The ol\' \'polishing\' problem

[Flightless]

Gah. Help me. All painters (at least with Citadel paints) know of the dread polishing problem caused by touching paintwork.
How do you avoid it other than by never touching your minis? Can you remove it? (I seem to recall rinsing the minis did nothing)
I mean, my current ones are meant to be for gaming. But surely there\'s an answer, since many of the ones you see in magazines and on this very site are gaming minis, and yet somehow look fine.
Help me before i die of frustration (read: collapse into a ball and start chewing space marines)!

 

[Dragonsreach]

The answer:

Testors Dullcoat.

 

[supervike]

Hm...I don\'t understand the polishing problem. Do you mean paint rubbing off?

For gaming minis, I\'d suggest a gloss or satin varnish (for durability) then, once dry do as Mr. Dragonsreach says and use Testors.

 

[Flightless]

Ah, so i don\'t need to worry when painting. Excellent. I know i could build a frame thing, but as i said, these are only for gaming.

Next question: D\'you reckon Citadel spray varnish would work?

I have a high suspicion i know the answer to that one, but it just happens i have a full can of it...
Meh, i can always go out and find some of that Testors stuff, wherever you get it. In fact, where does one buy any kind of paint etc that isn\'t GW?

And now, since i\'m in the mood to interrogate the world: What actually causes that polishing anyway? Is it grease rubbing off onto it (although i usually wash my hands to make sure before painting)? Is it actually basically polishing (which is surprising because it\'s so quick and dreadfully effective)?

[Quiz over - Answers will be marked out of ten; your end-of-year grade may depend on your score]

 

[vincegamer]

I think you are saying the pieces get shiny after handling, and in that case I\'d guess it\'s grease.

Testors can be bought at any store that sells model car/airplane kits - hobby shops, toy stores, in the US it\'s everywhere. In the UK I understand it\'s rare as Saffron.

 

[Maggot]

And now, since i\'m in the mood to interrogate the world: What actually causes that polishing anyway? Is it grease rubbing off onto it (although i usually wash my hands to make sure before painting)? Is it actually basically polishing (which is surprising because it\'s so quick and dreadfully effective)?

[Quiz over - Answers will be marked out of ten; your end-of-year grade may depend on your score]

The \'polishing effect is caused by grease from the fingers, it doesn\'t matter if you wash them, it comes straight back. If you have a badly effected area you can use \'brush on\' matt varnish.

I would advise you not to use the GW varnish - if you do however, test it on some card or paper first (make sure it\'s not white paint - they have had cans that say varnish when they are primer)

I use Vallejo matt varnish, you can buy it to brush on and to spary on. A lot of people here use Vallejo paints if you\'re looking for an alternative.

Here are two websites I use:

http://www.modelsforsale.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=8_89999156

^ is for Vallejo model colour, where you can get both types of matt varnish.

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/section.php/412/0

^ is for Vallejo Air/Model and Game Colour - they do the lot along with lots of other cool stuff!

Happy painting!

 

[Ritual]

The Citadel varnish is not as matte as the Testors stuff. Also, a lot of people on this board have reported incidents when the GW varnish has gone \'funny\' on them, giving spotted, or even milky surfaces on the painted mini. It never happened to me while using GW varnish, but the Dullcoat is better so I use that. Depending on where you live it might be hard to find it. In the States it seems to be fairly common, but in Europe it can be very hard to find in places.

As for where to find non-GW paints and such, try an \'ordinary\' model shop where you buy plastic kits, historical minis etc.

 

[mattsterbenz]

citadel varnish has never given me a problem, i use it on every model i paint, from game quality, to contracts and golden demon entries. just make sure to shake it well, otherwise that is the problem people get with slight glossyness, fog, etc... by not shaking it well enough.

 

[cyrano111]

If only I\'d read this thread first...

I wanted to protect some minis I\'d finished, so I bought some GW Purity Seal. I sprayed it on earlier today, and ruined hours and hours of work!

As noted in other posts, I got a milky white spotty film on the minis - it was like spray painting them white with a can that was almost empty. Perhaps I didn\'t shake it enough, though I did shake it - I\'m certainly not inclined to test it again!

