Poffit

My Feedback: (4)

I am towards the tailend of a Hog Bipe build that I took the time to make a fiberglass cowl for. Figured I would paint the cowl with lusterkote so everything would match. So a trip to the FHS (faraway hobbystore) was in order. Thats when I found out that lusterkote only comes in one shade of red, missle red. I already had another shade of red I was going to use, but alright, just go ahead and buy two rolls of missle red monokote and the $8.00 can of lusterkote and everything will match real nice. Got the plane all covered this week, nice shiny red, white, yellow, even some orange. Painted the cowl and wheel pants last night and man am I bummed. The paint doesn't even come close to matching. It looks more like burnt orange than red. I don't think it was the primer because the paint ended up being applied over some white primer on the wheel pants and some gray primer and white lusterkote on the cowl and all the pieces look the same, BURNT ORANGE! Although none of the primer was the lusterkote primer , I sprayed everything indoors so the tempurature would have been around 70 degress and the humidity would have been what is common in the middle of winter in Iowa, dry. What really peevs me is I could of grabbed a spray can any shade of red off the rack at the local lumberyard and ended up with a closer match than what I got. Has anybody had luck matching red lusterkote with monokote or is that just the way it is. Maybe it was my application method, or maybe I should of used the lusterkote primer, or maybe I got a bad can of paint. Any ideas?

Archie League

it matched for me

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

When I used the Purple a few years ago, it didn't match that great either,,, It was over Clean White primer also

I didn't care for the sheen either,, it went "Satin" on me when it was supposed to be Gloss, I didn't like the way it came out if the can at all. I think if I use it again, I'll depressurize the can, remove the paint and use my Airbrush.

Take a look
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...view=slideshow

this little guy too

Trax540

My Feedback: (1)

Had the same issue with the red not matching on a fiberglass part, and looking more orange.
Toyed around with the undercoat to get it to match more closely. We did so many different combinations Im pretty sure we ended up using red primer under the Lusterkote, White primer was just not an option.
Il dig up some pics when i get a chance so you can see how it matched the Monokote with red

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

Lustercoat has always been a shade or two off. I think it all depends on the batch numbers of the paint as well as the covering. I have even gotten 2 rolls of covering that have been different shades of the same color. For matching paints, I now use the Home Depot paint matching system and spray latex paint. They have been extremely good at matching colors. The latex will need a clear coat applied once the color coat is applied and the clear coat has different levels of gloss. I have also heard, but not tryed it, that some auto paint supply stores can do a paint match and make you a rattle can. Good Luck, Dave

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

I used Lusterkote Purple on a Stafford Ercoupe cowl and it matched pretty well... it was a tad lighter but barely noticable.
I used Lusterkote Yellow on a Goldberg Cub cowl and it matched almost perfectly

Used the regular primer

The best results I ever got was using Cheveron "Monokote matching" paint...It's awesome, too bad you can't get it any more.

Don

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

We went through this sometime last year. The Cub Yellow came out Orange?? Took it back to the hobby shop and the owner tried another can and it was the same thing. Got a can at another LHS and it too was Orange? Back at the better LHS we started pulling cans and batches, there was a color problem with all of them. The owner called them right then and told them about there problem then pulled all there paint off the shelf, this wasn't just a shade or two off but a complete different color!! The replacements he got back were better but not great. The bright Yellow seemed to be just fine? Lucky for my buddy almost everyone has a Cub Yellow, he ordered some from Radio South and it was a perfect match. More money plus shipping but it matched!! I used the local DuPont paint store and there match was perfect but it cost a bunch to have it mixed and put into a can. If I would have thought I could have just got the paint matched and in a can then used my own air brush or touch up gun.

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

It's unfortunate that they don't still make Pactra Formula-U urethane spray. That stuff matched MonoKote very well. But it took 5 days to dry.

The only thing I've found that matches well now is the paint from Radio South. It's a perfect match but you have to use a sprayer.

Dave

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

$25 for 1/4 pint ,,,, $45 for a 1/2 pint?? Ouch

Poffit

My Feedback: (4)

Has anybody found a common brand of spray can paint that is fuel proof, such as krylon or rustoleum? The latex paint that Dave mentioned, is that fuel proof and are you talking about the paint that would be commonly used to paint wood? I have seen it in semigloss, do they make it in gloss? That might be my best option, I could just match the monokote with a paint chip. I have a good full size paint gun that I could probably dial down for spraying small pieces.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

You can get a touch up cup gun for under $25, I've used one of these for years with great results,,, all the painted planes in my gallery were done with one of those

similar to this one
http://www.amazon.com/Professional-T.../dp/B0002KJIDI

Jeff Worsham

My Feedback: (28)

Yes- the paint from Radio South not cheap, but good paint and in the color you want normally isn't cheap. It's automotive PPG urethane, the clear is hard as nails and boy you can buff it to shine! You can get same or equivalent from local auto paint supply house, but RS already has the MK matching formulas worked out. By the time you thin it for spraying, 1/4 pint will go quite a ways toward 2 or 3 cowls.

