"Craft paints. All from one manufacturer?" Topic

Was just wondering if there was any validity to the story, advanced by some, that many paint brands are made by the same manufacturer and just given different names and brand labels and then shipped to the various companies for resale? For example one company's Bright Blue, another company's Royal Blue and a third company's Blueberry Blue are all the same color, just labeled differently?

I've definitely heard that regarding rattle can spray paints and was just wondering about the various craft paint brands you can find at Hobby Lobby, Michael's or even JoAnn Fabrics.

Thoughts?

there are definately differences in some of the brands. some cover better than others

Wide array of quality. Fortunately inexpensive enough for trial and error.

I predominantly use craft paints and there is definitely differences, not only between brands but between colors within brands. Like Cardinal Ximenez says though, they're inexpensive enough that I can keep trying until I find what I'm looking for.

I think they are manufactured at one plant. My guess is they started out as separate brands and then were gobbled up. Maybe some of the formulas were changed but some perform different then others of similar colors. So like Paul Collins suggests experiment.

I notice differences but I never make notes so therefore don't remember which I feel are better.

I have noted that some colors appear to be exact matches regardless of brands. I've used Martha Stewart, Delta, Apple Barrel, and others with success.

I need to know which brands yellow and white covers the best?

For me, yellows are a real hit and miss even within a particular brand. I always have to unscrew the lid and check the actual thickness of the paint. Some, like Apple Barrel, are usually just too thin. White, on the other hand, is rarely a problem. Ceramcoat is a good go to, but Hobby Lobby has one brand with about five or six shades of white that allows the choice of highlighting paints right off of the shelf.

I agree that there are common sources for multiple brands. I find a clear difference between the cheap stuff, which is useless, and the higher quality ones. It's worth the extra money to buy the good stuff. The better paints that were mentioned perform quite well.

Ceramcoat and Americana.

There is some commonality. For example Plaid Enterprises out of Norcross GA lists Apple Barrel, Folkart and and Delta Ceramcoat as part of their portfolio. However the bottles of Delta I have does indicate they are produced by Delta Technical Coatings out of Whittier CA. Clicking on, or entering deltacrafts.com does take you to the Plaid website. Another company, Decoart out of Stanford KY makes the Americana line in addition to such brands as Decoart and Crafters Acrylic.

Decoart does male those three lines, but there are clear differences line to line.

I use Americana, Folkart and Ceramcoat and like the results. They go for around $1.59 USD or so IIRC and imagine they would of necessity be better than some of the "lesser" brands that can go for as little as .79 cents, which of course suggests different manufacturers.

The thing is I don't have any two of the relatively same colors from any of those brands to be able to make a comparison as to whether they appear to be the same color. For instance if I had a Navy Blue in Folkart there is no reason to buy a similar blue from either of the other companies.

Well, it appears from the responses that this, what, rumor, conspiracy, urban legend, isn't true, but that there is a kernel of truth there, which is how most of these things get started. Thanks for the input guys.

Even if a brand is made by the same company that makes another brand, the manufacturer still has to make the product to the brand's specifications so being made in the same factory does not, necessarily, mean the same formula. Some companies blacks are a lot thinner than others, for instance – though don't know if from same manufacturer or not. (Thinner blacks are an easier start point for thin washes – so still of use.)

Similar to canned fruit – same canning plant might can for a dozen or more different brands with only the label changing. But the premium brands will use a better cut and quality of fruit. And the cheapest brands will use little better than reject fruit. Even so, sometimes there is minimal difference between a name brand and a 'house' generic brand – if any – beyond the label.

I wonder if the minor differences in bottles of craft paint is a tell-tale of which plant it comes out of?

Ceramcoat and Americana. I too find these two superior brands.
Yellow hardly ever covers in one coat. I'm always expecting to layer up yellows. Sometimes an ochre base over white prime makes the semi trans yellow work like modern contrast paints.

Some of the Folk Art metallics are as good as Gleams by Ceramcoat. As for them all coming from the same plant I don't know, or care. I still use craft paint for most of my painting even though I have plenty of Vallejo, and GW, and Warpaint "fancy" paints. The newer contrast and washes and tone paints are so good they have put me off mixing my own by various methods.

Having used Craft Smart from Michael's I would never ever use them to paint minis. They're thick but don't coat well and rub off easy. I use them for base coating terrain only.

Absolutely can recommend Delta Ceramcoat. Use it in a variety of ways. Been a staple in my paint rack for 20 years.

I use Delta C. Americana, Apple Barrel, and other brands regularly, along with hobby brands such as Vallejo, Army painter, and Tamiya. One can save a fortune by using granny paints. One can sometimes find acceptable substitutes for many military colors such as, khaki, olive, and so on.

Delta Ceramcoat and Americana have performed well for me, too. I also have FolkArt and Anita's and a few others -- but these only augment my hobby paints to a degree, they have not replaced them all. But they are predominating more and more as my old standbys are no longer made or available in local stores (Reaper, Ral Partha, Polly S, even Armoury!)

I hate dropper bottles and only use these when forced to.

For yellow and white I just move from the craft section over to the artist's section where the brushes and oil paints are. Golden makes some great yellows with good coverage in the SoFlat range. Liquitex makes a titanium white heavy body acrylic that surpasses Citadel, Vallejo and other hobby paints.

I've had decent success with Anitas paints, though they do need thinning, which is tricky to get just right. But for certain colors I use, there doesn't seem to be a "hobby paint" in the correct shade.

Most of what I use are Reaper paints, with some GW/Citadel, and even some Createx airbrush paints for unusual effects (I mix them with some hobby paint, as they are tranluscent and need 5+ coats when brush painted).

plaidonline.com/brands/folkart

Considering the price difference, $1 USD and up for less than 1 ounce, for higher end hobby paints like Humbrol, Pactra, Testors, etc,. compared to $.50 USD to $1.25 USD for 2.5 ounces of craft paint. Plus no more contact dematitis from contact with solvent based paints, I have learned how to mix my own.

von schwartz04 or any one
is there a paint mixing chart/formulas out there for mixing military colors?

This should get you started. It is a table for how to mix (or use as is) craft paints to get the equivalent Vallejo color
link

thanks marc33594