Anyone use Duplicolor paint? Is it good

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dfos

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I have been back into rocketry for about 6 months and I have experimented a little with paints. My favorite so far is duplicolor, which I buy at Napa auto parts.

However, I haven't seen anyone mention duplicolor in any threads. It usually seems to be Krylon or Rustoleum.

Does anyone else use duplicolor? I don't have a ton of experience, so I was wondering if maybe there are better paints and I just don't know it yet.
 
I use duplicolor it is great paint . Covers really well and dries fast. I am famiar with it from building plastic models. The only problem is with those little cans it may take several cans to paint a large rocket.
 
DupliColor are great paints ! For primer ,their high solids filler primer is my goto choice ,sands great and have never had a problem with other paints going over it ,even lacquer based.Their car colors are also very nice ,plenty of nice metalics in the line and plenty of choice( note: some of these are Acrylic Lacquer ,and may/will react with other enamels).The rest of the Duplicolor line is also very good.

RustOleum paints are also another of my favorites as is their Lacquer line as is Painters Touch.

As far as Krylon ,some of their stuff is fine ,but please stay away from their so call "primers" as they are pure crap ! As is their gloss white.....1 part pigment ....1,000,000 parts carrier.

Testor` small rattle cans are also good for small areas or if FS or specific car colors are needed ,but very expensive.

Plenty of talk about Valspar paint ,supposed to be very good according to many here on the forums.I have not yet tried it ,but would like to .

Like anything else ,there could be many opinions on this subject ,but I`m sure many will agree about DupliColor being a top notch paint.

HTH...and of course ,only my opinion and the the end all be all on the subject.

Paul T
 
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Thats all I use for rattle can spray paint. Easy to use dries fast and the high build primer fills spirals. You can prime and paint your rocket in one day easy. The down side is expense and color selection.

I think most of the folks here buy what is at the hardware store and is inexpensive. But, when I read about the troubles that some people have with the other types of paints, finish schedules that last for days, even weeks I think I will stick with duplicolor.
 
Thanks guys. I am glad I am not alone in liking duplicolor.
 
I like it too. I use the primers mostly,(only cuz I got a boat load of Kry) But I did trust it in painting my Saturn V. I just pick up a can this weekend and did my Bulldog clone in Ford,Deep Jewel Green Metalic.
 
Duplicolor?!? No question--the best paint available--loved it when re-working my son's Suzuki street bike.

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I have had trouble with the "Metallics" line of paints designed to go over metal. It crazed like mad.
 
I really like the Duplicolor. I got it from NAPA as well. Here is a picture of the Nike I just built. The white primer and body went on fine, but I was most impressed with the paint on the fins. It had great coverage, and the fins turned out really smooth and glossy.

DSC_0051.jpg
 
I am sick of rattle cans... the cost is getting stupid... i am thinking about ordering a bunch of the laquor enamel quarts from JEGGS...
looks like a more reasonable cost.
 
The cost can be high, but so are the air brush systems. You could just fly them naked.
 
The cost can be high, but so are the air brush systems. You could just fly them naked.

Laquor enamel is actually pretty easy to paint, and Harbor Freight, is your friend.

i have a detail gun i paid about 10.00 for that does a great job.
Sometimes i substitute MEK for the actual laquor thinner, if my gun gets a little dirty, i call it clean up painting....

you can also get bulk Acrylic enamel really cheap. especialy the primary colors.

My airbrush(just connected to my aircompressor) I paid 14.00 for.
 
There is no such thing as "lacquer enamel". There is lacquer, and there is enamel. Old lacquer was nitrocellulose based, new is acrylic. Old enamel was alkyd, new is acrylic. So, nowadays, you see acrylic lacquer (getting rare, but available ala Duplicolor) and acrylic enamel plus the urethane based paints.
 
DupliColor are great paints ! For primer ,their high solids filler primer is my goto choice ,sands great and have never had a problem with other paints going over it ,even lacquer based.Their car colors are also very nice ,plenty of nice metalics in the line and plenty of choice( note: some of these are Acrylic Lacquer ,and may/will react with other enamels).The rest of the Duplicolor line is also very good.

RustOleum paints are also another of my favorites as is their Lacquer line as is Painters Touch.

As far as Krylon ,some of their stuff is fine ,but please stay away from their so call "primers" as they are pure crap ! As is their gloss white.....1 part pigment ....1,000,000 parts carrier.

Testor` small rattle cans are also good for small areas or if FS or specific car colors are needed ,but very expensive.

Plenty of talk about Valspar paint ,supposed to be very good according to many here on the forums.I have not yet tried it ,but would like to .

