Hi there,
I’ve got a model here that I painted white a few years ago and can see that it is starting to get a yellowish tinge to it. I used some no-name paint, from Wal-Mart probably, and it worked fine but I’m just wondering if there is any specific brand of paint out there that resists yellowing better than others or are there any other tips to try and keep it from yellowing?
Thanks.
Ray
Most if not all white paint jobs will turn yellow over time. There was something in FSM explaining why. I have started spraying any white with Future to see if that will slow down the effect. I haven’t been doing it long enough to see if it works.
I saw the same thing in FSM and I think they said it had something to do with sunlight. Future has a good reputation, but some ‘clears’ even have a reputation of going yellow over time.
M.
The issue is UV light aka “blacklight” a natural component of sunlight and the leading cause of skin cancer, find a way to block it and you’r OK. Display cases with a UV screen would help.
I know this suggestion is a bit extreme and costly, but here goes. If you use an automotive two part polyurethane paint system this will help quite a bit. Dupont Imron and Imron 5000 work very well and will last for many years. I remember FSM had a story about a gentleman that painted a Bell x-1 with automotive paint, It was a very good article.
The down side is that the paint costs around 100.00 dollars a quart. You will also need the activator to catylize the paint…not cheap either. The paint will melt the plastic so you need to use a good quality primer as well.
Like I said, It’s a bit extreme. But the results are well worth it.
Darren
dont paint the part white. if u absolutely have to, just use flat white and then future it. if it yellows than strip off the paint en repaint it. some types of paints yellow faster than others.
I’ve also heard that adding a tiny drop of ‘blue’ to the white paint will prevent it from yellowing? Has anyone else heard this???
M.
yeah its true
I’ve done the “drop of blue” thing and it does seem to work.
I built an X-1 about ten years ago for a friend and put it in the NACA all-white scheme. I see this model on a semi-regular basis and to this day, it hasn’t yellowed a bit. It could be that the thing is never exposed to sunlight. But whatever the reason, it hasn’t yellowed.
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