I rushed to the sink and did my best to wash it off, and salvaged one. The other three pieces look beyond help, though. Not only has the actual paint job been obscured, there\'s a gritty residue left, so there\'s not much point in painting over them to try to restore it.

Has anyone had success in cleaning this stuff off? It seems like it might be possible (but painstaking) to clean the residue off - any suggestions? Would nail polisher remover or something like that take the paint off as well?

 

[Flightless]

Don\'t use nail polish remover!
Your suspicions are correct - it will indeed remove the paint. Nail paint has a similar base to standard acrylic paints.

On the plus side, to the almost non-existant group of people who would find this useful, this means you can use citadel (and presumably other) paints on nails, since they\'re much easier to work with for fine detail work.

Hence:

(the camera ruined the highlights, but meh. And shh, it was fancy dress)

 

[cyrano111]

Thanks for the warning, Flightless - the picture you attached didn\'t load for me, but sounds intriguing.

Anyone have other suggestions for removing this stuff? I\'d really appreciate any ideas that result in me not having completely messed up three completed figures!

 

[Mosch]

For everyone who can\'t find \"Testor\'s\", Model Master dullcote is the same thing.

cyrano111, I have never had this problem (but then again, I have never used GW spray), but I have heard reports that it went away after another coat of varnish. Maybe just try that, probably can\'t get worse than it\'s now

 

[cyrano111]

Thanks Mosch, I\'ll shake the can better and give it a shot - as you say, no harm. Even if I eventually use nail polish remover and have to re-paint, I\'m better off than I am now!

 

[Flightless]

Oh, just a sudden thought - Not that it matters too much, but it\'s possible that nail polish remover can corrode plastic. But then, if you think they\'re ruined anyway and the extra coat of varnish doesn\'t do the trick, there\'s no harm.

On a related note, should you want to strip paint off a metal model (and i am pretty sure varnish is included in this), some stuff calle Nitro-Mors is a good thing. Always a good very last resort for those paint jobs that go seriously wrong.

 

[cyrano111]

I\'ve just had a different notion in case nothing works. They\'re all Lord of the Rings characters. None of them were at Mount Doom, but maybe I can make a scene placing them there - they rather looks like they\'re covered in volcanic ash at the moment...

 

[No Such Agency]

Nice \"Matrix\" nails, Flightless!

Acetone (nail polish remover) will indeed dissolve styrene plastic! Do NOT use it to strip plastic minis! (except Clix minis which are hard rubber)

Anyway... on topic, for gaming minis, I\'ve heard a coat of gloss varnish (for durability) followed by flat varnish (for the finish) is the best combo.

 

[Godlikebuthumble]

@cyrano

just go over the minis with brush-on gloss varnish once (the GW one will do.). That should fix it. Then you\'re free to get yourself some Testors.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by cyrano111
Has anyone had success in cleaning this stuff off? It seems like it might be possible (but painstaking) to clean the residue off - any suggestions? Would nail polisher remover or something like that take the paint off as well?

Probably anything that will dissolve the dried varnish will also act as a solvent on the paint, sorry! Since you\'re nearing the point where you\'re resigned to repainting you could try dipping the minis in Future, if the problem is the surface that could fix it.

Dullcoat has a great feature for its original intended users who painted in enamels - when dry it\'s soluble in alcohol, which doesn\'t affect enamel paint. Obviously this is no use to us!

Einion

 

[cyrano111]

Thanks for the suggestions, all.

I tried dry-erase cleaning fluid, figuring it was less caustic than nail polish remover - it was, but was no help. Fatalistically, I tried the nail polish remover, which as it turns out didn\'t remove the paint - or the grainy film.

I tried applying a new coat of purity seal, after shaking it much more and testing it on another figure. I can\'t decide - that might have improved it a bit, but I did it quickly before leaving the house this morning so I\'m not sure. If it did, I\'ll try a bit more - I suppose the new layer might be dissolving and merging with the old one, or something like that.

Is that the theory behind using brush-on gloss finish?

Anyway, thanks for all the help.

 

[Legacy Account]

I have the best solution for keeping your mini paintwork pristine:

Put them in a display cabinet and never touch them!


Sad aren\'t I.....