"Need some help with Battlefront Typhoons" Topic

Okay y'all! I'm having problems makinng paint stick to my Typhoon models. I did as the Battlefront (BF) website suggested and gave the models a light sanding with very fine grit sandpaper. I then shot one with a can of Rustoleum Gray Primer. I then set it aside to let it dry for about two hours. I then ran my finger across it to check the adhesion and was rewarded with the primer coming off! AAURRGHHH!!

So what do I do now? The BF website suggested using a Miliput wash to help with paint adhesion and to use an enamel based paint as it is supposed bond better with the resin. I'll try the enamel primer as I don't have any Miliput. If y'all have any other suggestions please send them my way. Thanks in advance and Salut y'all!

Bruce the Texas Grognard

Testors enamel. Sticks to everything.

How strange. Made of resin you say? Must be an unusaal formulation, I've never had any trouble with paint sticking to resin (I use Humbrol enamel for undercoating).

I assume you did the usual wash with warm liquid detergent to get rid of any mold release first.

If not, you might give that a try, and then redo the primer.

Not sure if they are compatible, but the plastic primer they sell might be useful as well. Double-check with others though, to make sure it doesn't have a chemical in it that eats resin.

You could also try Windex window cleaner, it works great as a resin mold release remover.

I had similar problems with Battlefront's P-40 Warhawks. The first thing I noticed was that the grey resin was very glossy. I washed them in soapy water first, them primed them with brush-on gesso, which is my usual technique. The gesso tended to bead up even more than it usually does. After several coats of gesso, I let them dry for a week. The gesso was still very soft and would scratch off easily if I wasn't careful. I painted them with Vallejo colors, and even after the paint had dried, it would still scratch very easily. Only after I applied a spray clearcoat did the finish harden sufficiently.

Next time I'll try cleaning them with Windex and I'll use spray enamal primer.

I assume you did the usual wash with warm liquid detergent to get rid of any mold release first.

Yep, I sure did. I always give a mini a thorough scrubbing with Dawn mild detergent and an old soft bristle toothbrush before I prime it.

This time I washed and scrubbed the model before and after I sanded it.

You could also try Windex window cleaner, it works great as a resin mold release remover

Thanks Major Thom I'll give the Windex a try. I'll go dunk the model in some Simple Green now! (sigh) At least it'll smell minty fresh. Once again thanks for all the responses. Salut y'all!

Bruce the Texas Grognard

I don't know if you ever got these painted. A lack of responses suggests that you did but anyway for you or anyone else having problems battlefront did mention it in their Typhoon painting article here:

link

Basically says to put some milliput basecoat on the plane because the particular resin they made them with makes the paint fickle in adhering to the thing.

Luckily I opted not to buy BF's planes since I like my toys in all the same scale ;)

EDIT – oh nevermind I see you know about the article already. I should read the notes a little harder (oops!).

I use either concentrated Simple Green or Formula 409 orange. Let the models soak for a week in the stuff, then scrub with a gun-cleaning brush. You'll know the mold release is gone when the surface feels rough like a sharpening stone.

Then I use krylon camo ultra-flat black for primer, it chemically bonds to plastic and resin.

I wonder if Pine-Sol would work. Has anyone tried it?

I haven't. I'm a little leery of Pine-sol around plastics, it really softens them up. Besides, one of those Orange-oil based cleaners is often cheaper!

Okay, I just found a bottle of something called "Orange Clean" in the closet. I'll try it.

It's because your paint knows that they're in the wrong scale! ;)