My word Colin you certainly have a fleet there and some interesting tools. To ChrisF, my Dad painted the house with International paint. The gloss and colour lasted many, many years longer than anything else we used. A word about modern water-based paint and the disappearance of oil based, my Dad still, when he was alive, still bemoaned the loss of lead paints. He'd be about 100 years old now and was walking along the beach onr day when he saw some guy attempting to remove paint from the bottom of a boat. He said "you'll never get that off lad, it's white lead." Cheers, Spence

Good morning Herman, at last count my son said we have 68 which includes 5 part built, 1 unbuilt kit, and 11 awaiting resurrection/restoration.
Going to a vintage show entails usualy loading 30 boats, 5 display boards with various vintage motors, steam engines, vintage rc sets. Plus my wife's collection of about 500 vintage model lorries and buses. The car normally contains myself, my dog 4 boats and the picnic food. My son brings the family.
Luckily this hobby is spreading to my grandchildren who are both keen sailors. Happily we all enjoy modelling.
My workshop/garage is shared by us all.
Cheers Colin.

Colin a good morning
Your collection of boats looks more like a chinese shipbuilding yard!!!
How many boats have you produced!?!?!
I know you are not 18 any more but to me you produce a boat a day that keeps the doctor(gp) away
Fantastic keep on building because it will stop after our generation
😍😍😍😍👍👍👍👍👍

Colin, et al,
Sorry I got rid of my 5 X 10 foot trailer a few years ago. Now that my fleet has increased I miss it. My Honda Pilot can only handle so much.
Lew
Florida ☀️⛵, USA

Most damage to the paint occurs during transit or accidental mishaps.
I've got models of varying ages some 80 years or older.
Most have paint that is over 10 years since last refurb. I transport 100's of miles each year going to shows and exhibitions also sailing days.
All my boats except 1 travel on their display stands either in the trailer or the back of my car.
So far I've only had 3 serious mishaps damaging models in transit because of emergency stops to avoid accidents.
Normally my models get a repaint only if damaged, or if when they are given to me require any restoration or repair work.
Pictures show my mode of transport and models inside the trailer.
Cheers Colin.
PS. Car has now been changed to a 4x4.

Yes, given the amount of time models spend on the water paint generally isn't an issue though I tend to avoid water based as it just doesn't cover very well and give a nice gloss finish. Used some in the house and not very impressed.

Even the Toplac Plus I use isn't supposed to be used below the waterline, but that's on full-size craft where they invariably sit in the water for prolonged periods of time. It's an oil based paint and gives a lovely finish. It's expensive though and not really viable if you're only painting one model.

It was said earlier in the thread that there will be a lot of opinions on paint choices. We all experience battery, radio, motor, wiring, sinking, crashes, weeds, and probably a few other issues with model boats. I have yet to see or hear about one being hit by lightning or in our area, gators.

Along the same lines I very rarely see issues with paint, even common inexpensive paints. Ironically, one of those issues arose today at our (SSMBC) bi-weekly model boat meets. It was a paint (or some sort of thick coating) on the inside of a fiberglass hull delaminating. Very likely a poor SURFACE PREPARATION, which many know can happen with resin/fiberglass.

Lew
Florida ☀️🚤, USA

I'm using what they use on full-size boats, namely International Paints Toplac Plus and UP primer under coat.

Hi Spence.

I'm not good at painting.

I wasn't good at painting even when I drew freehand, in fact I used a technique that didn't involve any color (China ink 0.2).

Once this youthful digression is over, I'll give you my opinion.

In my opinion the best enamel paints are Humbrol.
However, in Italy they are no longer sold because the European community has declared them harmful to health.
I bought a few more recently but they are leftovers (in fact I didn't find the ones I wanted nor the black and white).
They told me that Humbrol now produces enamel paints that are legal for the EU but are no longer as good as they used to be.
If you don't have these limitations, I think the (old) Humbrols have exceptional pigmentation and yield.

Now I will try the Italeri brand colours.

Thanks Guys and very interesting, do you know Colin, before I bought any paint I toyed with the idea of car paint, it should stand up to anything the elements could throw at it. I have been using Rustins Shellac Primer so thanks to TerryH for your input. Be interested in looking at all the paints mentioned so thanks again Guys, Cheers, Spence.

It's getting a lot harder to find good oil based household paint, and my testing with various brands of the current "water based - easy clean" household paints has proven to be very disappointing.
Poor coverage and no long term resistance to immersion in water are my main complaints against these easy clean-up paints.
I restore classic r/c power boats -usually from the late '50's to the mid '70s - and I like to paint them by hand with brush paint to finish them in the traditional way with oil based gloss paints.

I use a variety of methods and paint chemistry. In general, with immersed or frequent contact with water I stay away from the latex/acrylic based and use the petroleum based paints for those surfaces. For 'above the water' I use both latex/acrylic and petroleum based paints. However, I have used Testors clear coat flat spray enamel on well dried acrylic paint.

Brands: I'm not too brand specific, mostly look for availability for the application style, surface finish (gloss, satin, flat...) and of course color.

Application: Sometimes brush on, especially with small parts or hard to reach areas for spraying. Small hobby spray cans (expensive) as well as the larger, hardware store cans, both are OK. Choice of those is driven by color and finish. Airbrush - only use the acrylic paints, ease of cleaning.

Testors (Model Masters) paint is fine. Large selection of colors. Some of the little jar colors are also available in spray cans (great for touch-up).

Clear finish on wood: Spar varnish as it is superior as far as water resistance goes and has ultraviolet protection.

I have not tried it yet, but if you are building a larger model boat and need a lot of the same color, it is probably possible to go to the paint store (or department) and have them custom tint the paint to your choice.

And finally... yes to the "household paint" question. I ran out of my Testors flat white paint in the small jar and filled it with some Rustoleum flat white paint, thinning it appropriately.

Lew
Florida ☀️🚤, USA

Personally, I do use a variety of commercial primer and spray cans of paint for the larger surfaces, like hulls, decks and superstructure, but I do use specialty model paints like Testors Humboldt, and Tamiya for little items that require a specific colour match.

I mainly use water based Rustins paints for my models it works for me and only need one good brush as it washes out in water

I swear by Krylon Fusion paint. Paint primer in one... tough as nails when its dry. No chips cracks etc when you bump into something.

Good evening Spence, model painting is a hard question to answer as we all have our own preferences.
For smaller models I use Humbrol or Revel enamel, but models over 2 ft I go for either car paint rattle cans or Plastikote rattle cans.
But Varnish I always use best quality marine Varnish.
Cheers Colin.