Like anything else ,there could be many opinions on this subject ,but I`m sure many will agree about DupliColor being a top notch paint.

HTH...and of course ,only my opinion and the the end all be all on the subject.

Paul T

I used Valspar to paint my Semroc Iris(Semroc 24mm Iris build in Midpowered, pictures) and the paint came out really nice.I faded Red,Green and Blue.I also used RustOleum on others.Like that one also.cjp.
 
I used Valspar to paint my Semroc Iris(Semroc 24mm Iris build in Midpowered, pictures) and the paint came out really nice.I faded Red,Green and Blue.I also used RustOleum on others.Like that one also.cjp.

Indeed ,I lke RustOleum also ,very nice paint !

I also like their (RustOleum) Lacquer paint ,although it only comes in RED ,White and Black......but I suppose those colours are very often used ,so not a big problem.

Nice IRIS by the way ...and not your basic RED,WHITE and BLACK :cheers:


Paul T
 
I am sick of rattle cans... the cost is getting stupid... i am thinking about ordering a bunch of the laquor enamel quarts from JEGGS...
looks like a more reasonable cost.

Duplicolor has their "Paint Shop" line in qt. cans. About $20 a can. It's a full system; Primer, Color (which can be used as a stand alone) available in opaques and metalics, Three clear coats (Clear, metalic clear, prisma clear), and three true candies. All one part, just pour and shoot. Color pallett isn't huge yet but is broad enough to mix anything you might want. THE most user friendly paint I've ever used (and I shoot paint for a living). I havn't tried the candies yet or the primer (I have some DuPont epoxy based I'm finishing up) but what I have used I love. Can't beat the price. https://www.duplicolor.com/products/psFinishSystem/ FWIW
 
Indeed ,I lke RustOleum also ,very nice paint !

I also like their (RustOleum) Lacquer paint ,although it only comes in RED ,White and Black......but I suppose those colours are very often used ,so not a big problem.

Nice IRIS by the way ...and not your basic RED,WHITE and BLACK :cheers:


Paul T

Thanks,I wanted it to be different.dfos,some forum members such as sodmeister really have down pat when it comes to painting.My next step is getting a airbrush and small compressor to paint larger Midpowered and Highpowered rockets.Harbor Freight is supposed to have good prices on these.I'll have to check their prices as well as some other stores around here.Welcome back to the Hobby by the way.:)
 
Thanks,I wanted it to be different.dfos,some forum members such as sodmeister really have down pat when it comes to painting.My next step is getting a airbrush and small compressor to paint larger Midpowered and Highpowered rockets.Harbor Freight is supposed to have good prices on these.I'll have to check their prices as well as some other stores around here.Welcome back to the Hobby by the way.:)

I have several airbrushes (Badgers)although I really only use them for detail work and small areas (bought them for my other hobby ,scale aircraft modeling)
An airbrush might be a little small for large rochets ,but they are great tools ,and once you get your PSI and paint thinning all squred away ,it really isn`t that hard to master.....well practice of course.

Take care

Paul T
 
I agree ...Duplicolor is all I use. Their primers are great and the paint sprays a nice even mist. I agree that they do have a limited selection of paints, but if I want a specific color I'll buy a a can of Testor's, but mostly just for a accent color...not the whole rocket..
 
Dumb question here .

Trying to wean off the rattle cans and have been looking for a base system like the DupliColor PaintShop Finish System to run through my Harbor Freight LPHV Gun or new HF Airbrush . Local body shop supply said he had a newb solution with the same timing : paint , mask shoot 2nd color hour later and must clear within 24. His was another brand featuring 'Flame Red' instead of 'Performance Red ' His also seemed more expensive, pints not quarts and not pre-thinned . Red added 50% more to the cost also .

Two questions actually, decals go on after clear ? Re-clear after decals applied ? So many online here say to Finish the decals with ' Pledge Finish' , seems redundant after clear coat .

Also how does the timing work with an IRIS ? White Black Red Silver (and found a pic online with more silver near rear of rocket too) Seems paint system is geared for one, two colors before clear - or am I missing something ?
 
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The acrylic floor finish product is used as the clear coat. There is no other type of clear coating used with it. Its primary purpose in this instance is to protect decals. Obviously if you have a more professional setup and can apply automotive clear coating, then you won't need the floor finish product too. The product is kind of a poor man's clear coat and it is more paint- and decal-friendly and it displays better adhesion than rattle can clear coats, plus it doesn't yellow with age. I would say that most users of it don't have access to an airbrush. It is typically applied with a foam brush or some other type of applicator.
 
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