Protecting Paint

[Khulu]

So I'm seeing some slight damage to my minis after the painting is finished, mostly tiny spots where paint is rubbing off a tiny bit.  What do people do to prevent this?  I think I remember seeing a huge debate about glosses the first time I tried to get into 40k because people claimed it ruined the paint job or something (maybe was just too shiny?), is this still debated?  Either way, what do people use (either kinds of products or specifically what product)?

[AndrewChristlieb]

I'm pretty rough with my figures... Well okay I have major butterfingers and have a bad habit of dropping them :D

 

I use this stuff here: http://www.joann.com/plaid-clear-acrylic-sealer-matte-6-oz/2175198.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwvIO_BRDt27qG3YX0w4wBEiQAsGu3eTydGZOYe-hEEGlCHfrTUPM-gA-d57lfVhEQvUsKrHwaAnbs8P8HAQ

 

I don't think I've ever chipped a plastic model with this stuff and it's pretty rare for even a metal model to chip. Plus it's a spray and it's cheap... Like me :D

[Dosjetka]

I think the general consensus is that if you want to protect your model, you first apply a good (though no too thick) layer of gloss varnish, let it dry completely, and then apply either a coat of satin or matte varnish to get rid of the strong gloss. It will alter the colours of the model slightly, some things like pigments will not be as visible/have that "chalky" effect, and you'll have to go over your gems and lenses with some brush-applied gloss varnish but I personally believe it's worth it and you can always apply pigments after you've done all of the varnishing.

 

Anyway, I hope that helps somewhat.

[Major_Gilbear]

Oils in your skin can spoil the thin paint on your models, and affect both the paint and any varnish afterwards. If you avoid handling them as much as possible until they are sealed, and then seal them as I do, even metal infantry models can survive a fall from the table without chips or scuff (although I still wouldn't recommend dropping them...!).

 

To seal them, I use a two-stage process of gloss first (for best protection), and matte second (for best finish).

 

For the gloss, I use a diamond-hard non-yellowing UV-resistant PU water-based varnish. I thin it down a little with some clean water on my palette and apply it thinly all over the model. When fully dry, I do this again. Finally, when the second coat is fully-dry, I give any salient bits like cloak edges and sword tips a third localised pass.

 

For the matte, I spray outside with Testors dullcote. I then leave them somewhere warm and dry for 24hrs. Any spots missed by the Testors, I touch up with a little thinned matte medium - these spots are normally in recesses where you can't actually reach or chip through normal handling, so the matte medium is only there for visual finish effect anyway.

 

I have noticed that because the varnishes level all the different levels of gloss/satin/matte on a model to a uniform matte level, it can feel like the models look different. However, I don't believe there is any difference in colour or such, and you are free to check out the finished models in my signature if you want to see what the final result looks like when I'm done. :)

[appiah4]

Liquitex matte varnish.

[Jagus Kumkani]

I had been wondering about this myself, thanks for the knowledge guys.

[Phantomzero17]

Krylon Crystal Clear for me.

[Abachrael]

I can swear by the usual method of a gloss layer and then a matt layer. I use Vallejo's gloss and matt varnishes, applied liberally with a soft big brush. The results are great.

 

I've dropped spikey miniatures from 1.5 meters, not the slightest chip at all.

 

Also, this method has an additional advantage: the gloss varnish really stands out against the original paint, so once it's dry, you can easily check if you missed some spots/areas, and apply varnish on them.

 

Once the gloss varnish is finished, matt varnish will kill the glow and add a second layer of protection...and once again it makes it very easy to see if you didn't apply it to the whole surface, as any neglected areas will be glossy.

 

One bottle of each varnish has allowed me to completely seal 16 tactical marines, 12 bikers, 10 terminators and one full Vengeance landspeeder... and there's still plenty of stuff for more minis. So, great value for your cash.

 

Also, in my personal opinion, they look great after varnishing.

 

And a plus for us OCD types: once I varnish a miniature, I can TRULY consider it "finished", and I would stop fiddling with it and retouching things, thus I am making real progress towards having a fully painted army XD