Testors Model Master Lacquer System

Reviewed By Dick Christ, #18127

This is a new paint line from the Testors Corporation for the automotive modeler.  The line consists of spray cans and bottles that contain colors licensed by the major U.S. manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, and Daimler-Chrysler.  The spray cans are the car colors such as Hemi Orange, Wimbledon White, and Flame Red.  Also in cans are flat black, fabric grey, and fabric tan.  The bottles are available in colors for detailing the interior, lights, and engine.

Testors calls the spray cans a two part system, paint and clear top coat.  I used white primer, flame red, and the clear top coat on a Revell 2004 Z06 Corvette.  I did not try the paint on bare plastic.  The white primer covered well with a single coat and dried smooth.  The primer is thin and did not fill in the details on the model.  It also did not fill in the sanding marks where the mold parting line was removed.

The color was applied in four coats.  Two coats were misted on; then two wet coats were applied.  The paint covered well and did not fill in the surface detail.  This paint does not flow as well as the Tamiya lacquer and it is more difficult to get a smooth finish.  The finish is not as shiny as the Tamiya lacquer.  This is expected because with a two part system, shine will come from the clear topcoat.

The drying time for the color coats is about a week.  The dry paint responds well to polishing.  I used the 3200, 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000 grit sanding pads from MicroMark to polish the paint.  The clear top coat was applied with a light coat followed by a wet coat.  The clear flows very well and will tolerate a bit heavier coat without running than the color coat.  The clear seems to dry faster than the color coat, although this may be due to applying less clear.  When dry, the clear has enough shine that the top coat looks wet.  After the top coat dried for a week, I polished the clear with the same MicroMark pads to get a deep shine.  The resulting shine is very good.

This paint system gives the car modeler another choice for painting with factory colors.  This paint system is a bit more difficult to use than the Tamiya spray paints.  The system worked well, but needs both color and top coat to get a deep shine.

I purchased this paint using the Testors website.  The spray cans are $4.29 and the bottles are $2.49

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.