It's possible that it is the same or darn close to it.

Check out the back of a bottle of Testors Dullcote. There's a clue there!

Dullcote

Dull cote is a Rust-oleum product.  Testors was bought out by Rust-oleum a while back. Most likely it has been rebadged into a bigger can.   I will tell you it is NOT the same product as the "original" Testors as that product was superior to the current product.  The current offering is still good but not like the old product.

Semi transparent?

Sounds different than dull or matt finish? ....DaveB

Just to be clear, the "smell"

Just to be clear, the "smell" of dullcote, or any spray product is the smell of the propellent and the hydrocarbon base of the paint. Dullcote shouldn't smell different in spray can form than any typical spray paint. 

Comparison

One is Dullcote and the other is Frosted Glass. You be the judge and jury. Nelson pointed out that it is almost a certainty that formulas have changed from the original.. I don't have a chemical breakdown.. I just know I used it with success. The nozzle does not " drench " the project and they are inter-changeable  between Frosted and Dullcote cans. I have used many " matte clear " products, or I tried to use them but most projects came out like I had used " THE DIP " process. Everyone's milage will vary. I pointed out a simple thing that might replace Dullcote.. Use it or don't.. it matters not to me. IF you feel the need to beatdown the messenger because an alternative to an " established method or product " has been presented , be my guest too...

edited to fix my spelling of Dullcote.


.  

Dullcoat

Haven't you noticed when-ever someone has a different idea someone else has to attack it?

I use Rustoluem flat and

I use Rustoluem flat and gloss clear in the past. Once the new forum is up and running, I'll post some of the experiments I've done with various gloss and clear coats. 

My concern is more "frosted glass" than clear. I would think most people would want a completely clear flat coat vs a frosted clear coat. 

Craig 

That's not what we see

We encourage dissenting opinions on here. As long as the contrary opinion is expressed without being mean about it, varying opinions are fine. It's not an attack to disagree, what is an attack is to disagree with name calling and being uppity about it.

We ride herd on nastiness on here, because being nasty is what third graders do to each other, not adults.

We see no nastiness in this discussion, so relax.

Also, do note it's DULLCOTE not DULLCOAT. Sorry, but that's the editor in me coming out. We have to correct that in almost every submission we receive, so we'd like folks to pay just a bit closer attention to how it's correctly spelled -- saves us a lot of editing later.

Yup

Looks like it's mostly "flat finishing spray" any more.

https://www.micromark.com/Dullcote-Flat-Spray-3-oz-

Results

I just so happened to have a Walthers tank car kit that needed to be coated so here are photos for you to compare.

Photo 1:  Before coating.

 Photo 2: Closer look before coating.

 Photo 3:  After Krylon Frosted Glass spray.  (Very similar to Rust-oleum Frosted glass. See MSDS sheets, links at the end)

 I can't say the results are stellar!  Poor if you ask me!  And it was coated 3 times.  I goes on very nice with the fan spray nozzle so I expected much better than this!

Photo 4:  Wet Testors Dullcote

Dullcote went on just as smooth with a standard nozzle.

Final photo:  Dullcote after drying.

 The Dullcote actually did a decent job of covering up the Frosted Glass spray but overall results were poor.  I suspect that the first coat had something to do with it. I also included the MSDS links to all three (3) products mentioned here.

Testors Dullcote: https://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/1160X.pdf

Rust-oleum Frosted Glass: https://www.rustoleum.com/MSDS/ENGLISH/1903830.pdf

Krylon Frosted Glass: https://www.krylon.com/document/SDS/en/US/724504073383

These are my results.  Your results my be different than what I got.

I have found that the ONLY close match to real Dullcote is a product Joe Fugate mentioned in an article or post and that was Rust-oleum "Dead Flat".  I have used it with soso results and I always go back to the real Dullcote.  Yes! It's pretty pricey but you get what you pay for. 

By the MSDS sheets both Frosted Glass products are similar but Dullcote is a considerably different mixture.

I stand corrected

I stand corrected. Like Cold Fusion this must be a outright hoax. Nothing like an apples to oranges with a lemon thrown in for good measure confirmation.

Just please delete the thread and I will ensure I venture nothing more. 

Thanks..

Still an intriguing idea

I don't agree with this at all. It was an interesting idea but it doesn't appear to be quite as good as originally thought.

I'd still like to see examples where the frosted stuff could be useful.

Also, a "woe is me" approach to a mistake isn't particularly helpful. I'm the Publisher here and I have a list of boo-boos as long as my arm on here where I had a great idea that didn't pan out so great. 

Like I used to tell my kids ... "Just remember, good judgement comes by experience. And experience comes from poor judgement." So keep in mind the other word for making a mistake: experience. Pick yourself up and move on, that turns mistakes into experience.

Tainted results

I think using a model that is contaminated prior to any product is skewing things. First picture shows something on the  model prior to any product applied and then that the alternate " frosted " product cannot cover.. The fish eyes in the " frosted " coat shows beyond a doubt the model is contaminated with a grease or oil...but who am I??

It's not a woe is me thing.. It someone saying " I tried your idea but uh..with a different product to show others your idea is a lark"..ect..ect..

Like I stated..it was a figment of my sore imagination..it was just like Loch Ness, Sasquatch or the Bermuda Triangle. .just delete and move on...

The two tanks

The two army tanks look fine to me, one is painted cammo, the other gray, no idea which is the frosted one.

Agree that the celotex tank car looked bad to start with, as if there was some prior weathering attempt. Neither covered that up, so that proves neither is any good, right? (wrong).

Besides models and buildings, where else is dullcote used? Nobody uses it on track, right? 

