Post by jwrass on Jan 31, 2017 4:48:44 GMT -5
To All:
I thought I would put together a post on using Sign Painters One Shot as an alternative to common modeling enamels, I have some 40 plus years’ experience with these products and they are a great alternative to the common enamel modeling paints. I have used these products on styrene, resin models and corplas plastic sign blanks (corplas is a styrene sign blank material) with great results.
A little History first. When I first started Freehand Lettering and Pin-Striping in 1972 their where several companies that manufactured what was often called bulletin colors that were made for painting signage on everything from buildings to vehicles, etc. This was before the advent of the vinyl lettering that started in the early 80s. Kenneth Howard (AKA Von Dutch) who started the pin striping craze in Southern California in the 50s Used Bulletin colors for striping as his father was a sign writer and Dutch had an ample supply of paint and brushes to choose from. There are a few companies that still manufacture lettering enamel, however One Shot would be the most recognizable and available as a complete paint package. I thought it would be prudent to give some paint product history to get to where we are going on the tips and tricks of using this product.
One Shot brand is an Oil Based Enamel Paint.
One Shot Comes in 46 colors which in that palette are Silver, Gold, And Copper. All colors can be intermixed without any problems; they are 100% compatible. They also have 10 Pearlescent colors and 8 Fluorescent colors, a tinting White a tinting Black and Clear Coat. All are 100% Compatible. The range of the color palette is only limited by one’s imagination. The clear can be tinted with any of the colors to make some interesting candies.
They are also great for washes and fine details.
They have their own line of reducers Fast/Med/Slow, a Hardener Additive and a Flatting Paste.
Tip #1) Very economical! You can purchase a 4 oz. can for between $7.45 to $12.99 which when thinned to spray can yield 8 to 12 oz. For brushing use straight out of the can with a touch of thinner. (see tip #6)
Tip #2) You do not have to use their reducers! Mineral Spirits or Turpentine work fine.
Tip #3) If you want to add a hardener to the paint you do not have to use their brand, even though it is Oil Based in composition I have used PPG and HOK urethane hardeners with no adverse reaction.
Tip #4) You can reduce this product for spraying with lacquer thinner for faster drying times with no adverse effects. I know the rules...... enamels and lacquers don't mix and that is true however, in this case this product breaks the rules!
You probably have seen all the fades and cartoons etc. on the lettering of all of the 1:1 Revell Funny Cars and Top Fuel Cars of the 70s these were all done in a process called wet on wet. The main copy was all hand lettered with straight One Shot, the fades and highlights were done with One Shot thinned with lacquer thinner. I know this to be a true from personal experience as well talking with many of the people who originally painted these cars back in the day whom now I can call brothers of the brush. I worshiped and read about these guys in all the magazines and tried to emulate them at any chance I got. Through the Pinhead and Letterhead Movement that started in the 80s, I have attended many charitable panel Jams since 1985. I have had the honor to push paint around with some of the greats. In my world these people are like Rock Stars! The stories I have heard about the heyday of custom painting some of the greatest cars of all time makes my head spin!
Tip #5) Use a good brush when applying this product, not modeling stumps. Purchase some good natural squirrel hair lettering Quills like a Mack 179 brown, Mack 189 grey or French Masters Series 3173. Sizes # 0 and 1 will work great for most hand brushed parts. They do make brushes in smaller sizes 00, 000, 0000 or you can trim a 0 to your liking. The grey hair is a little stiffer than the brown, the brown being a bit friendlier. Either brush with this paint should flow out dead flat
Tip #6) Palette the paint into the brush! Meaning: Dip the brush in the paint and stoke it back and forth on a shiny magazine page, fully load the brush to the shape you want, all the hairs of the brush should be wet, if you overload the brush stroke it off to a portion of the palette that has no paint to get the consistency and shape of the brush you desire. If the brush starts to drag or pull, lightly dip your brush into a small container of clean thinner and work that into the paint to get the consistency you want. Repeat this process as you paint.
Tip #7) Triple clean your brush! Meaning: Have 3 containers with clean thinner in them (I use Shot glasses) rinse in #1 through # 3 gently pulling any of the paint from the ferrule of the brush, by the time you get to the # 3 container the brush should be free from paint.
Tip #8) Oil the clean brush with a good brush oil. You can use any motor oil as long as it’s non-detergent. Oil the brush, shape it and lay it flat.
Tip #9) One Shot can be cleared with acrylic lacquer and urethanes as long as you use the harder with no lifting.
Tip #10) When you go to use the brush again clean the oil out of the brush with clean thinner. Now I know some of you are thinking fish eyes! One Shot is an oil based product, any trace amount of oil that could remain in a cleaned brush is compatible with the paint, no fish eyes!
This paint typically dries in 4 to 6 hours with maybe a slight tack. 12 to 24 hours no sticky, no finger prints and it can be waxed after 24 hours although I prefer a paint sealer that will breath. If you use the harder dry times are typically cut in half. After 7 to 10 days you can scuff and buff. The only limit you have with this product in terms of colors and the sheen you want is your imagination. Always test and practice before you commit.
Here is a link for all things One Shot.... Some great tutorials as well. www.1shot.com
In closing I hope that you find this post informational. If you have any questions you can post them here or P.M. me and I will respond.
Respectfully Submitted,
James Rasmussen. AKA Jimmy “RASS”
Pro Tech | MAD | Scale Motorsport