Paint Rubbing Off Metal

[Gussy]

On metal figures, my paint seems to be rubbing off a little every time I touch the figure. So I can\'t seem to get it finish as after I retouch one color I\'d notice that some other color has slightly rubbed off.

Yes, the figure is primed and I did let the paint dry. I was thinking of doing one color, do a matt varnish and then another color, and then matt varnish again. Good idea?

 

[Mr Scream]

Best to varnish when you finish the model, satin/gloss and them matte if your gaming with it. If its rubbing while your painting try using some sort of stand. An old paint tub with blue tac or a cork (if your pinning the model) this way you dont touch the model while painting. There are plenty of articles available on this.

 

[Amazon warrior]

What Mr Scream said. Also, if it\'s a big piece, you can glue it to two ice lolly sticks glued at 90 degrees to each other in a cross shape, with less chance of it falling over and ruining your hard work. It\'s worth just tying a little thread round the join between the lolly sticks and gluing it there, to make sure they don\'t come apart at a bad moment. Then, when you\'re finished painting, the mini pops off the lolly sticks and can be glued to the base.

Edit: Ah! Foiled by the lol virus!

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Amazon warrior


Edit: Ah! Foiled by the lol virus!

lol

 

[airhead]

glue it to a bottle cap, a wine cork, or something so that you don\'t have to handle the mini while you are painting it.

As we dilute our paints to make proper layers/glazes, we are also diluting the binders in the paints. You can put some binders back by using glaze medium or airbrush medium as part of your dilution.

 

[generulpoleaxe]

it sounds like too much liquid on the bristles of the brush.

once you have loaded it mate, touch it against a rag to take the excess off.
you need surprisingly little on the brush for painting.

 

[Gussy]

Actually, I have it glued to a temporary base. But sooner or later I get to the point where I have to paint the bottom. This is when I take it off the base.

I tried the matt varnish and it helps.

 

[arogers907]

I always have more (and more frequent) touch up work on metal models as opposed to plastics. I don\'t put any sort of varnish or finish on my models. Even the ones I use for gaming. But I do end up doing a lot of touch up work on the raised areas and ridges and stuff. Tips of weapons and the ends of beards and hair are the worst offenders.

It a little odd that you\'d need to varnish as you were working on a model. That seems a little strange to me. However, if you don\'t like the touch up work, a coat of matt finish or two is going to be your friend.

 

[Ritual]

Remove the tab from the mini and drill a small hole in one of the feet, prefarably so that it goes a bit up a leg or so if possible. Put some glue on a pin and stick it into the hole and make sure the pin is 10-20 mm long. Stick the other end of the pin into a cork or something (with some glue) that you can hold the mini by, or use a pin vice to clamp the pin and give your mini a nice handle. Since the mini is sticking up quite a bit from whatever you use to hold it you can easily paint the lower part of the mini and even the under side without having to touch the mini.

When you\'re done, cut off the pin so that you have enough length to secure the mini to it\'s base. Drill a hole in the base where you want the mini and glue the mini to the base with the pin going into the hole.

If you have a heavy mini you might need two pins to carry the weight of the miniature. An extra pin will also help securing a heavy mini to the base better.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Gussy
On metal figures, my paint seems to be rubbing off a little every time I touch the figure.

So don\'t touch it then - pin one or more of the feet and hold them in something (pin vice, clamp) or find another way of holding the fig during painting like a clamp for the slotta bar.

Previous threads:
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=27342
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=27257
http://www.coolminiornot.com/forums/viewthread.php?tid=23604

Originally posted by Gussy
Yes, the figure is primed and I did let the paint dry.

In all honesty either the primer isn\'t really up to the task or the mini\'s surface was a bit greasy before priming. Should be tough enough and bonded well enough to take handling without constantly rubbing back to metal on the edges like you\'re describing.

Originally posted by Gussy
I was thinking of doing one color, do a matt varnish and then another color, and then matt varnish again. Good idea?

Heck of a lot of extra work (and lots more expensive).

Einion

 

[Wren]

Absolutely having some sort of holder should help, but you should be able to handle the mini a little or remove it from the holder and place it on to the real base or whatnot without paint rubbing off with every touch. Some possiblities I\'d look at -

* What paints are you using, I\'ve heard Vallejo Model Colour are more prone to rub-off than some others.
* Is there any chance you\'ve had these primered minis sitting around for ages and they\'re covered with dust that might be affecting paint adhesion. I find a compressed air can gets dust off pretty well if a mini has been sitting a while.
* Or is it possible that you\'ve handled the mini with greasy hands or got a lot of filings on it while you were prepping it. If so, try washing the mini before priming.
* Try putting a base coat colour on all the parts of the mini before starting the final painting on a part. I have found this reduced my rub-off a bit, though of course I have to touch up some areas as I go.
* A lot of painters spray Dullcote as they paint to sort of \'save\' the painting, so you shouldn\'t have problems with that if you want to go that route.

Hope you get the problem figured out, as I imagine it\'s pretty annoying.

 

[Ritual]

Originally posted by Wren
* What paints are you using, I\'ve heard Vallejo Model Colour are more prone to rub-off than some others.

This is only a slight effect! It\'s not like VMC doesn\'t adhere properly or anything. I\'ve used VMC extensively for years and years and never had any issues with paint rub-off.

 

[krom1415]

Try blue tacking the figure onto an old paint pot, then you dont have to touch the figure

I always attach the mini to the base and sometimes put some sand on before priming, but sometimes with elaborate bases this is not possible, I\'m doing a GW Giant at the moment and having to hold him by the base only :no:

 

[Queenoftheunifrogs]

i found this problem too when i was painting metal figures, the paint just kept rubbing off on raised edges and details.
what i found helped was to paint/spray the primer on and then spray on a coat of the purity seal varnish GW sells and letting it dry before painting over it. it seemed to solve the problem pretty much altogether as long as the mini wasnt handled too much.

 

[Wren]

Originally posted by Ritual
This is only a slight effect! It\'s not like VMC doesn\'t adhere properly or anything. I\'ve used VMC extensively for years and years and never had any issues with paint rub-off.

Oops, I wasn\'t intending to imply that VMCs were lousy or anything. More just wondering what the OP is using, in case it\'s a factor.