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Protecting minis


AdamJ

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Hi all,

Now this may sound reckless but I've never done anything to protect any of the minis I've painted. The reason being is that I don't want to modify the finish and I don't know what method is best to use.

What products/methods do people use for protection. Ideally I don't want to change the finish or colour of my minis but I would like to prevent chipping. Am I asking for too much? Does anyone else not bother with protection or is it something everyone does?

 

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I've always wanted to to something to protect my minis, but have kept off in fear of ruining the paint job with a rattlecan varnish. If I ever get myself an airbrush I'll probably try to varnish everything, but for now everything has survived, even the models I've dropped on the floor.

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I'm quite enjoying the slight sheen of GW Purity Seal at the moment, but it depends really. I used to use Purity Seal and then hit them with a Matt spray either Testors Dullcote (virtually impossible to get hold of in the UK) or Vallejo Matt Acrylic Varnish spray, (the white and blue Barniz Varnish tin which is easy to get get hold of in the UK), this worked well also.  This gave a really durable matt finish.  I'd always say test each can on a not so important model before you use it on something you've spent 30hrs painting.

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Protecting the paint is a bigger issue on metal models that tend to chip even with a good undercoat. With plastics I have found that with a lot of handling with games the paint does rub off and is covered with a thin coat of finger grease. (YUCK!) A coat of varnish does help initially and a later remedial coat too but it doesn't fix the problem fully and has the downsides of losing some of the subtlety of colour transitions and the risk of ruining it if it all goes bad (hazing, gloss patches etc). I've stopped bothering with it for plastic models, my solution is to try not to touch any part of the miniature except the base, and use Testor's Dullcote meal ones. Testors is the best but can be a pain to get outside the US. Here in Australia we get now and a again and people tend to panic buy it in bulk!

 

2 hours ago, Soulsmith said:

One question I've always had is, do varnishes come off as easily as paint when attacked with paint removal chemicals? Just in case I decide down the road to repaint.

Can't see why it would be a problem. I think that most of the mild strippers we use like Dettol or Simple Green act buy getting under the paint, expanding and popping off it off rather than by dissolving the dried paint medium. I've not had any problem in the past anyhow.

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Thanks everyone, some great ideas. 

20 hours ago, cb_rex said:

I'm quite enjoying the slight sheen of GW Purity Seal at the moment, but it depends really. I used to use Purity Seal and then hit them with a Matt spray either Testors Dullcote (virtually impossible to get hold of in the UK) or Vallejo Matt Acrylic Varnish spray, (the white and blue Barniz Varnish tin which is easy to get get hold of in the UK), this worked well also.  This gave a really durable matt finish.  I'd always say test each can on a not so important model before you use it on something you've spent 30hrs painting.

Do you find Purity Seal on its own alters the finish much? Am I right in thinking it gives a satin finish?

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It gives a nice even satin finish, but it really is just tha,t it's not glossy at all.  It doesn't really change the paints as such, it depends on what you use some paints have a more satin finish than others, the old Foundation paints and the Vallejo Extra Opaques have a more of a matt finish than the Citadel Layer paints and VGC so if you purity seal over these colours then they gain that satin sheen.

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It completly varies what I do.  Recently I've tended to stick to the newer style GW Purity Seal which are more matte than gloss.  This weekend I did have a nightmare as it misted up, causing all my models to go grey (I think this was due to a very slight breeze).  To cut a long story short, I solved this with a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear and will redo the purity seal when the weather is better.  I do prefer the finish without anything however as has been pointed out, seeing a model get covered in finger grease or cringing when somebody is clumsy with their dice just isn't worth the risk

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10 minutes ago, RuneBrush said:

It completly varies what I do.  Recently I've tended to stick to the newer style GW Purity Seal which are more matte than gloss.  This weekend I did have a nightmare as it misted up, causing all my models to go grey (I think this was due to a very slight breeze).  To cut a long story short, I solved this with a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear and will redo the purity seal when the weather is better.  I do prefer the finish without anything however as has been pointed out, seeing a model get covered in finger grease or cringing when somebody is clumsy with their dice just isn't worth the risk

Thanks for the tip of what to do in the event of misting. I've decided to give Purity Seal a go on some test models.

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3 minutes ago, AdamJ said:

Thanks for the tip of what to do in the event of misting. I've decided to give Purity Seal a go on some test models.

No problems.  In truth I've never had it before, but generally I'm quite fussy about when I spray - early evening (once the sun has started to go down), wind-free and not humid.  This time I thought I'd "chance it" and clearly shouldn't have.  That said, gloss varnish always provides better protection, so it's not necessarily a bad thing to have a layer of gloss before the matt.  Plus it means I can apply a layer of verdigris onto the armour before I reapply the purity seal.

One tip I will also give is to make sure that you shake the can for at least 2 minutes, possibly more.  This will ensure that the various agents are properly mixed together.

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@RuneBrush Thanks, are you in the UK? I'm in the UK and in the Autumn/Winter/Spring I always worry about the temperature being too low when I spray prime models. Other than the summer there are a lot of days where the temperature doesn't even hit 15 degrees Celsius (which is what I've always been told is the minimum to spray)?

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@AdamJ Yup, based in deepest darkest Wiltshire :)  Generally I play it by ear, I think I've actually done some undercoating on Christmas day in the past.  Generally if I can walk outside in a t-shirt without feeling cold then I'll happily use a spray can.  I've always found that moisture in the air affects the finish the most, so when we get rain like we have been that tends to rule out spraying for a while as it'll take a fair bit to dry up.  That said, I also avoid spraying if it's baking heat as that will dry the paint out before it hits the model, giving you a rough finish.  White is more susceptible to this than black (and clearly varnish too!)

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24 minutes ago, AdamJ said:

@RuneBrush Thanks, are you in the UK? I'm in the UK and in the Autumn/Winter/Spring I always worry about the temperature being too low when I spray prime models. Other than the summer there are a lot of days where the temperature doesn't even hit 15 degrees Celsius (which is what I've always been told is the minimum to spray)?

I've primed models outside even during the winter, down to -4 degrees Celsius without any major problems. I took then inside to dry, but other than that I didn't do anything special. Being based in Northern Norway I could really only prime two weeks out of the year if I was going to wait for the weather to get above 15 degrees.

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@Grimnaud This is great to know - I always thought the 15 degrees Celsius was a strict rule. I have never tried spraying on a cold day and instead have used Imperial Primer. I guess I could always try spraying some old sprue first if I need to prime next winter.


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