Halfords spray paints

[Gilbert]

FWIW - not applicable to your specific colour needs but I recently bought my standard selection i.e. Black, Red Primer, Grey Primer and White ( Matt and Primer) and they seem little changed - althought I've not tested all of them...

I asked the chap in the store if they'd changed formulae and he thought it was simply a change of packaging...

Chris H

Edited July 3 by Gilbert

[Roger Sunderland]

Others on here may know better but I cannot figure out the new paint range. It appears to consist of a few basic colours ( many are metallic) with different numbers eg. There are at least 6 differently coded reds but all look to have the same colour caps. There must be some logic to it but it’s passed me by I’m afraid.

on the plus side, a visit yesterday, revealed new stocks of grey primer and brown camouflage paint ( I use this for track/ sleeper grime). Downside was no Matt black or Matt lacquer, both of which were staples for me. They may come!

[Roger Sunderland]

2 minutes ago, Gilbert said:

FWIW - not applicable to your specific colour needs but I recently bought my standard selection i.e. Black, Red Primer, Grey Primer and White ( Matt and Primer) and they seem little changed - althought I've not tested all of them...

I asked the chap in the store if they'd changed formulae and he thought it was simply a change of packaging...

Chris H

I’m not sure it’s just a change of packaging, I was told they had changed their supplier. Good to know they are available though. Trust they are as good as the previous ones.

[Izzy]

34 minutes ago, Morgenergy said:

Failing to figure out the Halfords codes for these, is the Hycote stuff basically the same thing? 

 My limited experience of other than Halfords spray cans is that they are thick/heavy coating not really suitable for models but great for full size stuff.  The latest Halfords I've picked up seem to be similar to before in application but with newer car colours that often are no longer of use to us modellers past the basic primers  and matt black. Shame really but not surprising.

 

Bob

[Morgenergy]

1 hour ago, Roger Sunderland said:

Others on here may know better but I cannot figure out the new paint range. It appears to consist of a few basic colours ( many are metallic) with different numbers eg. There are at least 6 differently coded reds but all look to have the same colour caps. There must be some logic to it but it’s passed me by I’m afraid.

 

Likewise, but to be honest I don’t even think Halfords themselves have it figured out.

 

I browsed for other colours in their catalogue earlier to get an idea of how it works. I noticed that some colours had numerous matches available on the shelf with different codes, which is when eyebrows were raised. The same exact colour has different codes? Bit dodgy that. I’d be terrified of touching up a vehicle with paint loosely matched to a general range of basic colours. 

 

That, and some recent/current colours just don’t seem to be in there: I looked up Ford Race Red - that of my mother’s 2014 Focus - along with its codes and didn’t manage to find it in Halford’s book or their website, so that’s me not fixing blemishes for her again anytime soon. Sad. 

 

46 minutes ago, Izzy said:

 My limited experience of other than Halfords spray cans is that they are thick/heavy coating not really suitable for models but great for full size stuff.  The latest Halfords I've picked up seem to be similar to before in application but with newer car colours that often are no longer of use to us modellers past the basic primers  and matt black. Shame really but not surprising.

 

Bob

Time for a new thread of aerosol railway colour matches, perhaps? (Obviously Railmatch exists, but the coverage is like mist in comparison.).

 

Hopefully they’ll expand the range and the current one is what they have so far? Wishful thinking. 

[fulton]

5 minutes ago, Morgenergy said:

 

 

I browsed for other colours in their catalogue earlier to get an idea of how it works. I noticed that some colours had numerous matches available on the shelf with different codes, which is when eyebrows were raised. The same exact colour has different codes? Bit dodgy that. I’d be terrified of touching up a vehicle with paint loosely matched to a general range of basic colours. 

My recent experience, needed a can of Ford Moondust Silver, they looked it up and sold me a can of "generic" silver, did not match!, ordered a can of Hycote Ford Moondust Silver, on line, was an exact match, remember with modern paints you also need the Clear Lacquer, Halfords primers are my go to, but would not buy a car colour that needed to match.

[Roger Sunderland]

I think that Fulton has hit the nail on the head.  We, as modellers, are just trying to appropriate a paint range for our specialist needs. God help the car enthusiasts who untill this recent change could be reasonably sure that “Rosso Red” would match their pride and joy, but now have no idea at all which colour to choose.

 It’s a great shame that there is not a better alternative. In my opinion Railmatch spray paints are appalling, I will not use them. Come on paint manufacturers let’s have some good quality acrylic spray paints in railway colours please.

[doilum]

If you take a sample of the colour you want  to an auto paint supplier the long experienced technician will quickly go to the nearest book of paint samples and find several shades close to your sample. They will then help you decide which is closest and make up a rattle can accordingly.  This will then have a code which will enable you to have subsequent cans mixed. It is some time since I had my NCB maroon mixed but I cannot see the cost being much more than £20.

