"Alternative Way to Paint Chainmail" Topic

Quick and easy way to paint chainmail by burnishing the bare metal. Let me know if you find it helpful!

YouTube link

My only concern is that the burnished metal will, with time, become dull again.

You gloss it

Yep, you can use gloss, satin, or flat sealant, depending upon the final effect desired.

Interesting and fine painting by the way! I thought your side by side comparison was good but I liked both equally well.

Assume you hand prime with black on other parts, wouldn't that negate time saved later if you are not spray undercoating?

Issue 404 of MW has a shot in it if some Imperial Roman infantry with a giant (Broken Legions). All are twenty or more years old. All use this technique.

John T

I used a similar technique long ago and it works well with a pewter (lead-free) figure. Burnished, but not with a dental pick!, washed in thinned black enamel and then varnished.

I burnished the bare metal on these, then put a black wash on them, then painted the rest of the figure. It turned out nice.

I hand paint all my figures with black enamel so for me I didn't lose much time in the priming. I did attempt this technique with a completely primed figure and you can still burnish the metal, you just need to be thorough as you need to rub off all the paint on the tops of the chainmail.

Glad to see a bunch of you guys that use this technique, those legionnaires look amazing!

I used that technique on my 25mm Essex figures in the 80's, then spray with a fixative and they don't turn dull.

Bill Lamming showed me that in the 70's. After de-flashing, scrub the figure with a clean old toothbrush. The metal goes dark/black. Then burnish with a fine metal brass?) suede brush, and undercoat and paint the non metallic bits. Finally, varnish.

Steel wool will work too.

Haven't seen a paint yet that can really match the actual finish of real, polished metal.

That's how I prepare my natural aluminum finish jets, all the time.

lol……..I used a wire brush Dremel on my 80's era Essex figures. The effect was much brighter than the silver paint we had at the time, but eventually, the paint choices and results prompted us to go back to paint.