"How easily should paint come off a mini?" Topic

Or maybe should say how difficult should it be to scrape paint off a plastic mini. if it's been primed?

Did some testing last due to some concerns I have about a bunch of minis. I primed with Krylon Colormaster paint + primer as well as GW's chaos black.

I've seen modelers report that they've used Krylon primers (the 2x primer), but I'm wondering about the priming qualities about the paint + primer version.

Here's the thing. Both the GW and Krylon give fantastic finishes with no loss of detail. Both products look nearly identical on a plastic mini., nice flat finish but have a slight sheen. Not as flat as say a Testors primer or Armory.

I did a paint test on both primers with some GW model paint.

I only waited a couple hours so maybe it was too soon to test it. But with both products the paint didn't budge if I rubbed it with my thumb. But if I scraped it with my fingernail it came up seemingly too easily.

Is this just me testing it too quick?

I know some modelers use just flat, generic sprays or even just flat black or white spray paint, so I would imagine that my GW and Krylon finishes SHOULD be fine to paint on!

I'm just confused at this point…thanks in advance!

2 hours is too soon.

I can scrape off any primer I've ever used.

I don't have any plastic figures but do know of spray paint specifically made for plastic so has anyone tried this?
I have to admit this would be a deciding factor if I did have 1/72s or if a company made 15mm plastic figures

Primer is not designed to prevent a scratch with something as hard as a thumbnail.

Doesn't matter whether the figs are plastic or metal or resin – paint and primer are soft compared to finger nails.

I don't have any plastic figures but do know of spray paint specifically made for plastic so has anyone tried this?
I have to admit this would be a deciding factor if I did have 1/72s or if a company made 15mm plastic figures

Around eight years ago, I tried exactly that (with Krylon's paint/primer). My notion was also to quickly turn out 1:72 plastics, a scale I would not consider otherwise.

My experience was that it went on too thick. I was unavoidable. IMO (barring a formula change since then), it simply wasn't possible to apply it thin enough to make it feasible.

But then, now we have GW & Army painter colored primers, which I am extremely happy with. Sure, they cost several times more, but they are worth the money (again, IMO).

No idea on plastics but with acid etch primer on metals that have been properly degreased and lightly etched before priming I can't scrape the primer off with a thumb nail. It has formed a chemical bond into the metal.

Most of what the hobby calls 'priming' is really just undercoating. The whole paint job is only as strong as the bond between the first coat of primer and the figure. If you can scrape it off with your thumb that's how tough (or not) the painted figure is. It doesn't matter how many coats of varnish you use, that first layer is the critical bit.

With plastics I'd scrub them like mad in warm soapy water but then you must rinse the residue that soap suds leave. If you get any grease on the model, e.g. natural oils from your hands you will then be applying paint over grease and that is a really weak bond.

There must be a dedicated decent primer that will bite into the plastic properly, like acid etch does metal. Lots of trim parts on cars are plastics that are often over painted in the car body colour, I'd look at how they do it to find the right materials and prep process.

@Timmo UK,

I was of the understanding that plastics didn't need to be washed generally, unlike the necessity of washing metal and resin models because of mold release agents.

I've never in all my years of modeling ever washed GW plastics or any other fantasy or historical plastics. Never had a problem with primer adhering properly to plastic minis. or paint adhering properly.

My recent test was due to wondering about the Krylon paint + primer product. I jumped the gun when I first tested and scraped it too soon.

I did it a second time, and let one of my GW plastic models sit overnight with a sample of paint applied and checked it this morning, it was fine.

Baranovich,

Keep doing what works best for you.

: )