water based is not so great on resin. So I use solvents, oils for resin'...


      Ted

      Comment

      • #4
        quote:

        Originally posted by TRAINS1941

        Yes. But not as much now that Floquil has gone out of business.

        There are so many acrylic paints out there to use no need to use the solvent based ones.

        And so, what is it that solvent based paints are doing to us that should make us shy away from them?

        I find that the solvent based Floquil paints had coverage abilities that Acrylic paints just do not have! However, I use watered down acrylics as washes for the weathering on rolling stock and for staining rock work, I don't think you can beat Acrylics! I like the fact that I know where and how to use both types and don't want to give up either in my modeling!

        Comment

        • #5
          Remember when eggs and coffee were bad for you? Now they're not.

          Bernd
          New York, Vermont & Northern Rwy. - Route of the Black Diamonds

          Comment

          • #6
            I have switched to using mostly acrylics for the airbrush -- cleanup is easier, and the fumes are certainly less.

            But I still use mostly solvent-based paint for brush-work, particularly on plastic, or as the first coat on wood (to prevent raising the grain).

            Comment

            • #7
              "I find that the solvent based Floquil paints had coverage abilities that Acrylic paints just do not have! However, I use watered down acrylics as washes for the weathering on rolling stock and for staining rock work, I don't think you can beat Acrylics! I like the fact that I know where and how to use both types and don't want to give up either in my modeling!"

              Great.
              Take the red pill

              Comment

              • #8
                Almost exclusively use acrylics now. On resin, I just make sure I primer first. It's not the toxicity that bothers me, as we're not using this in great volume. Yes, the complex hydrocarbons in them are definitely toxic, but unless you are spraying them in an enclosed space with no ventilation not enough to worry about. Remember, bananas and potatoes contain formaldehyde - but not at significant levels unless you want to eat a carload of bananas. It's the same with solvent-based paints. For me the kicker is the cleanup and the stink.
                CEO, Lancre Valley Steam navigation Co.

                Comment

                • #9
                  quote:

                  Originally posted by NP2626

                  I've been building models since the mid 1950s. During all this time I have used all kinds of paints. For the most part they have been solvent based materials, Testors, Floquil etc. Lately, I have been using more and more Acrylic water based paints. Less; or, no fumes and generally easy water clean-up. I will say that I do like them, they seem to work well and are simpler to use with water clean-up. However, I have no problem using solvent based paints when the need arises. It seems to me, seeing what other people say about them that they feel I'm taking my life into my own hands and that they feel solvent based paints are dangerous! I'm 65 and have used these paints in somewhat enclosed space and am fine. Maybe others are more susceptible to problems with solvent based paints, I don't know. I know that there are a lot of people who seem to be afraid of everything now-a-days.

                  Do you still use them?

                  I still use solvent based paints, and you can if you choose, however it is like smoking, we all know now it's bad for your health, but some people still do it. They also say I'm 65, on oxygen and not going to quit smoking. It comes down to a choice, but now-a-days we know what could happen.


                  Louis L&R Western Railroad
                  Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    What this thread is all about, is wondering what the adverse effects are with solvent based paints, if there are any. Without doubt, yes, choosing to use; or, not is an individual's choice, never said it wasn't! But, have solvent based paints been linked to some type of specific problem? I know there are paints that are extremely detrimental to one's health and using a mask; or, much better, oxygen is better. Imron paint is one such. However, Imron and other Polyurethanes have very little if any use in modeling. I'm talking about Testors Enamels, Scalecoat I & II and although no longer being produced, Floquil type paints. Solvent type paints used in the modeling hobbies.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      I prefer Floquil or Scale Coat for some applications for the way they behave. I don't use them for hand painting large areas. I use them exclusively in my airbrush because they are so easy to use. I have been unable to use acrylics in my airbrush at all, apparently because my compressor does not produce enough pressure. I see no reason for me to switch to acrylics until forced by unavailability of paints that I use. At that point I will make the necessary outlays of money.

                      I have a paint hood that vents outside, which I use in our large garage with the door directly behind me open and the vent through a window. If I smell any fumes I back off and make sure I'm not leaning in too close. I would do this while using an airbrush with any paint because even though they might not cause cancer or liver failure, thinners can cause irritation and I have enough problems with dry skin and don't need to be breathing acetone etc. I always use gloves when airbrushing, but more to keep paint off and prevent dry skin.

                      I take precautions and my dose is probably no worse than the weekly fill up at the service station or filling up and running my lawn mower.

                      My most intense use of painting by hand is staining wood and I use water-based stains for that.
                      _________________________________________________

                      Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        I can't recall the exact figures (used to work HazMat on our local FD but that was a while back...) I also worked at Irwin Toys, the people who made StarWars toys, as a Time & Motion person. The folks on the line sat hunched over cookie sheets full of pure toluene (!!!). I at least got a few breaks & could move around, but the effects included severe headaches & depression (most complex hydrocarbons are neurological system depressants). Most of the exposure limits IIRC were around 10ppm before you start seeing acute and chronic effects. Think of gluesniffers and paint huffers.

                        The average hobby exposure is nowhere near that - brushing I don't bother with precautions, spraying I use a spraybooth. Rule of thumb - if it makes you feel stupid or headachy, stop doing what you're doing & improve ventilation.
                        CEO, Lancre Valley Steam navigation Co.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Don't matter the small amounts of solvent.But over here the solvent based paints are harder and harder to get. Government regulations and not our choice. House paints for interior must be acrylics no solvent based allowed. Not painters choice but government. But I use everything in modeling, acrylic, gouache, oils, enamels no problem.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            I'll probably continue to use solvent paints as long as I can buy them. Now that I've got my layout mostly equipped, I doubt I'll spend more than 10-20 hours a year with the airbrush and I've got a vented painting booth. But a friend who's recovered from skin cancer is much more concerned and does his best to avoid solvents entirely.
                            James

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              By the way, all those chemistry classes I took way back in college, including organic, leads me to point out that all paints have a solvent: water for acrylics, acetone for acrylics, complex hydrocarbons for oil- based paints. Some organic solvents like acetone are a potential irritant, but are not carcinogenic nor do they cause reproductive problems. Other, more complex organic solvents such as toluene and benzene are pure trouble requiring the precautions we have discussed above.

                              Mike
                              _________________________________________________

                              Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. James Baldwin

                              Comment

                              Previous 1 2 3 template Next
                              Working...
                              X