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Railmatch Spray Cans


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I've been having problems with cans of Railmatch spray matt varnish with the spray button just failing to spray even after cleaning the nozzle with white spirit, The most recent failure was with a brand new can which was vigorously shaken delivered one spray pass and then blocked/failed to spray - has anybody out there had a similar experience? I really like the finish that Railmatch sprays give, but don't want to go on collecting nearly full cans that I can't use!

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Guest baldrick25

Stand just the nozzles in some watersoluble paint strippers for 15 minutes. If you have access to an airline or spray can of air or something , a quick blast thru to clear the dissolved debris , and then wash well in hot water. Next time you spray , pop the nozzle(s) into a small upturned saucer of thinners and leave overnight. Clean out afterwards.

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I have to admit I do not bother with Railmatch anymore. Pretty much all railway colours can be found in the Halfords car range which is better value and better quality. The gloss finish is not much of a problem since it makes a good finish for transfers and I add a coat of matt varnish over the top anyway.

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I've had similar problems with Railmatch sprays to the point I prefer not use them after being left with a half sprayed model and a dud can. I used to shake the life out of them and to have a spare clean nozzle handy and wash out the valve with airbrush cleaner, but I don't want to have to faff about when it's the final part of the model.

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I'm afraid I have to concur with the previous posters. Proprietary specialist railway coloured paint spray cans are, in my opinion, unreliable, even when the instructions and common sense procedures are followed. That doesn't stop me from buying them from time to time, but when they fail on me, as they invariably do, I curse loudly and swear never to waste money on them again. Until I forget, and buy more believing that they'll work because they are new.

I really must invest in a decent airbrush and a compressor.....

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I recently tried a Humbrol acrylic satin varnish aerosol. The nozzle stayed down, spraying varnish all over the place. Needless to say, I tried easing the nozzle up and that came off the can. Now there's varnish erupting forth from the top of the can, until I shook it, and all stopped again. Half a tin of varnish gone, none on the model but plenty around me and the garage.

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Stand just the nozzles in some watersoluble paint strippers for 15 minutes. If you have access to an airline or spray can of air or something , a quick blast thru to clear the dissolved debris , and then wash well in hot water. Next time you spray , pop the nozzle(s) into a small upturned saucer of thinners and leave overnight. Clean out afterwards.

 

Many thanks for all the different responses. However, which watersoluble paint stripper would you recommend Baldrick25? Would Precision Super Strip do the trick?

 

Regards

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I've been having problems with cans of Railmatch spray matt varnish with the spray button just failing to spray even after cleaning the nozzle with white spirit, The most recent failure was with a brand new can which was vigorously shaken delivered one spray pass and then blocked/failed to spray - has anybody out there had a similar experience? I really like the finish that Railmatch sprays give, but don't want to go on collecting nearly full cans that I can't use!

I have had the exact same problem on many occasions often blocking more or less instantly. I did soak the nozels in nitromors for a few hours & then washed them in warm soapy water after which I cleaned the nozel with fuse wire, they did work for a short while before blocking again. Weather its down to how long they have been on the shelf I don't know. End result I binned them all & went out & bought an airbrush & compressor which works brilliantly. I use Ronseal Satin, Gloss & Matt varnish which is mixed together to give whatever finish I require, let down with a drop of white spirit. Cost per tin £3-50 ! enough to do a 1000 loco's.

Cheers

silverlink (Peasholm Models)

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Seems that the problems I have had forever with Precision varnish is not limited to their production!

 

Varnish is inherently sticky and does not seem suited to aerosol cans at all. I too have an airbrush and a can of PP ready to spray satin varnish for the 2-8-2. I've also bought a cheapie single acting airbrush off eBay specifically for spraying varnish - dead easy to clean out if it gets gummed up :lol:

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I have had the same problem with railmatch Satin varnish got the model 99% finished only required varnishing then Blob blob all over the model it took 6 days for it to go off. thank god for wethering

 

Ian

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Varnish is inherently sticky and does not seem suited to aerosol cans at all.

I think it depends on the manufacturer. Testors and Games Workshop varnishes seem very reliable even spray cans. The only thing to remember is to avoid spraying in cold or damp conditions which can lead to the dreaded clouding.

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I too have an airbrush and a can of PP ready to spray satin varnish for the 2-8-2. I've also bought a cheapie single acting airbrush off eBay specifically for spraying varnish - dead easy to clean out if it gets gummed up :lol:

 

I also use PP ready thinned for airbrushing varnish and to be honest I woudn't use anything else. I've never had the airbrush gung up with it, its normally acrylics that do that.

