Matt:
Thank you for your reply.
To answer your question:
1) Tru-Color Paint comes ready to spray directly from the bottle in the military paint line, without thinning. We suggest a pressure of 28-35 PSI for best results. If thinning is desired we recommend our TCP-015, Thinner, as it is the same blend of solvents used in the manufacture of the paint so it will not effect the drying time or desired finish. Shelf life for Tru-Color Paint is infinite. Even if some solvents evaporate after opening, adding some TCP-015 will reconstitute the paint.
2) Depending on ambient temp. and humidity Tru-Color Paint takes from 30-60 minutes to dry. You can then mask your model for the next application or decal. We also have Gloss (TCP-018), Satin (TCP-014) and Flat (TCP-017) finishes in the product line. We also make our own masking paper (TCP-900 & 910), which is 8" x 10" - the largest commercially available masking on the market.
3) It is NOT necessary to prime your model when using Tru-Color Paint when using on plastic. We do recommend priming when painting on brass or similar metals. We have a Dark Primer (TCP-007) and a Light Primer (TCP-256) which should be applied and then baked onto the metal part under a heat lamp.
4) All colors will be sold individually. Modelers do not seem to care for sets (we heard that from Life-Color and Testor's customers and hobby shops) because if they run out of a color, they have to buy another set if that is all that is available to them, which wastes some colors they do not need.
5) We already have a line of metallic colors - Galvanized Steel, Titanium, Graphite, Aluminum, Dark and Semi-Matte Aluminum, Brass, Gunmetal, Copper, Metallic Iron (Rust), Burnt Iron and over 50 metallic colors for automobile (in the TCP-700 series) modelers. We can send out our complete product list - just give us your address or you can view the entire line - 600+ colors on our website: trucolorpaint.com
6) Clean up is easy. Acetone (unscented nail polish remover) will remove all Tru-Color Paint from air brush equipment or a paint brush and it dries quickly so you can spray again in less than 1 minute. DO NOT USE ACETONE for thinning Tru-Color Paint - it dries too fast and the paint may blush or give a very rough finish.
7) We use an acrylic polymer to bind the pigments in the paint to your model. There is no catalyst, so it does not cure like an enamel. It dries hard to the touch.
8) In the TCP-800 series Tru-Color Paint is designed to be applied with a paint brush. All of these paints will dry flat (except for Brass and Copper which are still glossy). Due to the high solids content of the paint , this series is $ 6.29 for a 1 oz. bottle and $ 11.25 for a 2 oz. bottle. These are ancillary products used for figures, applying rusts, muds, rifles, dusts, etc. There are 82 colors in this series.
9) We have NEVER discontinued a color in our product line and do not intend to start now. Once we issue a color, it is permanently in our line, even if it becomes a slow mover. All manufacturing is done in our plant in Phoenix, AZ and we have the capability of running many batch sizes.
Trust this answers all of the questions and then some. If I have missed anything, let me know and I'll try to help. We will be the the National convention next year, but we will also be at Model Zona in November if anyone is attending. I am building 3 F-4's in various paint schemes (hopefully they will look half way deceit - I haven't modeled in 45 years!) and we commissioned some tanks and ships to be built by modelers at the Craig Hewitt chapter.
Martin Cohen, PhD
Tru-Color Paint
