Paints

[mojo]

I have some Phoenix Precision enamel paints which according to the tin are Dull, but the finish is very definitely shiny.
I seem to remember a tip to add talcum powder to achieve a matt finish.
Is this correct?
Has anyone used this method, was it successful and how much do you add?

Maurice

[ntpntpntp]

Maybe not stirring enough?  Enamels need 3x as much stirring as you think they need
If after that they still refuse to dry matt then I'd suggest an overcoat of matt varnish rather than adding impurities to the paint.

[Ali Smith]

I find that Phoenix "dull" paints are just that: they have a sheen to them but are not really glossy and not truly matt either.
I have used the talcum powder trick and it did work, but that was as an impoverished teenager over 50 years ago. Modern paints are probably formulated differently so it might not work now. I agree with Nick @ntpntpntp that a coat of matt varnish is the right way to go.

[Cols]

I have just stumbled across this thread.

As a keen scale modeller, from since about 1956, I can safely say that I have been a long-term user of enamel paints (Humbrol, Precision, Xtracolor by Hannants, etc.) and, despite the decline in their popularity, I still prefer the enamel paints as I think that they are rather more hard-wearing than their modern acrylic equivalents. For railway livery applications, I do prefer Precision, or Phoenix Precision as I believe they are now known: I have found that their accuracy in matching colours is second to none, and where else, until the advent of Railmatch Colours, could I get GWR pre-1906 green, GWR Post-1906 green, or GWR post-1928 green? Or LNER Darlington apple green and LNER Doncaster apple green, for that matter?

However, whatever make of enamel paint one chooses to use - stir it like there's no tomorrow!!!

I have used a Badger Battery Paint Mixer (other makes are available) for many years, and every time I use an enamel paint, the paint is stirred for at least two minutes - if not longer - then the paint is perfectly ready (with thinning, as required) for hand-painting or for airbrushing. I should add that I treat acrylic paints in the same way. The battery paint-stirrer/mixer has very successfully revived fifty-year old tins of both Precision and Humbrol enamel paint, provided that their lids were properly in place to start with!