Note: I've corrected this post by removing my statement that PPG paint from Radio South needs clear coat! I had confused their paint with the PPG Deltron basecoat/clearcoat system. PPG from Radio South doesn't need clear coat to be fuel proof.

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

The paint that I bought from Radio South was gloss and they told me it didn't need clear coat unless I just really wanted to add the weight. It turned out a perfect match to the MonoKote in both color and shine with no gloss coat.

Now I wonder if they have both matte and gloss or what?

Dave

twn

I use omni au from lordco. they paint match with a scanner and the paint is bulletproof against nitro and gas. But u need a sprayer. I use a cheap badger airbrush.

Lustrecoat, make sure you shake the living snot out of the can before spraying. I usually put the can into hot tap water for a few minutes first. This helps the spraying quality a lot. Plus the contents settle on the bottom of the can from sitting for long periods of time. Sometimes even 10 minutes of shaking is not enough to loosen the settled contents. From settling (and floating, floaters) colors can separate and be mixed improperly in the can. Heating with tap water really helps with this prior to shaking.

When shaking also periodically hold the can by the lid in your finger tips and swing the can in a small but quick circle making the ball in side roll around the base of the can. This will help loosen the settled contents in the corners.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I have never gotten it to match and many colors don't dry right and come off in your hand after fuel gets on them. I go to the paint store and have them mix it to match a scrap ironed on a piece of wood. never had a miss that way and it always goes on right and stays on. Wouldn't waste any more money on lustercoat. Its crap.

twn

I agree. the omni au (cheaper line down from the ppg concept) is awsome. After 5 days of curing it withstands 30% without a sweat. I love the paint. But it is costly to get into and the reducer is needed to clean up. Lorco paint matches quite well. They use a scanner and can match any covering except florescents and neons. I got a match done to monokote metalic blue that is perfect when white is used as undercoat. Sometimes they get lazy and just match to their books so u gotta stay on top of them (stand there and demand they scan it) they are pretty good at matching by eye but not perfect...

chemie

Dave: What Home Depot clear coat material do you use?

twn

David, I too am curious about the clear coat used over latex that will fuel proof. Can you explain this product more?

Jeff Worsham

My Feedback: (28)

Hi Dave,
Very sorry- I was completely wrong in saying PPG paint from Radio South needed clear coat to be fuel proof. I confused the paint they are selling with another PPG product called Deltron 2000 DBC which is a basecoat/clearcoat system. Sorry for the confusion on my part!

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

FWIW - Nelson Paints has a waterbase paint to match Monokote and Ultracote colors (the paint is an exact match AFTER IT HAS DRIED. If you add the cross linker the paint is fuel proof. Of course you will need a way to apply it. Nelson says it can be applied either by spraying or with a foam brush (I have had good results using an airbrush with pressure 25 - 30 psi - never tried to brush it on).

As for a clear coat for latex - Nelson also has a clear. Waterbase polyurethane is FUEL RESISTANT. If you let it cure for a week and wipe fresh fuel off right away and exhaust residue off within a couple of hours, the clear coat holds up reasonably well. Another option is clear automotive ENGINE ENAMEL (you want the type used on engine blocks). That clear coat is fuel proof.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Klass Kote paint is two part epoxy and bullet proof. Acetone doesn't even dull it. It's like using the old K&B two part epoxy. As to matching the Cotes??? I never tried, when I use it I'm painting the complete plane and not trying to match anything. They show the colors and give the prices on there web site.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Gray Beard,, Thanks for the tip on the epoxy,,, I loved K&B paints,,

I agree,
My philosophy is, If I'm building a real nice plane, I'll paint the whole thing,, but if I'm covering with Monokote, It's just a beater and I'm not to worried how close things match..

That Purple match though??? Awful

chemie

Still looking for the right big box clear coat option....

I read in another thread "Cabot" but the only kind in Lowes is oil-based. The guy said no oil-based on top of latex...

The only water-based in Lowes and Home Deport was the miniwax "polycrylic". No polyurethane. I have read some posts that say "no way" and user "campy" seems to say "no problems" with the water-based miniwax polycrylic.

Options?

imacflyr3

I made this mistake quite a few years ago. ...NEVER AGAIN!! I ordered 3 colors to finish a cowl and canopy for a 33% Extra: yellow, true red, and royal blue I think, along with the primer. Of the three, the red was somewhat close, the blue was almost as dark as insignia blue but a little more green, and the yellow was more of a pastel yellow! These things made Lustrekote look like a perfect match!! To top it all off, the primer had what looked like grains of sand in it! I wouldn't buy this paint again if they sold it for a quarter!

Do yourself a favor... get a compressor, respirator, and a touch-up gun and try a good base/clear system. I re-painted a cowl for a wildhare extra a couple seasons ago and went this route. I'll never go back to using a spray can.

gh

qldviking

I feel you cant exactly blame lustrekote when the monkote has so much variation in the colours. 3 rolls cub yellow, same batch number, 3 noticably different colours, needless to say they all went back. I went silk and dope and painted instead. That also saves the matching issues