Topic: How to prevent models from chipping

[Yentz]

Many people have difficulty with preventing the paint from their models chipping off. The solution is a couple of easy steps. These will not completly remove the possibilty of chipping, but they will greatly decrease the chance of it happening.

1. Wash your minis.
Mini's, both plasic and metal, have casting release residue on them. This can cause paint to come off. Make sure that you always wash your minis with soap and warm water. Plastic is particularly easy to do, as you can just wash the whole sprue.

2. Prime your minis. Priming ensures a bond to the metal of a mini, and gives you a secure surface to work on. Spray-On primers tend to work much better than brush-on primers. Be sure when you are purchusing your primer that it actually says PRIMER. If it doesen't... Well than its not a primer. The best brand of Primer I have found is "Dupli-Color Sandable Primer" and can be found at auto-parts stores in the US.(Sorry Brits, no clue what you folks have over there). Dupli-color works much better than Krylon or GW primer, and is still fairly cheap at around $4 a can.
Be sure to let your minis sit for a day before painting them after priming. Its good to let the primer set up and cure. This goes for any primer.

3. Seal your minis. Sealing is the last important step in ensuring a well-protected mini. While glossy coats actually protect the best, they also ruin the paintjob on a mini. Matte varnish is the best varnish to use in mini-painting. The best Matte varnish out there is "Testors Dullcote" and can be found at any hobby store, and most craft stores. Some people like to give 1 coat of Satin, than 2 coats of Dullcote to eliminate the shine while providing good protection. I personally just do about 2-3 coats of Dullcote and my minis usually don't chip.

If you follow these 3 easy steps, your minis should last you a good amount of abuse before the paint chips. Just don't throw them at your opponent. 

[Krootdude]

yeah i guesse this makes perfect sense to do but i just don't haVE the time

[Yentz]

Why not? Most people have way more minis unpainted than painted, what difference is it going to make if you spend an additional 10 minutes on prep work?

If you have the time to play this hobby and to paint, than you have the time to make sure the prep work is properly done.

[pastrami hernandez]

About sealing your minis - the testor's glosscoat is like power armor to a mini, but you're right, it picks up paint off the mini and it's easy to ruin your tedious paint job.  What I do is 3 separate steps.

1)  After your paint has completely dried (24 hrs), spray 2 coats of matte spray sealer (I use the GW one).  Let that dry another 24 hrs.

2)  Use the brush on testor's gloss varnish.  The previous spray coat will help protect from the harshness of the brush on coat, however, it's still dangerous, so be careful!  Get a large-ish brushload of the varnish, then pretty much just let it drip onto your mini onto the areas with the most delicate detail.  Then, use the brush to dab varnish onto the other areas of the mini - never stroke with the brush, just perfectly vertical dabs.  Between brushloads, wipe the tip of your brush on a rag or paper - you can see whether it is picking up paint or not.  Let the varnish dry - 1 coat is enough.

3)  Now go back and spray another coat of the matte spray finish.  This will get you a finish that is hard as nails, while minimizing the risk to your paint job.  Yes, it does take awhile, but it's worth it if you are spending hours and hours on your precious minis!  (Note: step 3 can be skipped if you want to keep the glossy finish)

[Mr.Peanut (Turtleproof)]

Sealing is very important, I second the value of Testors lacquer. 

However, Gloss Cote does not ruin the paint of a model at all, it only makes it, well, glossy!  Personally, I spray finished models with at least one coat of Gloss Cote then I finish them with one or more applications of Dull Cote.  Gloss Cote adds protection, Dull Cote brings the sheen back to normal. 

I have yet to have a model so thickly coated in Dull or Gloss Cote that the surface has grayed. 

Note about lacquering during cold weather:  If you leave a model out to dry in temperatures below about 55 degrees, the lacquer will become transluscent gray. 

Don't panic!  This process can be reversed by applying another cote and then leaving the miniature inside to dry.  The gray will disappear immediately upon spraying and will remain so if the spray is allowed to dry at room temperature.

[Yentz]

I will clarify why Gloss ruins paintjobs.

Gloss, when used as the first seal, than followed by Matte spray(although I find its often difficult to completly get rid of the shine), is fine. When gloss is used as the only form of sealant, it ruins a paintjob by making highlights obsolete.

The point of highlighting/blending is to imitate light. When you put a gloss on, it causes light to reflect much more, and thus, makes your highlights look wrong. If you don't use any highlights whatsoever, gloss is alright, but if you use even the slightest of highlights, gloss is going to mess it up.

[Zany Reaper]

Do you simply think that washing, priming & then varnishing your minis will actually fully seal your minis?

I used to, but I was partially wrong.

The solution?

Etch the miniatures, metal in particular I should say!

