Could someone out there clarify what paint hotness is? Does it have to do with how fast it dries? Also, how does hotness relate to what paints can be used over others? Thanks in advance!
How hot a paint is refers to how aggressively it adheres to the surface you’re painting. Some paints are so “hot”, they’ll create a wrinkling texture or crazing of the plastic, obviously not good. On the other end, some paints grip so weakly, that they need a primer underneath. Lacquers are known to be a hot paint, but then not all lacquers are equal, as some won’t hurt plastic. Acrylics are on the other end of that scale. Enamels run both ways, depending on brand.
I disagree. Hotness refers to how fast a substance evaporates. At least, that’s how the paint chemists use the term when referring to solvents. The technical term is volatility. It’s easier to say that a paint is “hot” than it is to say that “it contains highly volatile substances.”
I would say it is a measure of how well it dissolves other subtances it is placed over, such as the substrate plastic, or other previous paint coats. Some alcohols evaporate very fast, yet do not bother most plastics. Lacquer thinner is a very aggressive solvent, used in lacquer paints, and used by some people to thin enamels. Water and isopropyl alcohol, not very strong, paint thinner (turpentine or mineral spirits) somewhere in between those two.
I think scale modelers sometimes like to make up words, and there is probably no right or wrong answer to this interesting question, though in general I’d guess it is often used to mean to what degree a liquid attacks (or reacts with) whatever it is being applied over.
[2cnts]
[dto:] Greg,can’t be dogmatic about our opinions in this regard.
Valid point there, Tojo.
Well put there Greg. [Y]
Ta, Joe. Nice to hear from you 'ol buddy.
I’m gettin’ back in the groove. Been away from the bench way too long.
Good to hear
It sure is. [Y]