need painting advice

need painting advice
Posted in
Custom WorkstationI recently got in to the whole customizing thing but seem to be stuck with the painting side of it, it seems to be that everything I paint doesn't have a smooth finish and the paint keeps rubbing off even after I've primered it, I'm not sure whether its the paint I'm using or is there some trick to using vallejo model color paint.
any advice would be helpful.

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User Comments
Marvel on eBay
I've spoke to kyle robison and he recommended vallejo game color which I am waiting on in the post and to anwser your question I tend to take apart the whole figure as I like to fix the loose joints and various other things and also thanks for the advice about the paint Dr Nightmare, so I'll just have to stick with it but I'll get there eventually.
The general misconceptaion is that you want a paint that covers well in one coat. That's simply not true when it comes to hand painting models. Airbrushing is a different and that requires even thinner paints than brush-on. I still airbrush 2 coats however. Strength in layers.
What parts are you taking apart with your figure? I've never had any luck when taking apart my figures to paint. They would never look decent when put back together so I just painted the figure in different positions when it was whole. That way I can also find trouble spots and work with paint wear/join rub as I go.
Are you prepping your figure? Many companies use silicon oil to protect the factory paint, McFarlane does this often. Other companies use a mold release and joint lube dust/grease on their bare plastic to keep things from sticking to it. All of that must be washed off with warm soapy water and a nail brush prior to painting.
many thanks
The Mighty Tom
Ask Kyle Robinson since he uses nothing but Vallejo, visit his Toy Soup forum (our sister site): http://kylerobinsoncustoms.com/toysoup/forum.php
I don't play with them or anything like that, I only make them for display purpose only, but the main problem I'm having seems to be that when I paint with a brush the paint doesn't settle and have a smooth finish and then the paint starts to rub off when I try to reasemmeble the figure so I just need some advice on how to get a good finish when using vallejo model color acrylic paint.
I don't prime figures, I use an airbrush, and I don't seal my customs, the paint doesn't come off, why? Because I don't take a nail to them and scratch them to prove that the paint comes off! Sealing the custom is a good idea for protection though, just make sure nothing will get sticky, always wash your figures with soap before painting. I don't play with my figures though, I just pose them to make comics, so I don't have the same chance of paint damage I would if I smacked them into each other all the time.
Joints are going to rub unless you go the extra mile and sand the joints down in the appropriate areas so nothing rubs. And even then, you'll still get paint-rub because Lex Luthor doesn't want to see you succeed.
All I can say is that these paints aren't meant to be permanent, they aren't designed to fuse to the plastic or dye it like the factory paint do, so don't be discouraged when some paint rubs-off, that's just part of customizing.
I only use vallejo model color acrylic paint and I've gone through the tutorials over and over again and I still can't seem to get the same results, I just can't understand why I can't get a good finish.
Again I'd urge you to check out the Paint tutorials if you haven't already.
For the answers to most questions regarding customizing I would direct ya to our Tutorial Library >
http://www.figurerealm.com/customtutorial.php
It's chock full o' tips and basic what to and not to do stuff. It helped me immensely when I started customizing.
Check out the Paint Tutorials and I bet you'll find the answers you're looking for. If you have more questions though feel free to post 'em!