What about backdrops? The frosted spray might be useful there to take the shine off wide areas of backdrop, right?

Worth a shot!!

This would be a great experiment on a car masked halfway… think of a paper towel commercial side by side… the frosted effect might be interesting with how it interacts with a tinted isopropyl alcohol wash too. Next time I’m at Walmart I will grab a can.
jeff

BadOrder

Don't let this get you down. You posted potentially valuable information based upon your own experience (both tanks look good to me). Totally valid and well worth investigating..........heck, I wonder what the response was to the first post about using floor wax to set decals in? I use that method often and am really appreciative that someone shared the tip.

 Keep it coming.

 Rick 

I agree with Mr. Ugly that a half/half experiment could be very instructive. If I get a chance I'll look for the frosty stuff and set up that test.......if nothing else it will be interesting!

Neutral experiment needed

This isn't flat products per say, but I did a similar experiment testing out various gloss coats that I could find. The base is styrene painted with Badger Stynylrez primer. The primer is pretty flat. I'd be more than willing to do a similar experiment with flat products if I can get a hold of various types. That might even make for a good article, eh Joe?

The products ranged from expensive hobby gloss clear to cheap clear I found at Wal Mart to homebrew ideas I found on the internet. Doing something like this with a variety of flat products would provide a neutral testing ground. In my case of being an outdoor modeler, regardless of whatever my final coat is, I use Rustoluem flat because it's the only one that is UV stable. For the rest of you folks it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

Sure

Use it or don't.. it matters not to me

  This is a discussion group so we discuss.  Frosted glass spray doesn't have to be the same as dull-cote to be useful. There are many clear coat products on the market and most are useful for some modeling task. So experiment away and see what the product can do then hopefully share the results. The scale one is modeling is also important, Modeling in a small scale like N scale a small can of dull-cote will last a long time but spraying O scale cars it won't last too long so hardware store cans are more cost effective. Artist supply stores have lots of fixative products that sometimes are on sale at attractive prices....DaveB 

Agree with Dave. Even if it's

Agree with Dave. Even if it's not 100% the same as dullcote, that doesn't make it useless.

I've used the frosted glass to actually frost glass. It certainly does that though the layer isn't quite as frosted as I was hoping for. Remember dullcote actually mixes a dulling agent in the product. For some reason I think it is talc, but I could be making that up. So when sprayed on something clear it ought to have a frosted look. Dullcote is not truly clear. 

I use the Frosted Glass too

The Rustoleum frosted glass is my go to flat clear spray, namely because it is available in my area. The dead flat that Joe recommends doesn't seem to be a thing in Canada. Dullcote is also rare, and expensive so I've been experimenting. I've tried other clear sprays, some quite expensive and nothing works as well as the frosted glass. Most clear sprays around here are matte, not flat and it appears to make a difference. Unfortunately I did these tests some time ago and can't recall the other products that I used, but I do remember spraying various types of matte clear onto flat paint and watch it get shinier. The frosted glass, however, was the most flat of them all. It doesn't seem to affect the colour of the paint dramatically either as one would think with a name like “frosted”

All I know is that it works for me and is available. Of course now that I've typed this every store in a hundred mile radius will cease to stock the stuff!!

Damaged! Not contaminated

The only contamination on the car was the area above to the right of the Celotex logo.  (CA splatter).

I had wet sanded it with 1500 grit paper and was hoping to "fill it in" without priming.  (this is a decorated kit)  The rest of the areas in question are flat black paint brush painted.  I was hoping the Frosted glass would blend it all together much like Dullcote does but the results showed different.  

The OP got his feathers ruffled over really nothing.  This forum is about a collective process where other members can chime in with their experiences with different products and come up with solutions we can ALL benefit from.

P.S.  I recoated the car one more time with Dullcote and its better now.  Hey!  Is "weathered" that's all!   

Just say " NO "

This hog wash just isn't gonna sell for me. IF anyone looks at the picture with nothing applied, you will see most of the mistakes blamed on the " frosted "coating  are NOT present prior to the " frosted " coating being applied EXCEPT the upper mottling discoloration. The mottling on the model shows an outside contamination on most of the upper surfaces. The dry area is not from anything other than when applied, the clear was sprayed from a distance that allowed most of it to dry but enough solvent still present to adhere to the model. This dry area is sometimes called " sandpapering " because it resembles of course.. sandpaper. The circles you see are called " fish eye". This is where paint or clear is applied over a spot of lubricant, or more often silicone. The paint pulls back leaving a ring that dries. It is SUPER noticeable in color coats because you will see a dark ring and a very light center,  hence the term " fish eye ". The paint will dry and you can overcoat it, easily with clears but colors need to be wet sanded and then overcoated. 

Everyone of these issues are caused by the painter and NOT any products used. This is a PRIME example of the 7P principle. No amount of additional product will make up for this. The " rebuttle " posted  used a " similar " product to debunk another product that was like using one brand of car to put down another brand and using a rubboard road to demonstrate on.. The final picture presented shows the bad end to this and the " frosted " coating is being blamed.

This is NOT from me being in my " feels " and all of that.. I just cannot suffer something that has the outright appearance of falsehood. I am quite sure this post will be modified or outright deleted as it will most likely be viewed by the mods and/or publisher as " bashing " or " bullying " or some other reason.
 

Never understood some peoples insistence on Dullcote

I've used several different brands of flat and satin clear coats over the years when I couldn't find Dullcote and if I look at my structures and cars now, I couldn't tell you which are which. I don't get the big deal. What the OP has found seems to work well enough. In the end all we can do when were in a pinch is experiment and sometimes we find something cool.