The old school human contact is the key.

Edited July 3 by doilum

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, doilum said:

If you take a sample of the colour you want I to an auto paint supplier the long experienced technician will quickly go to the nearest book of paint samples and find several shades close to your sample. They will then help you decide which is closest and make up a rattle can accordingly.  This will then have a code which will enable you to have subsequent cans mixed. It is some time since I had my NCB maroon mixed but I cannot see the cost being much more than £20.

 

A friend of mine does just that. I can't recall the name of the firm he uses but I think they are in Birmingham and they will produce rattle cans to order. They will do them in enamel or cellulose, which many people prefer. The finish my friend gets with their cellulose paints is superb, being very thin and hard wearing. There are plenty of alternatives to Halfords.

[doilum]

Most small or medium sized towns will have at least one supplier. A quick word with the guys at your nearest car body repair shop should point you in the right direction.  After a full day of staring at fifty shades of grey is the new silver, the technician will be glad of something really different that allows them to use their real skills.

[Roger Sunderland]

2 minutes ago, t-b-g said:

 

A friend of mine does just that. I can't recall the name of the firm he uses but I think they are in Birmingham and they will produce rattle cans to order. They will do them in enamel or cellulose, which many people prefer. The finish my friend gets with their cellulose paints is superb, being very thin and hard wearing. There are plenty of alternatives to Halfords.

Yes I’m sure there are. But Halfords were very convenient to many of us and their paints were very good and sprayed well. I don’t know what the cost of sending a spray can from Birmingham to me on the South Coast is but I’ll bet it’s considerable.

[Roger Sunderland]

1 minute ago, doilum said:

Most small or medium sized towns will have at least one supplier. A quick word with the guys at your nearest car body repair shop should point you in the right direction.  After a full day of staring at fifty shades of grey is the new silver, the technician will be glad of something really different that allows them to use their real skills.

Point taken.

[t-b-g]

1 minute ago, Roger Sunderland said:

Yes I’m sure there are. But Halfords were very convenient to many of us and their paints were very good and sprayed well. I don’t know what the cost of sending a spray can from Birmingham to me on the South Coast is but I’ll bet it’s considerable.

 

Try looking up automotive paint suppliers near to you. You might find somewhere nearby. It may not be as convenient as the local Halfords but if you can't easily get the colour you want at Halfords anymore, it is a possible alternative.

[Hal Nail]

9 hours ago, Morgenergy said:

Time for a new thread of aerosol railway colour matches, perhaps? 

If people are now going down the route of getting colours made up as sprays, rather than the closest car colour, a list of what people have had matched would be useful. For example if someone has already popped along in a runaway 14xx and had authentic BR green scanned and made up etc etc.

 

My local decorators merchant can reproduce pretty much every house colour by ringing Johnsons who've already scanned them and worked out the formula. So I can't believe the same can't be done in aerosols and we just need to pool what's been worked out already.

Edited July 4 by Hal Nail

[doilum]

I noticed some time ago that the car manufacturer specific colours had disappeared from my favourite automotive treasure shop. They have been replaced by a range of cans that go through many slight shade variations of the same colour. It was quite an easy task to take a sample of Precision LNER cream and pick a rattle can  to match. Quick plug for anyone living in east Leeds   try Auto Spares Kippax  locally known as ASK. Amazing range of tools and hardware in addition to all the car stuff. Incredibly helpful staff too.

[Steadfast]

On 04/07/2024 at 07:15, Hal Nail said:

If people are now going down the route of getting colours made up as sprays, rather than the closest car colour, a list of what people have had matched would be useful. For example if someone has already popped along in a runaway 14xx and had authentic BR green scanned and made up etc etc.

 

My local decorators merchant can reproduce pretty much every house colour by ringing Johnsons who've already scanned them and worked out the formula. So I can't believe the same can't be done in aerosols and we just need to pool what's been worked out already.

I suspect people will have bought paints to RAL or BS shades that are matches to livery specs, rather than going at real trains with a photospectrometer. Lots of BR era info is online (from memory places like Barrowmore MRG and doublearrow.co.uk), and a lot of more recent paint shades can be found by Googling. DB for example have a corporate guide on their German site, but the RAL shades are the same as used on their UK stuff.

 

Jo

[Hal Nail]

@AY Mod is it worth moving or copying this to the painting and weathering section? I've seen people asking the same thing and it's a useful one to pin there perhaps?

[doilum]

A copy might be better.

[Captain Cuttle]

On 25/05/2024 at 19:57, Moxy said:

The range of colours has been dwindling at Halfords for quite a few years.  Some of the colours useful to modellers were for cars (or car manufacturers) who no longer exist.

