I wasn't sure where to post this, but I was wondering if anyone out there might have done good suggestions for storing enamel thinner. Specifically, dio-sol. I still have a lot of Floquil enamel paints ss as such a small amount of dio-sol. Most all of it in small 1/2oz to 1oz. jars. Most all of you might know how expensive and difficult is to acquire dio-sol. I was hoping to find a really good container to store what I have in it that may be better than the standard glass jar or steel, tin plated metal cans they were sold in long ago. Preferably, a container which may preserve it better and not lose the solvent to evaporation. I might have around a pint's worth of dio- sol combined with the jars and one steel canister I have left. Dies anyone have any good suggestions for the best container to store and preserve dio-sol in?
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Not a direct answer to your question but an easier solution might be to find a replacement for Dio-Sol that would still allow use of your Floquil paints. Look up Floquil paints using The forum’s search function. You will find a post by Bob Cleek (the forum’s paint guru) Bob says that Dio-Sol’s active ingredients are Xylol and Toluene. Now go to your home improvement store, Ace Hardware, etc and look for Lacquer Thinner that contains these two ingredients. The stuff that I have is in a Yellow and White can with black lettering, the name has something to with “Sun.” I’ll be in my shop later today and will look up the brand.
Of course, if you live in California you will not be able to buy anything that works so you need to package up those Floquil paints and send them to me here in Minnesota!! Ha,Ha
Roger
Of course, if you live in California you will not be able to buy anything that works so you need to package up those Floquil paints and send them to me here in Minnesota!! Ha,Ha
Roger
I know you can use lacquer thinner to mix a hot enamel. I just have to be sure what I mix I use because unlike using dio-sol, if you use lacquer thinner you can't store the paint. It does funny stuff to it. Dio-sol allows you to store the mixed paint for future use with a little retarder added to it. Problem is...I can't get 'real lacquer thinner' here in California. The EPA years ago took that off the shelves and what you have is a lousy replacement. Same thing for MEK. I'd love to get some MEK (the real thing) but that's been taken off hardware store shelves too and I think some other useful solvents like white mineral spirits and enamel thinner where it's not available, or been reformulated. I don't know what reformulated lacquer thinner will do to Floquil enamel and they are too costly a paint to experiment with. A lot of the NOS military and RR colors are really expensive. Like $25+. I've seen some military colors in 1/2oz. bottle go upwards of close to $100.00. it's insane. Dio-Sol regularly sells at $50 a fluid ounce. Those are Evil BAY prices, but you get the idea. It's still pricey no matter where you get it from.
I am glad I do not live in California. Can you have the stuff shipped to you, say from Amazon?
Rob
In there is the problem. I've tried ordering 'online' in the past (haven't tried in a while) and (to date), all the businesses I've tried to order from won't ship to CA/across state lines. It's basically banned here. I'd need to have someone buy what I want for me and ground ship it to me.
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For those of you who want to use Floquil paints and are not subject to California environmental regulations Sunnyside
lacquer thinner has both Toluene and Xylol.
Roger
lacquer thinner has both Toluene and Xylol.
Roger
Have you used it to thin out Floquil for airbrushing?
No. I mean, Nevada isn't too far away. I wish they would ground ship to me but last I asked they wouldn't. Not sure if that changed?That, or make a road trip.Planning on a vacation anytime soon?
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No but I have Floquil paints to paint my present project. I’m about to find out.
Roger
Roger
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My understanding:
enamel paint is a mixture of pigment, linseed oil plus catalyst, mineral spirits.
If mineral spirits will work but it is not allowed - what do fine artists use for oils? Or do they have to move to another state if they hate acrylics?
If there is an exemption for artist's oils try Blick or a competitor for artist spirits.
There is some weird stuff now - odor free - there is some with an extender - If you want to air brush a layer that never dries I guess. Does turpentine work? Is it allowed?
If all else fails, you can make your own enamel paint starting with tubed pigments.
Dio Sol - you could always put the tightly sealed container in large jar that is also tightly sealed.
Not great for shelf space. The paint jars could also go in the jar if it is large enough.
enamel paint is a mixture of pigment, linseed oil plus catalyst, mineral spirits.
If mineral spirits will work but it is not allowed - what do fine artists use for oils? Or do they have to move to another state if they hate acrylics?
