I'm currently building the fineMolds Type 3 "Chi-Nu" kit. As a brush painter I prefer Humbrol paints as they level out nicely and dry to a matt finish.

I added the Dark Green camo and it dried nice and flat. Let it dry for 24 hours and added the Dark Brown camo. This is where I had the problem, the brown patches dried as shinny as a new penny! I mixed the green and brown paints the same way, added the same amount of thinner and got totally different results. The brown was a new tin. I popped open a new tin of Khaki, mixed it the same way and got perfect results.

Any ideas?

Fred it sounds to me like the brown you are using is a satin color rather than a flat, what is the Humbrol No on the tin.

Regardless, pick yourself up a bottle of flat coat (I use Pollscale) and go over the entire vehicle to give yourself a consistent finish.

Cheers
Darren

Darren

The number is 160 and has Matt stamped into the lid of the tin. I have another new tin of the 160 and am going to open it and try it on a scrap of plastic sheet.

Fred, I have had a similar experience with one Humbrol tin some time ago. No matter how much I mixed it in the jar, the darned thing wouldn't dry flat... The next jar of the same color was fine though. Have no clue what went wrong; I have been painting with Humbrols all my life (some of the jars have been in my stash for five years or more) and had no problems with them whatsoever except that one time.

Mario.

If you're brush painting, the old dodge was to mix some fine talcum powder in & stir it in very well to make sure there are no lumps. This also allowed you to "convert" gloss paints to matt. This will not work with spraying of course, but I've always found that Humbrol sprayed is consistently matt. The glossing you mention may be due to ambient temperature or humidity.

This is a constant cause of confusion particularly since they have changed their paints as to how a brand new tin, properly stirred and mixed perfectly seems to dry with a semi-gloss finish despite having matt stamped on the tin. Then I open another tin of the same paint and mix it the same and it dries perfectly flat. I often wonder if it is in different batches.

It is a job for the X files I think.

John

Thanks for the replies guys. I opened my second tin of Humbrol #160, added some Humbrol thinner, dropped in a .177 BB and agitated the heck out of it.

Tested the paint on a piece of scrap plastic and Wallah! A perfect flat finish!

I guess in all future use, I'll test the paint before laying it on the model.