"New Dip Technique product: Rust-Oleum" Topic

On a recent Wal-Mart trip, I discovered that Rust-Oleum makes a water-/ether-based urethane stain product, to compete with Minwax's Polyshades products, at roughly one Dollar less, for a half-pint can.

I found a half-pint can of Rust-Oleum Kona color (dark brown, darker than Minwax's Royal Walnut, my favorite color). After mixing the can in my drill with PVC pipe (Adam Savage's spray paint mixer tool), it appeared to be a slate blue color! I brushed it onto some minis, hoping it would become dark brown as the ether solvents evaporated… It did! It dried to the color on the can. Whew!

I've only done a few test minis, thus far. I need to try it on some lighter colored minis, to fully compare it to the Minwax Polyshades. If it works, it will be a Dollar cost savings, per half-pint can, over the Minwax.

The water-/ether-based product means that it cures much quicker than the oil-based Minwax I've been using. The fumes are toxic, and highly flammable, but the super-fast curing time is fantastic! I've been using a Slow Cooker to speed-dry my Minwax'ed minis, baking them at 170 F, for 30 minutes. With the Rust-Oleum product, they fully cure in less than two hours, at room temperature.

Here are a couple of minis painted with Folk Art metallic Gunmetal Gray: the figures are supposed to be Iron Golems (animated iron automatons), the male has been Dip'ed, and the female has not; here are both, post Dip'ing. The figures are Heroi-clix: Alloy (M), and Giganta(?) (F). Cheers!

Did you cut the Rust-Oleum with anything or just used it straight?
Oh, and thanks for the info.

I never dilute any of it. I want full-strength urethane coating. I like the color and shading full-strength gives. I go back and clean up any pools, as much as I can -- sometimes I'm too late. Painting armies of 20-200 minis will lead to some,, "Oops!", situations.

Glad to help by sharing. Cheers!

Interested, but they lost me at "toxic fumes."

@Parzival – The Minwax product released toxic fumes. The water-based Rust-Oleum product does not.

There is a Water Based Min-Wax as well.

So you can pick your fumes or not.
When I hear "Dip Technique", I think of the shading technique.
I went into it pretty deep some 20 years ago:
link

So, I am going to speculate here, that the Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain can be thinner with white spirits (mineral spirits) much in the same way that the Min-Wax can.

Looking at the SDS (Safety Data Sheet)
It is mostly mineral spirits to start with:

Weight % Less
Mineral Spirits 55%
Aromatic Petroleum Distillates 5%

Not really sure how different the curing time would be from Min-Wax.

Here is a shot of the Warnings entry, from the can. "GLYCOL ETHERS," which are water-soluble.

I looked up GLYCOL ETHERS: used as solvents in water-based coatings; highly flammable; toxic in acute, high-level exposures in Humans. The label refers to long-term occupational exposure. Mild, short-term exposures are not harmful. Huffing it will dissolve your brain matter (literally, look up long-term effects of paint sniffing…); this assumes it doesn't kill you from O/D'ing. Breathing the off-gas fumes occasionally, is not supposed to be harmful. Each of us must choose our acceptable risk factors.

I am finally moving forward on making an activated charcoal air filter to eliminate such fumes in my crafting area. I will put the duct-fan after the charcoal filter, to capture the fumes before they reach the electric motor, igniting inside it. I will use this filter to build a spray box/booth, for spray priming my minis, year-round, in my basement crafting room.

Like I said, I want the full protection of the urethane, so I have no interest in diluting it. Since this formula is "water-based," I would not try thinning it with mineral spirits. I would use Glycol Ether, if it is available, if I were to try to dilute it.

I can attest to the fact that once cured, the odor from the minis is nothing like I get from my oil-based Minwax'd minis (never tried the water-based Minwax Polyshades products). Cheers!

I am a real fan of minwax tudor ployshade one step.. But the odor is something else. I've just never found something that worked as well.

Rust-Oleum makes an Ebony (black), water-based, polyurethane stain. Half-pint can for $9.40 USD, at Wal-Mart. Might want to give that a try. If your local WM stores don't carry it, you can mail-order it, or check your local DIY and hardware stores for it, as well.

Just an FYI: the product description details say that it should cure for one hour for dry to the touch, and let it dry four hours before handling. I typically let my minis dry overnight, before I handle them.

Otherwise, I have found that a matte clear coat, sprayed onto the minis, limits the odor, quite a bit. If the Rust-Oleum does not satisfy you, maybe the matte clear coat will. Cheers!

Interesting – thanks to all for helpful advice

I have found that using Golden Polymer Varnish (Matt) really toned down the polshades' odor.

Update on the HeroClix mini's being painted up as Iron Golems. These were the simplest mini's to paint, bar none! Here they are with finished bases, ready to crush all comers. The Rust-Oleum urethane-stain did its job, superbly, IMO. Cheers!