 

There is some discussions here about useful colours

 

Having said that, if you know the colour you are looking for, specialist auto paint suppliers can usually obtain supplies.  Some of them even sell cans through Ebay.

 

Example here Volvo Dark Grey https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/192381323131

I think its called Nuagane  or something similar will make up any colour and supply in tins or aerosol. Local paint factors als o do this now and i was surprised to learn that cellulose is still available and can be put into aerosol form for any colour. 

[Rhysb]

The Halfords new paint system is very simple:

 

1. it is still an acrylic paint system so using old ones and new ones there is no compatibility issue at all.

2. Most automotive colour systems such as MOTIP, Holts (the older duplicolor etc) are all colour match rather than the original OEM colour. Halfords was different to most automotive systems in the fact it was OEM like the system of Hycote made by Tetrosyk (was JBL Briggs). The simple reason why they do this is as follows: if you own a red car the original OEM colour won’t match your car now if it is older etc as over the years colours fade and change so automotive matching like the new Halfords system gives you a number of colours that “match” to your original car colour so you can then take 2-3 cans and match it to what colour your car is now.

3. This system also means you can cover more colours with less cans. For example one blue spray paint might cover a ford, fiat, Toyota and Mercedes colour rather than one can for one OEM colour.

 

The new system is a much much higher quality paint but it is designed for automotive use and not hobby and craft. It also uses a female valve to avoid clogging and the use of different caps to allow different sprays etc.
 

Please note it is also a high output high pressure can. You would be much better buying an artists spray paint such as Montana GOLD. This is a low pressure can meaning greater control and softer spray for models. This is also a higher quality paint than Halfords and standard DIY spray paints and is if bought from and artist or graffiti retailer is incredibly cheaper.

 

Thanks

 

Rhys

[31A]

On 14/09/2024 at 17:51, Rhysb said:

You would be much better buying an artists spray paint such as Montana GOLD. This is a low pressure can meaning greater control and softer spray for models. This is also a higher quality paint than Halfords and standard DIY spray paints and is if bought from and artist or graffiti retailer is incredibly cheaper.

 

That's very interesting; I've never heard of that paint before but just had a quick look at their web site and it seems to be a large range.

 

I wonder whether anyone has used it for painting rolling stock, and is able to give any advice as to suitable livery colour matches?

[Peterem]

Interesting, I'd never heard of them either but Hobbycraft have just sent me an email promoting them. No idea how big a range they are stocking, but the price (currently on offer for £6.75 for a 400ml can) looks reasonable

[fulton]

On 14/09/2024 at 17:51, Rhysb said:

The Halfords new paint system is very simple:

 

1. it is still an acrylic paint system so using old ones and new ones there is no compatibility issue at all.

2. Most automotive colour systems such as MOTIP, Holts (the older duplicolor etc) are all colour match rather than the original OEM colour. Halfords was different to most automotive systems in the fact it was OEM like the system of Hycote made by Tetrosyk (was JBL Briggs). The simple reason why they do this is as follows: if you own a red car the original OEM colour won’t match your car now if it is older etc as over the years colours fade and change so automotive matching like the new Halfords system gives you a number of colours that “match” to your original car colour so you can then take 2-3 cans and match it to what colour your car is now.

3. This system also means you can cover more colours with less cans. For example one blue spray paint might cover a ford, fiat, Toyota and Mercedes colour rather than one can for one OEM colour.

 

The new system is a much much higher quality paint but it is designed for automotive use and not hobby and craft. It also uses a female valve to avoid clogging and the use of different caps to allow different sprays etc.
 

Please note it is also a high output high pressure can. You would be much better buying an artists spray paint such as Montana GOLD. This is a low pressure can meaning greater control and softer spray for models. This is also a higher quality paint than Halfords and standard DIY spray paints and is if bought from and artist or graffiti retailer is incredibly cheaper.

 

Thanks

 

Rhys

I can understand the thinking about matching colours, but my experience has been the "generic" one supplied by Halfords did not match, while the Ford Moondust Silver from Hycote was an exact match, buying 2-3 cans to get a match seems expensive and wasteful.

[John Isherwood]

17 minutes ago, fulton said:

.... buying 2-3 cans to get a match seems expensive and wasteful.

 

...... but exactly what Halfords want you to do!

 

John Isherwood.

[delticman]

8 hours ago, Peterem said:

Interesting, I'd never heard of them either but Hobbycraft have just sent me an email promoting them. No idea how big a range they are stocking, but the price (currently on offer for £6.75 for a 400ml can) looks reasonable

I have used Montana Gold in the past for large models, it covers well but I found it not so easy to control as Halfords although they offer a range of nozzles so maybe I picked the wrong one! The major concern is that it really stinks so you would need a dedicated room or a calm day outdoors.

Geoff