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Painting Plastic Figures

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Dan Cyr

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Jun 3, 2002, 5:26:01 PM6/3/02
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I just bought some 1/32 soft plastic figures, and would like some advise
on how to keep the paint on when I am done. I believe that I've heard
that one can coat the figure so that it can be bent, and still not have
the paint crack and flake off.

Dan

Fallenhunter

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Jun 3, 2002, 6:51:02 PM6/3/02
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Soft, if we are talking plastic army men, or mage knight soft. Good luck.
Mage knight does not crack and peel, mostly because the surface was
prepped from the chemist lab to be painted. With any other type of soft
plastic, you will have some cracking and peeling. Basecoating well will
a spray primer will help stick at first, but will crack and peel
eventually with bending and use.

Not to say it dont work, I have a good sized warhammer army made from
plastic army men that are reasonably painted and work well enough, not
my best work, and I am replacing as I can. But work.

Fallenhunter

wiljoe

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Jun 3, 2002, 10:35:12 PM6/3/02
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Dan,

Clean them in washing detergent, paint them with thinned down
white glue/wood glue/aquadhere (i think its called Elmers in the US).

When you apply the paint, it will be on the thin film of somewhat
flexible glue, meaning it gives a little & wont flake. The US
paratroopers I painted 3 years ago are all fine & you can bend the
rifles without any probs.

Bill.
Life's a die,
then you bitch.

Quid Veritas

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Jun 4, 2002, 12:39:08 AM6/4/02
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In the U.S. its Varathane -- dip or brush on heavily and take care to
remove excess before it dries. The trick is to get a lot on the figure
without those unsightly drips. If done properly this stuff will last
for years and defy all climate changes. Indeed your plastics will
likely last forever.

I have painted figs that are still in use with little or not damage
thirty years later.

Am trying Minwax polyurethane with stain on some terrain I'm working
on. Let you know in 30 years if it holds up as well.

mjc

Allan Goodall

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Jun 4, 2002, 3:20:17 PM6/4/02
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On Tue, 04 Jun 2002 04:39:08 GMT, Quid Veritas <quidv...@netscape.net>
wrote:

>In the U.S. its Varathane -- dip or brush on heavily and take care to
>remove excess before it dries. The trick is to get a lot on the figure
>without those unsightly drips. If done properly this stuff will last
>for years and defy all climate changes. Indeed your plastics will
>likely last forever.

I have a number of plastics that I was considering working on. I've done some
reading on various newsgroups about the procedures used to keep plastics from
chipping and flaking.

One method is to paint the figures with a spray primer. You then paint the
figure as normal, and then you coat the figure with slightly thinned down
white glue. Elmer's or other white glue (Lepage in Canada) works, though
Woodland Scenics makes a glue already thinned down. You paint the figure in it
heavily, but you have to keep brushing the glue out of the folds of the figure
to stop it pooling and going white.

A second method is essentially the same thing, but you paint the figure in the
glue _before_ you paint. You are then painting on the white glue prepped
figure. I haven't tried this method, but suspect it won't work as well as
method 1 (though some swear by it).

A third method is the one mentioned in the post I'm replying to. You paint the
figure as per point one, but then you coat the figure in something other than
white glue. Varathane was mentioned by the poster. Another product I've seen
mentioned is Minwax, also known by some fans of this form of plastic figure
painting as "The Dip". Minwax is tinted, so you end up with a combination
coating and tinting process. People who love the result swear by it.

If you paint the figure, though, without doing something to seal in the paint
you _will_ get flaking and chipping of the paint.


Allan Goodall agoo...@hyperbear.com
http://www.hyperbear.com

"At long last, the earthy soil of the typical,
unimaginable mortician was revealed!"
- from the Random H.P. Lovecraft Story Generator:
http://www.darkicon.com/Library/randsent.htm

Robert S. Dean

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Jun 4, 2002, 6:20:18 PM6/4/02
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Allan Goodall wrote:

> A second method is essentially the same thing, but you paint the figure in the
> glue _before_ you paint. You are then painting on the white glue prepped
> figure. I haven't tried this method, but suspect it won't work as well as
> method 1 (though some swear by it).

I've been using a variation of this method--my first coat is an
acrylic gesso, and my outer coat is an acrylic matte media/varnish.
The Woodland Scenics glue mentioned is just thinned matte media, so
it makes sense that the bottle of varnish should work. The oldest
figures I have done this way are only a year old, so no info
on long term stability.

Rob Dean
(painting two different groups of figures in plastic today)

Rafael Pardo Almudí

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Jun 5, 2002, 7:24:06 AM6/5/02
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I am using the first method from year 1980 and the figures remain still ¿well?
painted. However, do not dilute excesively the glue with water,, or white spots
could appear. Moreover, the method gives a matt finish to the figures.
Rafa

Allan Goodall escribió:

--
Dr. Rafael Pardo Almudí
Departamento de Química Analítica
Facultad de Ciencias
Prado de la Magdalena s/n
47005 Valladolid
Spain

Tfno: +34 983 423531; Fax: +34 983 423013
e-mail: rpa...@qa.uva.es
http://www.geocities.com/rafael_pardo_almudi


Jon-paul

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Jun 5, 2002, 9:45:17 AM6/5/02
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As a lot are suggesting

Prep the figure

I have had recomended to me that soaking the figures in white vinigar
overnight is good. Apparently it etches the surface of the plastic permiting
the paint/primer or glue prep to grip the surface better. I have tried it
and it does seem to have a good effect, so nanny recomending it for keeping
your glasses sparkling clean, may have had a point!

clean it in warm soapy water.

rinse in clean water

I personaly I then coat in watered down PVA glue
I pre-mix a large dip, drop the figures in, swirl the lot around, and fish
em out and leave them over night upright on kitchen toweling.

Now painting starts proper:-

Then prime colour
A note on paints, always use acrylic. even dry acrylics bend, enamals don't.
also no nasty fumes and water for cleaning the brushes are also a bonus

back to the PVA dip

then block the main colours

back into the PVA dip

Detail

back to the dip

fine detail and wash

back to the dip.
This seems to work well for me with my 20mm figures (who often have their
guns bent but no flake on me).

Hope that helps
"Dan Cyr" <dan...@execpc.com> wrote in message
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JohnL5555

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Jun 5, 2002, 12:54:26 PM6/5/02
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Just use Clear Plasti-dip spray on your plastiv figs. Go to
plastidip.com for info or your local ACE hardware store. Paint and
prime however you like. Just seal with plastidip. It is a rubberized
spray. Can you say AWESOME. Read about it on the Little Wars Yahoo
group (which deals with 54mm plastic figs).
HTH,
John
"Robert S. Dean" <rsd...@erols.com> wrote in message news:<3CFD3D22...@erols.com>...

Keith Jordan

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Jun 5, 2002, 11:41:27 PM6/5/02
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Dan Cyr wrote:

And, just in case you don't have enough opinions, you can go to a auto
parts store and buy the sprya primer that is used on plastic bumpers and
use that with no mixing. Then paint the figs with water-based paint,
seal with glosscote or dullcote, and off you go.

Keith

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