I use Cillit Bang to roughen up the surface of my metal miniatures.  Give it a week, & by then, it should be a very dark & worn colour, a bit like coal.  That shows that it's been etched.
You can then prime it & the paint should stick better.

I think it's the acid in the Cillit Bang that etches the metal, phosphoric acid specifically.  Unfortunately, I don't know how you can get that legally in a decent concentration, hence the use of cillit bang.

Yay for Barry Scott!

[the solitaire]

hydrochloric acid. Available from hobby stores.

I haven't got a clue what it does to your miniatures but hey, if you want to give it a try, feel free to do so.

Watch out, the stuff is vicious but it etches metal.

I personally prefer the old fashioned washing, coating and sealing which works fine for me.

BloodBowl miniatures hit the floor so often it doesn't make a difference. They are re-painted every two years anyways.

It is always usefull to spend a bit of time to ensure that the lot of time you spend painting the mini also holds out actual gameplay in my opinion.

[Zany Reaper]

You can find HCl in many hobby stores heh?

Probably in America maybe, but what about the UK?

[the solitaire]

So far netherlands, belgium, germany and US have not proven to be too much of a problem.
UK that much different then?

The stuff is nasty though. Can eat through clothing if spilled... 

[Zany Reaper]

Well put it this way:  Would B&Q, Halfords, Hobbyworld or even Homebase sell HCl acid?  I'd love some of that just for the metal.

Alternatively, just Phosphoric acid.  I don't wish to accidentally react the HCl with something & produce chlorine gas.

[Amphetamine Parrot]

I take a very long time to paint my minis, and I don't personally game with the ones I paint, I paint for my friends and watch them play most of the time. but my paintjobs chip after a while, I found out that I should be using the Gamesworkshop 'Ardcoat spray to protect my minis. I began to spray all of my minis with this spray, and now I know ive made a huge mistake. all of the mini's I paint have lots of precise highlighting and some blending on special characters. this spray ruins my work and now all the minis I sprayed have a gleaming textured coat on them. is there any way I can fix this? is there another spray that will make the detail in my paintjobs perceptible again without sacrificing the anti-chip shield of gloss?

[Todosi]

YUP!  No problem.  The ardcoat is a great protectant and will keep your paintjob safe.  To return the flat finish to your models, just get some Testor's Dullcote spray and spray it over the arcoat AFTER the ardcoat has DRIED COMPLETELY!  They'll look great and be much safer.

[Amphetamine Parrot]

thanks mang. uhm, I live in Canada and ive never seen Testor's Dullcote. where would I be able to find this stuff? and will this stuff still make my highlighting visible?

[Zany Reaper]

Hello, I've returned after an absence for this thread (briefly).

thanks mang. uhm, I live in Canada and ive never seen Testor's Dullcote. where would I be able to find this stuff? and will this stuff still make my highlighting visible?

All I can suggest is that you use Games Workshop's satin varnish/purity seal.  It can be applied over the gloss varnish (which I like) to remove the annoying sheen, & make them less shiny (though will still retain a slight sheen to them anyways).

I have generally found that satin varnish is awful at protecting models, but works well after gloss varnish.
Alternatively, you could just go to your local car shop & get some satin/matte laquer.

[Valygor]

3. Seal your minis. Sealing is the last important step in ensuring a well-protected mini. While glossy coats actually protect the best, they also ruin the paintjob on a mini. Matte varnish is the best varnish to use in mini-painting. The best Matte varnish out there is "Testors Dullcote" and can be found at any hobby store, and most craft stores. Some people like to give 1 coat of Satin, than 2 coats of Dullcote to eliminate the shine while providing good protection. I personally just do about 2-3 coats of Dullcote and my minis usually don't chip.

I always have the chippin problem and i see now why: no sealing. That is where I need your help please, I live in the Netherlands and GW shop is a bit limited on spray cans. (I've only seen the basecaot white and black so far. And Don't even start on hobby stores because we simply don't have anything like the hobby stores the US and UK seem to have nearby. So my question is, any alternatives? Or at least how to identify a good varnish paint? Maybe a local garage or something has something usable. Appreciate your input.

[DJ-of-E]

Wait, so 2 or 3 coats of dullcote would work just fine?

Why do some people say gloss varnish first then matte varnish?

[Supergeek]

Another trick that I have started using recently is to paint PVA (wood glue) on the especially sharp edges and spikes.  Then follow it up with a matt spray.  I can't even damage those areas with my fingernails.

[cheeze]

ummm wot is primer???
is it like gloss or varnish?

[Todosi]

Primer is a layer of paint with added adhesives that make it stick very well to the base substance. (plastic, metal or resin)  It also gives you a consistent color to put your base coats on.