Painting finecast

[Andy p]

Ok so I seriously need some help painting finecast.

Does anyone know any way to stop the paint simply flaking off the damn things after they have been painted for about a couple of hours?

Ive got an ogre tyrant and a wood elf spellweaver who I am still in the process of painting, ive only done the skin and armour for the tyrant and the spellweaver just needs some finishing off.

Unfortunately im having to retouch them constantly as im painting new parts because paint keeps flaking off the model after it has been standing still for a while, but ive kept them out of the sun and out of too much heat and there are several layers of paint on them, yet it still just comes off so im left with these annoying patches of white finecast showing through.

Yes I have undercoated them, ogre sprayed black, wood elf sprayed white, but this flaking is actually ruining my models, especially my spellweaver who was originally going to be one of the best models ive ever painted, (although that isnt saying much), and now looks like blobby **** because of all the paint I have to keep putting back on. The ogre's skin looks awful in places where ive had to constantly layer it on. I havn't even been using them in any games, nor have I been touching the models themselves, I pick them up by the base.

Obviously varnish is out of the question because they arent finished yet, besides gloss is too shiney and matt is too dull.

Anyone know any tips? Are GW's own paints just not good enough for their own finecast models?

[Dervos]

Ok so I seriously need some help painting finecast.

Does anyone know any way to stop the paint simply flaking off the damn things after they have been painted for about a couple of hours?

Ive got an ogre tyrant and a wood elf spellweaver who I am still in the process of painting, ive only done the skin and armour for the tyrant and the spellweaver just needs some finishing off.

Unfortunately im having to retouch them constantly as im painting new parts because paint keeps flaking off the model after it has been standing still for a while, but ive kept them out of the sun and out of too much heat and there are several layers of paint on them, yet it still just comes off so im left with these annoying patches of white finecast showing through.

Yes I have undercoated them, ogre sprayed black, wood elf sprayed white, but this flaking is actually ruining my models, especially my spellweaver who was originally going to be one of the best models ive ever painted, (although that isnt saying much), and now looks like blobby **** because of all the paint I have to keep putting back on. The ogre's skin looks awful in places where ive had to constantly layer it on. I havn't even been using them in any games, nor have I been touching the models themselves, I pick them up by the base.

Obviously varnish is out of the question because they arent finished yet, besides gloss is too shiney and matt is too dull.

Anyone know any tips? Are GW's own paints just not good enough for their own finecast models?

Googled around a little bit and found a topic about this

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum...st/433256.page

After reading around a little bit it seems that the problem is mostly the primer not sticking to the model itself.

Did you wash your model beforehand? This resin material gw uses seems to have a layer on top of it that needs to be "washed" so to speak before you can prime it.

I suspect the areas where its flaking is where some of this material still is and since its coming off all the way to the primer that film must still be there because the rest of the paint seems to have adhered to the prime just fine?

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/...ad.php?t=91027

I know its probably going to be a pain this point since you've painted so much but stripping the paint off and washing the model itself looks to be your best bet.

I usually soak mine for about 10 minutes in warm "not hot" water and then take them out and let them dry, have not had my paint flake yet.

[Napalm]

Resin have better details than metal but is boring for a few things, like bubbles and the need to be washed.
Just wash all your resin mini you want to paint with some water (not hot, it will soften the resin and bend it) and regular dishwashing stuff (a few drops in your water), and a soft toothbrush (not a hard which will break tiny details).
This step is important.
Then spray it with a can and paint it as usual, spray can have much covering power and are more "agressive" then regular acrylics thanks to the solvents.

Varnishing mini used to play is also a very good idea, of course when finished.
The best protection would be a coat of gloss, then a coat of matt one (and that way, when it begin to shine, you know that the coat of matt is gone).
The quick & effective way is a coat of GW purity seal, it is "satin" so not too dull and not too glossy
Remember to spray not too far away, something lile 20cm max, if you spray too far from the can, it will dry before touching the mini and you'll get an awfull dusty result.

[Andy p]

Apologies I should have mentioned that I did soak the models on the advice of a friend who had a similar problem and warned me about it before hand, same thing as you Dervos, I soaked them in warm water for about 10-15 minutes before painting, yet this has still happened, which is what is causing me such frustration.

Thanks for the help you two, ill read up on those links.

Still...im starting to miss metal, despite the weight and sometimes fiddly models lol, it seems you have to go through a whole ritual with finecast when it comes to painting.

[winterdyne]

You need to scrub gently, and have some sort of detergent / degreaser in the water. Just soaking won't do it.

[spikedog]

Yea soaking them will do nothing as it is essentially a type of oil they use as release agent. It repels water and thus paint as well. Before I paint anything resin I take a soft old toothbrush and some dish soap and give it a good scrub before hand then wash the soap off and leave to air dry. Never had any paint flake or run off.

[Andy p]

Yea soaking them will do nothing as it is essentially a type of oil they use as release agent. It repels water and thus paint as well. Before I paint anything resin I take a soft old toothbrush and some dish soap and give it a good scrub before hand then wash the soap off and leave to air dry. Never had any paint flake or run off.

You need to scrub gently, and have some sort of detergent / degreaser in the water. Just soaking won't do it.

Yeah thanks, I think this is what I missed. I did put them in soapy water but as you said, without scrubbing it's pointless. I'll remember this in future.

[chromedog]

Wash it properly and for feth's sake, PRIME them before painting them.
Use a decent primer, not the overpriced GW spray paint and apply a thin coat of it.

[Draconis]

Testors primers work wonders. They take a few minutes more to dry but soak into the plastic/resin. 2-3 thin coats (you dont have to coat the entire model each time) will do you right. I've also had success with Army Painter's non-metallic primers. They have huge cans, wide area of cover and come in a lot of basic colors.

[greenmtvince]

If you're in the US looking for primer. The $0.97 stuff they keep at Wal-mart also sticks to resin like a charm, doesn't obscure details, and paints up great.