If there is an exemption for artist's oils try Blick or a competitor for artist spirits.
There is some weird stuff now - odor free - there is some with an extender - If you want to air brush a layer that never dries I guess. Does turpentine work? Is it allowed?
If all else fails, you can make your own enamel paint starting with tubed pigments.
Dio Sol - you could always put the tightly sealed container in large jar that is also tightly sealed.
Not great for shelf space. The paint jars could also go in the jar if it is large enough.
I have used these to preserve liquid finishes used on wood furniture that would otherwise dry up quickly. The bags may be too large for what you need but they work very well.
If you do go with these build the little jig they suggest to make adding and removing the liquid a lot easier.
I have an empty quart can of Dio-Sol I keep in my paint locker as a souvenir. Living in California, "The Land of Fruits and Nuts," and particularly in the jurisdiction of the "Bay Area Air Quality Control Board," all the high-VOC "hot" solvents seem to be banned in regular retail outlets and shipping regulations further impose safety controls for transporting them anywhere. That said, some do turn up now and again either in small amounts, such as for artist's oil paint applications and in larger amounts for commercial auto body painting applications. Sometimes such solvents and oils can also be found in chandleries labeled "for marine use only."
I make a point whenever I or a like-minded buddy is outside the Bay Area (Northern CA around SF Bay) and especially out of state via private vehicle to stop at whatever paint or hardware store they come across to see if there's anything that I can stock up on that can be smuggled back into California "for personal use." (Never try to fly with this stuff in your carry on or checked luggage unless you want to get more closely acquainted with your local TSA personnel!) I usually am able to keep my shop supplied with with gallon containers of "outlawed" goodies like (real) mineral spirits, white alcohol, raw linseed oil, turpentine, Penetrol, Japan drier, and various lacquer thinners as well as other goodies like "Round-up concentrate.". Oddly enough, acetone is still readily available in CA, even in five-gallon cans sold by regular hardware stores. I can only think of one reason anybody would need to buy five gallon tins of acetone. Apparently, the meth chefs have a better lobby than the painters do!
The last of my Floquil stash dried up years ago and after sampling the various exorbitantly priced "model paints" on the market, I've gone to using tubed artist's oils. The necessary conditioners for turning the "toothpaste" oil colors into airbrushing media are usually readily available in art supply stores, although only in small containers. You don't need that much, though, so it's a workable solution and far, far less expensive than the three-quarter ounce bottles of paint the hobby shops sell for eight to ten bucks! Acetone works well as a thinner for artist's oils applied by airbrush. The acetone evaporates so fast, you don't have to worry about excessive buildup or running. If using artist's tubed acrylic colors, I thin with alcohol for airbrushing for the same "quick dry" properties. I don't use the acrylics that thin with water because the water takes too long to dry and so poses the risk of "sagging."
Fortunately, the "palette" of colors commonly used in ship modeling is rather narrow. A ship modeler can get by with a large tube of white and a large tube of black and medium or small tubes of red, yellow, blue, and burnt sienna or raw umber and mix about any color he'll ever need for a ship model. For those who don't want to go to the trouble of conditioning paste artist oils, there is only one (AFAIK) other source of good high pigment content liquid paint suitable for modeling. This line is called One-Shot. It is made for sign painters and pin strippers. One-Shot, so named because of the high opacity of its high pigment content, is available online and in high-end artists' supply stores. Not cheap, but "finestkind." See:
If anybody wants to know more about the history of Floquil colors and why the "old guard" lament its passing, see: https://www.paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/floquil-paint/floquil-paint.html
I have no idea why nobody ever decided to reverse engineer the formula and offer it again when Testors discontinued it. Perhaps it just wasn't competitive in the marketplace because it cost too much to make or something like that or the manufacturers decided to no longer risk a huge products liability lawsuit by somebody who tried to "huff" the stuff to get high.
