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Humbrol Silver - what is wrong with it?


roymattblack

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I've just bought a new tinlet of Humbrol silver 191.

After shaking, stirring, mixing - everything, it still brushes like thin, oily grease with absolutely NO covering power.

Is anyone else finding this or is it just a duff tin?

My old tin was great. Nice, dense, even silver.

Not the new stuff.

Getting little tins of paint around here (Ipswich) is a nightmare now that we have NO hobby shops apart from Scograil.

The few places I can get paints locally (including Scog) only stock Humbrol.

Roy

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I've just bought a new tinlet of Humbrol silver 191.

After shaking, stirring, mixing - everything, it still brushes like thin, oily grease with absolutely NO covering power.

Is anyone else finding this or is it just a duff tin?

My old tin was great. Nice, dense, even silver.

Not the new stuff.

Getting little tins of paint around here (Ipswich) is a nightmare now that we have NO hobby shops apart from Scograil.

The few places I can get paints locally (including Scog) only stock Humbrol.

Roy

Can't speak for their silver but I've found the same with other new tins of Humbrol paint bought recently. "Thin oily grease with absolutely NO covering power" describes them perfectly. Something very seriously wrong with their pigment/binder/solvent ratio.

Nick

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I would put money on it that they've had to change materials to be VOC 2010 compliant.

I'm doing an entire refurbishment on my house - it is driving me nuts as you cannot buy decent oil based paint anymore. It has also effected water based paint. Wood primer/ undercoats now need 4 coats, instead of 2. Dulux cannot even colour match one of their own emulsion paints from 18 months ago which meant an entire hall repaint for me twice - grrr.

They also had major issues with their white oil eggshell yellowing in weeks...I shall never use their products again!

BTW, at present Valspar make the best emulsions available for your walls. Passes all the current regs, however, it etched into oil based woodwork paint, if left for sometime! Go figure?

And don't even talk to me about reformulated Nitromors...useless!

Edited by vontrips
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Sphere Products on Martlesham Heath carry the Darkstar Metallic acrylic range along with a few Vallejo. Stocks are somewhat depleted post Telford but we can always get some in for you.

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I would put money on it that they've had to change materials to be VOC 2010 compliant.

I'm doing an entire refurbishment on my house - it is driving me nuts as you cannot buy decent oil based paint anymore. It has also effected water based paint. Wood primer/ undercoats now need 4 coats, instead of 2. Dulux cannot even colour match one of their own emulsion paints from 18 months ago which meant an entire hall repaint for me twice - grrr.

They also had major issues with their white oil eggshell yellowing in weeks...I shall never use their products again!

BTW, at present Valspar make the best emulsions available for your walls. Passes all the current regs, however, it etched into oil based woodwork paint, if left for sometime! Go figure?

And don't even talk to me about reformulated Nitromors...useless!

The sooner we leave the EU and rid ourselves of this legleslative rubbish the better.

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I've just bought a new tinlet of Humbrol silver 191.

After shaking, stirring, mixing - everything, it still brushes like thin, oily grease with absolutely NO covering power.

Wasn't aware that this description was limited to Silver 191. I've has exactly the same with a tin of Dark Admiralty Grey 5. In fact it's been my experience most times recently when I have, in a rather pathetic dsplay of hope over experience. been deluded enough to buy Humbrol enamel.

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I'm doing a build just now where I've used Humbroll 11 & 56, delights to use but older tins from Asian production. My Hu tins from new UK production are either thick & gloopy to a fault,(black & white) or as above thin greasy fluid requiring too many coats to cover. :(

Steve

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I'm doing a build just now where I've used Humbroll 11 & 56, delights to use but older tins from Asian production. My Hu tins from new UK production are either thick & gloopy to a fault,(black & white) or as above thin greasy fluid requiring too many coats to cover. :(

Steve

Interesting to read. Some of the comments I've seen appear to blame the problem on production when it wasn't in the UK. However, after reading vontrips posting, the compliance with regulations seems plausible.

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I've been buying stocks of "old" Humbrol on ebay, some of it 50+ years old in the blue plaid tinlets, and some discontinued colors such as Eau de Nil and Yellow (number 8, very useful for US Navy Orange Yellow on biplane upper wings). It's every bit as good as it was when first produced. There's nothing like the sweet smell of vintage Humbrol enamel in the morning.

But I've always had a problem with silver paint, going back as far as Pactra's Chrome Silver from the 1960s. Silver paint never seems to dry completely and is impossible to brush anything over it without it dissolving.

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Many years back , in the good old days of The Humber Oil Company, I switched to Woolworth's Household Silver, great stuff. Now I have a tin of Japlac on my shelf which is equally as good. Thins for spraying with standard enamel thinners (turps, white spirit etc.) and does not dissolve when overcoated with varnish which Humbrol always did and that was when they made decent enamels.

For quick jobs, Halfords Nissan Silver serves me well also and for small touch up jobs, a Vallejo 'tubelet'.

Not sure that I would be patient enough to persevere with third rate paints any more. My first two suggested products would be easier to get than Humbrol too methinks and a bit cheaper overall.

Nige B

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Roy,

Round here Revell enamels are available in toy shops and hardware shops. I find their enamels better than new Humbrol.

Mind you I still have some tins of Airfix and Humbrol Authentics, both of types which are still excellent!

Will

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I think all Humbrol metallics are the same, brushing needs 3 or 4 coats over a matt undercoat to get decent results, but strangley when ive sprayed the same paint it goes on great, although I just had to get a replacement tinlet of 64 light grey and that is truly awful compared to every other tin Ive bought.

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The sooner we leave the EU and rid ourselves of this legleslative rubbish the better.

Indeed. As if Humbrol Authentics ever threatened the planet. It's like the nonsense about not sending teeny-weeny tins through the post.

Nick

Problem is Humbrol would still have to adhere to EU standards if it wanted to continue importing paint into Europe. Bureaucracy is bureaucracy, regardless of where it comes from.

Mike.

Edited by MikeR
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For quick jobs, Halfords Nissan Silver serves me well also and for small touch up jobs, a Vallejo 'tubelet'.

Viscount, I have seen you mention this before, what Nissan Silver, there are normally things like Ice Silver, Autumn Mist Silver etc etc.

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Viscount, I have seen you mention this before, what Nissan Silver, there are normally things like Ice Silver, Autumn Mist Silver etc etc.

It's out of the Halfords car colour range but to be honest, there are lots of other 'silver' colours in their range too including aluminium. Nissan Silver seems close to RAF High Speed Silver but you might think a different one is better. Have a look in there, you'll find yourself spoiled for choice. As well as named car colours they also do a range of generic rattle cans too amongst which you'll find such things as greys, matt, gloss and satin blacks, whites (Appliance White is great for 'white top' aircraft) and also two types of dayglo red/orange and their invaluable grey and white primers, all in rattle spray cans. Recommended.

I'm assuming you are in the UK but if not, shops like Canadian Tire etc. have similar ranges.

Nige B

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Unfortunately Rob, if you follow the thread down not very good staying power with the paint on bare plastic

No acrylic in the world will stay on bare plastic you must prime them or it's a waist of time. Something that cuts into the plastic like Halfords for a start. Then maybe over coat in black.

Even enamels need priming these days.

I remeber when you could paint enamels onto plastic and they would never scratch off. I used to hate acrylic till I realised you had to prime them.

I will read further down cheers Rob :)

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