Halfords Touch Up Paint

Mr Weirdo

Retro Guru
Hello

I went to Halfords the other week to find touch up paint. I found a close match m3-500 but they had it in a spray can only, not in a handy size with it's own brush touch up tin/container/pen like tube, etc. Drats!!

I live in Sevenoaks Kent but I also sometimes doss down at my mother's in Bromley.

Tried to find a company with a spectrometer but no luck. Any ideas where I may find a company or individual who may be able to carry out this service in Kent or south east London?

Ta chaps!
 
buy the spray can. it's better than the thick, pretend nail varnish you get in the teeny little bottle.

buy a couple of nice brushes from the art shop (or use the little things linked below).
spray on to a piece of plastic, work quick so the solvent doesn't evaporate before you are done. lots of layers to build it up instead of one glob of thick meh that looks awful in the long run.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable...hvtargid=pla-2281435176658&psc=1&gad_source=1
 
Hello

I went to Halfords the other week to find touch up paint. I found a close match m3-500 but they had it in a spray can only, not in a handy size with it's own brush touch up tin/container/pen like tube, etc. Drats!!

I live in Sevenoaks Kent but I also sometimes doss down at my mother's in Bromley.

Tried to find a company with a spectrometer but no luck. Any ideas where I may find a company or individual who may be able to carry out this service in Kent or south east London?

Ta chaps!
What's M3-500 when it's at home? Halfords used to be my go to for model making and helmet spraying etc when not using an airbrush as the can tops were close enough an approximation (although not as good as their original painted tops) but this new system that takes a manufacturers actual paint code and anonymises it is useless. If you managed to work out from their book what it actually translates to as a real colour you can usually just order it off eBay easily enough as either a 500ml can of paint that's far superior to the more recent Halfords stuff, or in a touch up stick using the same paint but un-thinned.
 
buy the spray can. it's better than the thick, pretend nail varnish you get in the teeny little bottle.

buy a couple of nice brushes from the art shop (or use the little things linked below).
spray on to a piece of plastic, work quick so the solvent doesn't evaporate before you are done. lots of layers to build it up instead of one glob of thick meh that looks awful in the long run.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable-Applicators-Automotive-Clearance-Applicator/dp/B0CBN4G1Q4/ref=asc_df_B0CBN4G1Q4?mcid=df081e1980723e74bd93a065f4cf7e1d&hvocijid=6894921093180846401-B0CBN4G1Q4-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6894921093180846401&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9210177&hvtargid=pla-2281435176658&psc=1&gad_source=
Oddly enough I had thought could I spray enough into the top of the spray can...but had thought probably not. But with you mentioning it also I am more encouraged to give it a go. Thank you NC 😀
 
Last edited:
buy the spray can. it's better than the thick, pretend nail varnish you get in the teeny little bottle.

buy a couple of nice brushes from the art shop (or use the little things linked below).
spray on to a piece of plastic, work quick so the solvent doesn't evaporate before you are done. lots of layers to build it up instead of one glob of thick meh that looks awful in the long run.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable...hvtargid=pla-2281435176658&psc=1&gad_source=1
You can also use a plastic drinking straw and a small jar to decant the paint from an aerosol. I've used this technique a lot for decanting it out to use in an airbrush for finer details. Tamiya sell empty 30ml and 60ml jars for saving the paint. It'll gas out for a bit so best to leave the lid not tightened down overnight otherwise if it's nearly full it'll do so spectacularly when you go to re-open it in the future.
 
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