Bad Bad Day

Well fellow Members,

The day has almost come to an end. With pain in my heart I must admit I tried my first paint job in 15 years. Looking at the results, there's only one word that comes to mind.....and since thi is a desent site, I'm not gonna say it, but it sounds like IT.....

In my younger years, I picked up a brush, some Tamiya acrylics or some Humbrol Enamels, stirred a bit and jihhhhaaaa painted a model. OK there were some occasions that a bad can of paint, a bad brush or a not so steady hand bothered the results, but in general I could say that I was pretty good at it.

Well, 15 years passed by. Tonight I picked up a brush, opened a can of Humbrol enamel and tried to paint a basecoat on some of the figures for my desert dio. Absolute S..T was the only name I could give to the result. Paint dried at the first stroke. Totally transparent result and at the second stroke the first layer came right off again. Well, I thought that it was the occasional bad paint, so I opened up a jar of Tamiya acrylics and gave it a slow but good long stir......Same damn result.

What the heck am I missing here. I know it's not the paint. It's not the brush (high quality), I cleaned the parts well, so it must be me, myself and I to blame.

Please help me. My confidence is way down the drain at this moment. And all the darn good ideas on a real serious facial painting went down with it I fear.

Shoot guys, I need the Masters on this one !!

This is not your fault. Stuff like this happens to all of us, more often that we like. Two suggestions:

1. If you did not prime the figures with a sprayed paint (carefully applied can, or airbrush), then try that. (Gray spray primer from the hardware store will work in a pinch, applied carefully to produce a thin coat. I like enamel primers under acrylics, just be sure it is good and dry before brushing.) The primer will give a better surface for the brushed paint to adhere to, and will usually give better coverage. My experience is that (especially acrylic) paint often doesn't adhere well to bare plastic when applied with a brush.

2. Since the paint dried so fast, perhaps a bit of thinning is in order. I am not sure if this will do it, and your comment about "transparent" makes me wonder if this will help, but it is worth a try. Mix a small batch (not in the jar) and test on a bit of scrap, first.

Good luck. You should have a bunch of responses soon, so don't despair!

I agree with ARENGCA about the primer coat. For these figures, though, try brushing a second coat of paint on. Maybe it will lose its transparency then. You kind of have a primer on it now. I'm sure you haven't ruined anything permanently.

Nic

Bummer dude......

Hola Danny!!
I feel your pain...I was in the same seat a year or so ago Just looking at all these nice models out there and you think, hm..I can do that...then you try and the first time everything goes to hell, if you know what I mean.
Now, a solution to your problem...the above posts are great! Prime the figures in a light gray color, making sure the primer goes on smoothly and thin!! Dont wanna suck up the details with it!! Then make sure your paints are fully mixed in the bottle, get an old brush handle or tooth pick and stir it good, once its stirred up good put a small bead or some sort in it and this will help when you shake the tin to mix it up, much like a ball in the spray cans!! Also, are these the paints from 15 years ago??? That might be your problem if it is :-)
Relax and have fun...We will help you through these hard times if you need us to
And then some day we will ask you for help!!

I surely don't hope so. I've spent mucho dineros on new paints the last couple of weeks. The old paints have all moved to another planet.

Like some others I made a promis to myself to use only high quality models and supplies. I don't wanna experience the results of poor quality brushes and paint anymore. That belongs to tha past.

Thanx for the reactions guys. From the things that where said I think the basecoat thing is the most important reason for the failure.....

I'll have some re-run with my airbrush this afternoon. I'll keep you posted.

btw: I've made some pics off the terror-events. Hope to be able to get them out off the camera soon, so I can share them with you.

Hate to say this but you did wash the figure first with a good soap and allow to dry to remove the grease and oils? I kno wyou did kind of strange that paint would lift never had that happen with Humbrol. Sorry For you Danny

when I use enamel and oils I always pour more or few drops, depends on the size of the paint job, in an artists palette, after I have stirred the paint it well.
this helps to prevent complications as yours and it seems the paint was rather fresh if it reacts that way.
next reason which could cause the troubles is humidity.
there are a few days in the year, where even in my hobbyroom in Vienna/Austria no paintjob will succeed because of the high air-moisture.

don't give up...read my lav-at article and see that u are not alone..

regards, werner

Sure did.... In the old days I didn't foloow the book, now I do. Just look were it took me.... :-)

I used my airbrush this afternoon in an effort to restore things. Used an Humbrol enamel to apply the basecoat. The result is...........GOOD this time. I also airbrushed an old model. On this old model I'm gonna try the paints that failed on me yesterday again. See what happens now.

This too shall pass, Danny...

I agree with wwhat everyone else has said:
1. Wash it first to get rid of mold release left on the part.
2. Spray on a good figure primer and LET IT DRY. Some of these say leave it alone for two or three days to cure, so pay attention and do as it says for best results.
3. Make sure the paint is fresh and well mixed.

Good luck; figures are the bane of my existence too but I know I have to get better at them...Too many cool Sherman projects in the works for me to leave them ALL with closed hatches!

Greg