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You may find that inverting the can and depressing button for a second or two will clear the nozzle.........it's a well known 'tip' in automotive spray can circles!

 

 

Agreed - another aerosol paint tip from the bodyshop world, is to stand the aerosol in a mug of hot water (but not boiling) for a minute or so. This gets the solvent/carrier ready to evapourate as soon as it leaves the can, rather than when it hits the target. Much drier run free finish, and also an excuse to keep popping the kettle on.

 

Just remember to take the can out of the water using a thick tea towel as the can body will be hot.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Agreed - another aerosol paint tip from the bodyshop world, is to stand the aerosol in a mug of hot water (but not boiling) for a minute or so. This gets the solvent/carrier ready to evapourate as soon as it leaves the can, rather than when it hits the target. Much drier run free finish, and also an excuse to keep popping the kettle on.

 

Just remember to take the can out of the water using a thick tea towel as the can body will be hot.

 

I put my spray cans in the airing cupboard for an hour or so before use, works ok for me. Also have found the current Humbrol matt spray varnish as good as any, a good flat finish.

 

John Bruce.

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I'm so sick of throwing away part used Railmatch Aerosols that i'm getting an airbrush!

 

More than once i've ruined a part finished model with a splattery finish from a part clogged can. I've done the invert trick, but if you've shaken the can enough to properly mix it you still get paint through inverted so the nozzel still clogs up.

You can soak the nozzels in thinner and unclog thgem with really fine brss wire but it's a real paint everytime you want to use them.

 

Come on Howes - sort it out.

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Hi all, I can concur with the other comments about pre-warming any make of spray can for better results. Either immersion in hot water or a warmed environment, ie, remove cat from airing cupboard & replace with can for a few minutes. :huh:, then shake vigourously. Spraying should always be undertaken in a warm, dry, draught free location.

 

Always invert the can after spraying and depress the nozzle for a short burst. This allows the propellant in the can to clear any excess paint/varnish from the nozzle.

 

For best results, you cannot beat professional spraying equipment. Cans are for amateurs and graffitti vandals. :P

 

Handyman

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  • 1 year later...
For best results, you cannot beat professional spraying equipment. Cans are for amateurs and graffitti vandals. tongue.gif

Im very tempted to use my Sata spray gun for painting models and weathering. Even a rattle can will produce good results in the right hands you have just got to use it to its strengths :)
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  • 2 weeks later...

I went out and got an airbrush as I got fed up of wasting money on cans that either stop working or don't work from the start, the only cans I do still use is grey primer, but get the ones from Poundland as not such a big hit if they stop working, to be honest had more right than wrong with the cheap ones.

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I too struggle with the various railway cans and yet things like Halfords aerosols & I find the Humbrol Hobby Sprays seem to go on forever without problems - all I do is invert them when out of use. I've stored Halfords ones in the garage for months in the freezing cold all winter and they still work perfectly the following spring/summer! If only Halfords could do BR Blue (for my case)......????...It really is about time they brought out the latest Ford,Volkswagen or BMW in BRBlue with Bonnet/Boot in Warning Panel Yellow!

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One problem with spray cans is that they tend to have a shelf life of about 12 months.

Don't take any notice of what the distributors might claim. I used to check batches of the things and got to know the problems.

Not an advert but just a statement of fact. Trimite were head and shoulders above any other supplier.

Stored in a warm room the shelf life can be reduced by quite a bit which makes the situation even worse.

Depending on the colour and the pigments used to acheive this the shelf life can vary.

Moral.

Unless you get them straight from the makers and are able to trust them to send out fresh stock you will sooner or later have a problem.

Bernard

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  • 1 year later...
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I've almost ruined one of my latest OBA wagons with yet another Railmatch spray varnish that randomly blocked and spluttered all over my model so I fancied thought I'd dig up this old thread to have a good moan about these products!! 

 

I'd recently bought another couple of spray cans of Railmatch Matt Varnish at £7.99 a pop and both have blocked while half full, ridiculous!! They do say never post/send emails when angry but I'm fuming and making a special exception haha! At least thanks to this RMWeb thread I can vent a spleen here and not on whoever's answering the phone at Howes tomorrow..!

 

Going to relax and order some Games Workshop varnish and see if that's any better, hopefully salvage the rest of my wagon...

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