10 replies to this topic

[Jackie-Paper]

So got that army done painted finally? Now you want to put it on the table but don't want that nice paint job ruined?

Well, here is how I do it. I take some el'cheepo Krylon matt finish spray and hit my troops with it. However that stuff is next to worthless as protection it seems. Just a few moments of greasy gamer fingers and your paint is gone, heck the stuff is almost as good as paint stripper. So why use it. Well, it holds up pretty well and does put enough of a protective coat on that once dry I can hit it with my real sealer.

So once my troops are good and dry, I take out the big sloppy brush and give them a heavy coat of clear grout sealer for tile floors. It holds up to big stompy gamer feet, when you put it on the floor you know, so even better for gamer fingers on minis. The stuff makes pretty much a solid type coat finish and looks pretty good. Don't go too crazy and let it pool up or such or it can catch light or discolor a tiny bit.

You don't have to use the krylon at all really but I put it on first because I need it to dull my figures as the grout sealer does not seem to really dull them.

Anyhow thats how I keep my army finger proof.

... on a side note that I forgot to mention, one can also use it rather than water to thin paints a bit for really durable base coats and such, though I tend to do that more for terrain than minis but sometimes on the bases though.

[SaintRigger]

I usually just hit 'em with two spray coats of gloss and then two spray coats of dullcote.

It takes the sheen off of metallics a bit - but it is much better than having to repair paint chips.

[Sergeant_Crunch]

I haven't had too much issue with the Krylon sealer except for my most heavily used minis. I like to put a layer of Future, then a couple coats of matte sealer.

[claymoore]

I usually just hit 'em with two spray coats of gloss and then two spray coats of dullcote.

It takes the sheen off of metallics a bit - but it is much better than having to repair paint chips.

Protective coating like this works well for my figures too.

[Kang]

I usually just hit 'em with two spray coats of gloss and then two spray coats of dullcote.

It takes the sheen off of metallics a bit - but it is much better than having to repair paint chips.

Protective coating like this works well for my figures too.

Me too, the idea being that the layer of gloss provides the real tough protection for the paintjob, while the Dullcote knocks that annoying shine off it. I had some difficulty getting the Dullcote to go matte rather than glossy, though. Apparently this is rare; it may have had something to do with an unexpected reaction to the type of gloss spray (namely DecoArt Acrylic) I was using underneath the Dullcote, as after many other solutions failed to help, I finally solved it by giving it an extra-light spray of Krylon Matte before putting on more Dullcote. I started doing some experiments with different types of spray sealers over top of each other on blister pack plastic, but I never did the one that would have proven or disproved that theory. Maybe I'll go back and do that this weekend and update the Tips & Advice thread where I got some great help with this problem a few weeks back.

In my case, I ended up putting way too many layers of sealer on my for me, as when I went back with brush-on gloss for the slimy flesh, the thick layers of sealer underneath it helped make the little guy look that much slimier. At this point, it'd probably take a jackhammer to chip that mini's paintjob.

Kang

[joshuaslater]

Polyurethane dip, wait a few days to dry, then dullcoate. Seems like another way to ensure good protection.

[Lars Porsenna]

I'm also in the Future camp. This stuff is used to glosscote floors; should work well for figures too (and it does). For a dullcote I've finally sworn off rattle cans in general and only use Future + Tamiya Flat base (in a ratio of 2 to 1). When people talk of "dead flat" I just don't think its flat enough. With my system it gets the paint dull down to the original texture brushed on.


For brushing dullcote on (FREX figures with a lot of plate armor) I use Polly Scale with a bit of Tamiya Flat base. Works like a charm.

Damon.

[Madog Barfog]

Jackie, I don't understand why you are using a product with low adhesion as a base coat for a more protective coat. If the Krylon comes off, the grout sealer will come off as well. At the very least, I would do it the other way around, although I also don't understand how the grout sealer seems to have no impact on the reflectivity of the piece.

@Lars - how is it you ae using a glossy product as the majority of your dull coat mixture?

[Joe Kutz]

Not sure which brand or type of grout sealer you are using - but I would recommend very highly against using grout sealer on anything mini related (except maybe stained plaster castings).

Most of them form a membrane, not a sealant - or are an oil (or silicon) based coating that is designed to allow some permeability. It needs to breathe to prevent cracking and lifting from the underlayment. This is to allow for moisture under the floor to breathe through the membrane but keep most spills from staining the grout right away.

The sealer itself will normally evaporate off the grout over time - and it goes even faster with normal use on tile (and that is on something that is very permeable like grout).

@Lars - how is it you ae using a glossy product as the majority of your dull coat mixture?

The Tamiya Flat base is designed as a mixing agent. Normally you want to mix with either a pure acrylic like future or with a paint in order to reduce the shine. If used by itself, it rubs off easily - and tends to frost a good bit as there is too much matting agent to work alone. It is a pretty good item if you don't use a lot. 2:1 mix seems to work pretty well. You can go a bit thicker or thinner on the Matte Base if you want - depending on what you are mixing it with. Works the same way as any other matt base though, so if you plan on mixing a lot - head to an art store or an Automotive store and pick up some in bulk (House of Kolor is what I use most often when mixing...but I keep it on hand).

Anywho - whichever way you want to do it - gloss will be the hardest wearing. Put that on first. Matte over that.

[Lars Porsenna]

The Tamiya Flat base is designed as a mixing agent. Normally you want to mix with either a pure acrylic like future or with a paint in order to reduce the shine. If used by itself, it rubs off easily - and tends to frost a good bit as there is too much matting agent to work alone. It is a pretty good item if you don't use a lot. 2:1 mix seems to work pretty well. You can go a bit thicker or thinner on the Matte Base if you want - depending on what you are mixing it with. Works the same way as any other matt base though, so if you plan on mixing a lot - head to an art store or an Automotive store and pick up some in bulk (House of Kolor is what I use most often when mixing...but I keep it on hand).

Rubs off easily is an understatement...as well as tends to frost. If applied by itself, it will tend to merely flake off, if not turn to dust completely! Also it will frost absolutely...a good substitute for winter white wash if it had any adhesion at all...

Some of you may recall my dislike for Dullcote, and that I feel dullcote isn't really...dull... Mixing 50/50 future Tamiya Flat Base produces a finish as dull (if not duller than the original paint. A bit too dull, but the results in terms of finish (not to mention control) is orders of magnitude better than Dullcote in a rattle can. So much so I'll probably never touch another rattlecan again...despite my repeated attemts to give Dullcote another try (usually after someone praising it...).

Damon.

[Madog Barfog]

Lars, I can tell you that Testor's Dullcote "outdulls" the Golden spray variety, so much so that I've considered a final spritz of Dullcote to eliminate the faint sheen left by Golden. That way, I have decent UV protection for my paint, a dull finish, and such a small amount of Testor's that yellowing should not be a problem.

While I'm on the subject, Golden's acrylic brush on matte isn't as matte as it could be, either.