As far as preventing paint from drying up in the bottle or can goes, it's an endless battle and just the cost of doing business, I'm afraid. I've had relative success where the amount and container makes it possible by taking a piece of "kitchen wrap" (e.g., Saran wrap) and placing it over the top of the can and then pressing it down in the middle until the plastic is stuck to the wet material in the can, thereby eliminating any air between the top of the material and the plastic wrap. Then take the remainder of the plastic wrap sheet and bring it up the sides of the inside of the can and then over the lip of the can or jar. Once the plastic wrap is so placed that it isolates the liquid from the ambient air, fill the container over the plastic wrap with a spritz of heavier than air propane from your propane torch tank. Then replace the lid or cap, covering the plastic wriap and holding it in place and trapping the oxygen-displacing propane inside the container. When the material in the can is again needed, just pull the plastic wrap off the (clean) lip of the container and pull it straight up off the liquid in the container and discard it. (Don't do this in close proximity to any ignition source!)
I make a point whenever I or a like-minded buddy is outside the Bay Area (Northern CA around SF Bay) and especially out of state via private vehicle to stop at whatever paint or hardware store they come across to see if there's anything that I can stock up on that can be smuggled back into California "for personal use." (Never try to fly with this stuff in your carry on or checked luggage unless you want to get more closely acquainted with your local TSA personnel!) I usually am able to keep my shop supplied with with gallon containers of "outlawed" goodies like (real) mineral spirits, white alcohol, raw linseed oil, turpentine, Penetrol, Japan drier, and various lacquer thinners as well as other goodies like "Round-up concentrate.". Oddly enough, acetone is still readily available in CA, even in five-gallon cans sold by regular hardware stores. I can only think of one reason anybody would need to buy five gallon tins of acetone. Apparently, the meth chefs have a better lobby than the painters do!
The last of my Floquil stash dried up years ago and after sampling the various exorbitantly priced "model paints" on the market, I've gone to using tubed artist's oils. The necessary conditioners for turning the "toothpaste" oil colors into airbrushing media are usually readily available in art supply stores, although only in small containers. You don't need that much, though, so it's a workable solution and far, far less expensive than the three-quarter ounce bottles of paint the hobby shops sell for eight to ten bucks! Acetone works well as a thinner for artist's oils applied by airbrush. The acetone evaporates so fast, you don't have to worry about excessive buildup or running. If using artist's tubed acrylic colors, I thin with alcohol for airbrushing for the same "quick dry" properties. I don't use the acrylics that thin with water because the water takes too long to dry and so poses the risk of "sagging."
Fortunately, the "palette" of colors commonly used in ship modeling is rather narrow. A ship modeler can get by with a large tube of white and a large tube of black and medium or small tubes of red, yellow, blue, and burnt sienna or raw umber and mix about any color he'll ever need for a ship model. For those who don't want to go to the trouble of conditioning paste artist oils, there is only one (AFAIK) other source of good high pigment content liquid paint suitable for modeling. This line is called One-Shot. It is made for sign painters and pin strippers. One-Shot, so named because of the high opacity of its high pigment content, is available online and in high-end artists' supply stores. Not cheap, but "finestkind." See:
If anybody wants to know more about the history of Floquil colors and why the "old guard" lament its passing, see: https://www.paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/floquil-paint/floquil-paint.html
I have no idea why nobody ever decided to reverse engineer the formula and offer it again when Testors discontinued it. Perhaps it just wasn't competitive in the marketplace because it cost too much to make or something like that or the manufacturers decided to no longer risk a huge products liability lawsuit by somebody who tried to "huff" the stuff to get high.
As far as preventing paint from drying up in the bottle or can goes, it's an endless battle and just the cost of doing business, I'm afraid. I've had relative success where the amount and container makes it possible by taking a piece of "kitchen wrap" (e.g., Saran wrap) and placing it over the top of the can and then pressing it down in the middle until the plastic is stuck to the wet material in the can, thereby eliminating any air between the top of the material and the plastic wrap. Then take the remainder of the plastic wrap sheet and bring it up the sides of the inside of the can and then over the lip of the can or jar. Once the plastic wrap is so placed that it isolates the liquid from the ambient air, fill the container over the plastic wrap with a spritz of heavier than air propane from your propane torch tank. Then replace the lid or cap, covering the plastic wriap and holding it in place and trapping the oxygen-displacing propane inside the container. When the material in the can is again needed, just pull the plastic wrap off the (clean) lip of the container and pull it straight up off the liquid in the container and discard it. (Don't do this in close proximity to any ignition source!)
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