Kevin C | 25 Jul 2018 8:36 a.m. PST |
After having very little time to paint miniatures for the last few years because of work related issues and other matters, I finally have had a couple of months were I could paint quite a bit. My wife began working this summer, which gave me the option of not having to teach for a couple of months. That said, I have spent the summer babysitting the kids in the mornings, revamping my classes, working on administrative matters and advising students in the afternoons, and painting and watching the kids in the evenings. I was able to paint a large number of Mexican Revolution figures over the course of the summer. After finishing flocking all of my miniatures last night, I got up early this morning and applied my matte finish to them (you can see where this is going). Long story short, about 1/3 of the miniatures that I have worked on this summer are ruined. They are covered in a thick, milky white film. I guess it could be worse. At least 2/3's of them still came out OK. We are enjoying a brief cooling trend today (it's only going to reach 99 F today as opposed to the 113 F of last week), so I am going to take the kids to the park now before it gets too hot. I am sure everything won't seem so grim when I get back. |
ultimatewargamer | 25 Jul 2018 9:03 a.m. PST |
Re Spray them again. I would put them in the oven for 5 min on warm/low and respray them. As it is moisture on the figure that causes the problem. |
tkdguy | 25 Jul 2018 9:14 a.m. PST |
I had to move my miniatures to get to a leaky pipe, and some of them were damaged in the move. Fortunately, most of them just need to be rebased. But one miniature lost an arm. |
Thomas O | 25 Jul 2018 9:39 a.m. PST |
I had a similar problem, I resprayed them with a gloss clear coat, that killed the frost and then sprayed them with the matte spray when that dried. That took care of my problem. I always wait at least 24 hours from the time I am done painting a figure until I spray them. I also play the weather since I have to do it in the garage and try to only clear cote when the humidity is down. |
Ragbones | 25 Jul 2018 9:53 a.m. PST |
I ran into the same problem once. Wait for cooler temperatures and less humidity and respray. |
razuse | 25 Jul 2018 10:10 a.m. PST |
you know, after reading these solutions, I realized I may be spraying my figures to soon after painting…hell, half the time my flock is still a bit wet…I wonder if my Elmer's glue and water has caused the milky problem…never considered moisture from damp flock would be a potential problem until reading the above comments. |
etotheipi | 25 Jul 2018 10:54 a.m. PST |
It is the moisture that causes the haze. Heating them in an oven (if they're metal!) will slightly melt the sealant and release the water. Spraying over with an aerosol that contains acetone (not Krylon H20 environmentally safe(r!) paint) will "melt" the outer coat of sealant and reseal the minis. You could also try a (very) light brush of fingernail polish removed (which contains a diluted, but still smelly amount of acetone). All these solutions are best tried out on one or two figures first until you figure out the amount of material, heat, and time. Since they all work by removing the outermost layer of sealant and letting the water out, too much of any of them will ruin the underlying paint job. Which leads to the fourth option … strip and start over. Ugh! |
PzGeneral | 25 Jul 2018 11:32 a.m. PST |
THIS JUST HAPPENED TO ME LAST WEEK!!!! As recommended, I sprayed them with Gloss coat, waiting 24 hours, then sprayed them with Dull coat. Fixed the trouble. The first time I sprayed them (when they came out badly) it was 90 degrees outside. Even thought I sprayed them in the garage, in the shade, they still frosted. I suspect the spray was drying before it hit the minis. When I resprayed them, it was between 75-80 degrees… Good Luck, Dave |
45thdiv | 25 Jul 2018 12:29 p.m. PST |
The white mist can be fixed as others here have pointed out. Be thankful you did not grab that primer can by mistake and spray your primer over the figures. There is nothing to do about that but, in my case, sigh, cry and repaint. |
emckinney | 25 Jul 2018 12:39 p.m. PST |
"Heating them in an oven (if they're metal!) will slightly melt the sealant and release the water." This is one of the reasons I like having an ancient, inefficient, gas oven with a pilot light! Great for drying things. |
Col Durnford | 26 Jul 2018 7:55 a.m. PST |
Also, make sure you keep the coats light. One pass over a rank of figures wait overnight and then repeat. I have also started to spray a coat of Model Master acrylic flat clear for an under coat for dullcoat. |
Stew art | 26 Jul 2018 10:05 a.m. PST |
It sucks when this happens. I wrote a blog post about my solution, but in the end it's the same as everyone else's: wait a bit and try again. Here's the post: link |
etotheipi | 26 Jul 2018 10:19 a.m. PST |
Be thankful you did not grab that primer can by mistake and spray your primer over the figures. I thought the sealant was going on a bit grey. Then I realized I that last session, I put the grey lid on the sealant spray can and the clear lid on the primer spray can. ing interoperable standards! |