Repro KG3 comparisons
Introduced in June 2010 the Shoot ‘n’ Scoot’s KG3 liquid blanco looked promising. At just £10 plus postage for a 250ml bottle it was very good value indeed especially when there was more than sufficient to cover an entire set of webbing.
My first test were very favourable but I felt the colour was a tad too green. Well, the colour formula has been revised slightly and although it could be be bit browner it isn’t bad at all. The applied product is just as durable as Tarrago and should stand up to much use and abuse before needing reapplication (if you want a parade finish that is, if battle-worn then just let it degrade naturally).
Now, it has to be said that the shoe cream and S & S/SoF products are convenient and economical (given the cost of real Blanco pucks these days), give a good representation of Blanco at a short distance and are miles better than trying to use household paint or similar. But of their nature they are different to real dry & crumbly Blanco which is softer to the touch, smells like Blanco should(!), wears differently and both soaks into the canvas fibres as well as sits on the fibres.
Below is a side-by-side illustration of four products – original Blanco KG3 ‘dry & crumbly’, Tarrago shoe cream mix, Shoot & Scoot and Soldier of Fortune. The difference between the four is rather more marked in the photo, largely because of the different way the products apply themselves to the canvas. However, to the eye the most marked difference (as shows in the photo) is between the real Blanco and the Soldier of Fortune product which is rather poor – dark and a bit gritty and stiff when dry, not a great experience in application. While the Shoot & Scoot product could still do with being a bit browner it isn’t bad at all. The author diluted it 1:1 with water (making 500ml of working solution) to get a greater soaking into the canvas fibres and made two applications for evenness of colour.
An unreserved recommendation of this product.
The 250ml bottles of liquid Blanco can be bought directly from the manufacturer’s website:
www.shootnscoot.co.uk
https://www.blancoandbull.com/how-to-remove-blanco-from-webbing/