Spray!

Yes

Yes, Testors Dullcote is nitrocellulose lacquer. MEK and Isobutyl Alcohol are primary solvents.

Bruce, I beg to differ....

Bruce,

Instead of "Just take off the lid, shake and spray."  I'd shake then take off the lid and spray!  Sorry, I couldn't resist! 

dull coat

Is there a difference between spray and brush as far as shelf life? What about paint?

john

Rick, never had an issue with

"Brush or Spray?"

  I normally spray. It's possible to brush on a clear coat but it's more work and risk that it will come out with flaws. I often use spray cans instead of messing with my airbrush. Large cans from the hardware store for O scale cars and small cans from the hobby shop for N scale. I'd decide which size to use on an HO car by the particular effect I wanted. When I do spray clear from the airbrush I now days use a water based product instead of dullcoat as I don't like to buy or use strong cleaning solvents.....DaveBranum

Thanks guys

for the comments.  Unfortunately down here in NZ, Testor's isn't a common brand and the only bottle I found was a small 1 3/4 oz.  I haven't seen any rattle cans of the product. 

Bruce the viscosity seems a bit thicker than what I would normally airbrush with but I will try a small test spray and see how it goes.

Does anyone have any recommendations for alternative products especially water based ones

Cheers - Peter

Bruce - dumb me!

I don't know what you have in

I don't know what you have in New Zealand for spray cans but here I can get Dull Coat in a spray can as well as Krylon Spray and I have been to Craft stores and seen spray cans of dull or matte finish as the crafters call it.You may have to think outside the box( or can in this case) to use your local products.Do Tamiya,Floquil,or Polly S have representation in NZ? If so maybe this will be an easier route for you.

Happy TRAils/NSD

Paul

Hot water trick.

Another trick with spray cans of Dulcote is to soak them in very hot tap water for a few minutes. Its supposed to improve the spray consistency when spraying. I havent had any projects needing Dulcote for a while now so I havent tried this trick yet.

Rheology

Nozzle atomization is a function of paint viscosity. Paint viscosity is a function of temperature.  Therefore, warm paint is more easily atomized than cool paint i.e. the droplets will be smaller and more of them = smoother film. Additionally, the increase in temperature also raises the pressure inside the can. This forces paint through the nozzle at a higher speed which improves the shearing effect of the nozzle. Also leading to better atomization.

Be very careful. Stay below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't want the can to explode.

"soak them in very hot tap water for a few minutes"

I just set them outside in the sun for a few minutes before using them..DaveB

Hot tap water too hot then?

So is hot tap water potentially too hot then. Or perhaps instead of a few minutes, just a minute or two?

Or perhaps instead of a few minutes, just a minute or two?

 The object is to warm the contents so it needs to stay in the heat long enough to let the heat work all the way in. Probably better to do it at a temp low enough to not cook the paint even if it takes a bit longer. I'd just go with hot tap water unless it's too hot to stick your hands in it then I might add a bit of cold along with the hot. Setting them in the sun is less messy and the can gets only somewhat hot on a cloudy day but seems to be enough. Try the warm water and see if it helps the spray, if not make it a bit hotter and try again. If I know I'm going to use a spray can i'll set it outside about a half hour before I want it and that seems to help....DaveB

Update

If you recall I said that I had a small bottle of DullCote rather than a spray can. I had the option to either brush it or spray it hence the original question.  Having confirmed through this forum that Nitrocellulose thinners would work ok I elected to go the spay route. I thinned the Dullcote to 50% and the results were superb.Test project were some Box Cars that I had re-sprayed with a rattle can and then applied Micro Scale decals.  The DullCote did everything required in terms of removing the gloss of the paint and dried in just a couple of minutes.  Very happy with the outcome.

Peter

Hmmm..

I have built, finished and re-finished several guitars in Nitro and I never knew that about dullcote in a jar.  It's a long debate in the guitar world, but I am a firm believer in nitrocellulose lacquer as a better finish than poly tone-wise...anyway...that is good news to my ears.  I have known however that lacquer thinner works with dullcote, so it shouldn't be a surprise. Lacquer thinner is my #1 brush and airbrush thinner/cleaner.  Of course, it wasn't until about a month ago that I learned that dulcote over oil paints dries them super-fast...

Old dog, new tricks (ones that I should have known)...

Airbrush.

I always use an airbrush.  You just can't beat the finer spray and control using an airbrush.  :o)

Hot water trick...

...yes it works. Fill a small bowl with hot tap water set the can of Dulcote in it so the can is 1/3 to 1/2 in the water. Let it set for 5 or 10 minutes, shake well and it will spray a nice even coat.

John

more hot water

Back when I was spraying in an apartment using Propel, the air hose would be threaded through the top of a tall plastic pitcher. Screwing the lid onto the pitcher kept the air can from floating up out of the warm water.