Life Tone paint cracking?

[Randy Budzynski]

I just opened a quart of Life Tone pure white the other day and all the fish I have been painting skin or repros the paint is cracking really bad. I have never had a problem with any paint doing this before. Has this happened to anyone else using Life Tone paint? My sealers and primers were dry overnight. Guess I will go back to water base white for now but it takes so long to cover with white. Thanks for any help.

[KAMoHunter]

yeah i've had it happen with a few of the lifetone colors that i have bought lately. primaily white and black.

[Jason S]

I always have to thin and retard my LT white allot to spray correctly. But haven't run into cracking issues.  Is it a new bottle, maybe a bad batch?

[JUST FISH]

I had a lot of issues with Lifetone and Hydromist white a few years ago. Switched to Polytranspar Lacquer with no regrets, so far.

[antlermike]

Had three 8 oz bottles of the pure white hydro mist harden completely one in two months I wont buy it again I have a 32oz bottle of bass belly white polytranspar water base for 15 yrs now still good I also have a 1oz container of violate not sure of exact name its poyltranspar for over twenty yrs its still good. I dont use much of that color. I didn't do any taxidermy for ten yrs, then started back at it. I will not buy lifetone if I dont have to!

[duxdog]

I have had problems with LT paints too especially white. I don't have any problems with the Polytranspar colors. I do use the trans-umber-oxide alot though. It is great.

[Jim Tucker]

I am really torn on this issue.  I use all Water based paints so your mileage may very.  Laquers are not an option in my case.

I have Polytranspar that is REALLY old....maybe the first paint I ever bought for taxidermy...and I STILL can use it.

I have had the problems you complain of with LT.  It REALLY makes me ticked when that white crackles or a bottle get unusably hard in a month....or even COMES that way.  It didn't USED top be that way, just recently.

I am thinking of going back to PT but the LT dries much nicer and faster...and it takes ANY gloss I throw at it.  Not so with PT.

I am on the fence right now as to what to do.

[trails end]

had the same problem with the lifetone and the hydromist in the white. used the white paul b. had me try was great. even out of the paache single action #1 tip. no problem. give paul a ring.

[CrabCrazy]

i use hydromist white...it doesn't dry in the bottle.....i had it for 10 years and i am running out of the gallon i had....if white is that much trouble...will just mix it from the tube

[Pescado]

Here's the brand of white trails end is speaking of

[JUST FISH]

Where and when is that paint going to be available??

[Pescado]

It is available now from Badger Airbrush Co. I have some in stock as well.

[hambone]

Paul I have the Badger Spirit and I use polytranspar water base paint, and I have to thin and use retarder to get a good spray, do your new paints require less thinning and do they flow easier than P.T., also what colors are available and would I be able to compare your colors to my paint schedules?

[Randy Budzynski]

I got some of the white from Paul at the Michigan show and I do like it very much. I only had enough to do some detail painting and  it flows very nice and NO CRACKING.

[FishArt]

Randy, I spent TWO DAYS years ago trying to resolve this exact problem with Hydromist White and came up with the conclusion that it was the paint. No matter what I did I'd get cracking hours later. White is the only Hydromist paint I've ever had issues with. I use Polytranspar Super Hide White now and have had zero issues with it. I get better coverage out of it vs. the Hydromist White. I dumped nearly a full quart of Hydromist White into the trash - it's JUNK!!!!