17 replies to this topic

[yani]

If only my camera hadn't died.....


Anyhoos, I was recently painting a Quinn Nolan mini, and found that, after the paint had dried, the coating had all sorts of cracks in it, exposing the primer below very faintly. I also noticed that the paint didn't want to stick to the "edges" of his books and such.

Now, I had cleaned it and primered it the way I normally do. The primering wasn't done in high humidity, and I shook the can most convincingly for about 3-4 minutes prior, until that little ball in there was rolling around like mad.

The cracking was on the base coat I put down on his armour, prior to doing the metallics (I haven't done the metallics yet). I did his face, and it didn't crack.

The paint went on just fine, it just seemed like, when it dried, it either didn't want to stick onto the primer or it "shrank" to leave minute cracks like the desert floor, parched for water (or my houseplants).

Is it the paint, the primer, or just me? Is there a way to work around this without having to strip the entire mini and start again? Because I did the best eyes ever on this mini, so I'm most reluctant to go this route.

[Whizard Hlavaz]

What brand of paint? I've seen Adikolor crackle when applied thickly. Regardless of brand, was your basecoat thick?

[dargrin]

I have had this happen with some MSP's when I applied to thickly. I also go this when the primer wasn't dried thoughly as I thought it was.

[Vannahs Creations]

How old is the paint? Paint that is older or too thinned down tends to do that, I';ve noticed.
Or, like everyone else said, you simply applied it too thickly.

[yani]

I used MSPs and they aren't older than a year, at least.

[Vaitalla]

How thick did you apply your basecoat? As others have said, there are more than a few paints which will crack if applied in a thick coat (I seem to recall that this is because the primer surface is harder and less flexible than the paint surface, but I could be imagining things...). This has been an issue with some MSP's in the past but it's a phantom. I have used the exact paints that people have had issues with and had no problems, making it exceedingly difficult to pin down causes. For what it's worth, though, the one time I DID get an MSP to crackle it was applied very thick over a primed surface instead of in two thinned layers as is normal for me. Can you tell us how much you thinned the paint? Also, which color was it?

Thanks!

--Anne

[yani]

It was thinned on a 1:1 ratio of paint to water, and was also on a wet palette. The paint went on rather thinly, so I had to put on a couple of coats - one of the reasons why I thought it was most unusual. The colours were Stormy Grey and Shield Brown, mixed, I believe.

[All-Terrain Monkey]

1:1 is about what I'd use for a wash consistency with MSP's; try 6:1 or 3:2 paint to water for your basecoats, as that should go on smooth and only take two coats.

[Vaitalla]

Yes, if you would please try a thicker mix and tell me if it still crackles for you, that would be absolutely invaluable! How long did you wait between coat applications for the thinned mix you were using? Is it possible that the lower layers were not fully dry?

Thanks so much for your help,

--Anne

[yani]

I can tell you that the lower layers were fully dry, but I'll try a thicker consistency of paint and see how it goes.

[Vaitalla]

Sweet! Please do! Also, where did you get your MSP's, if I may ask? Direct from Reaper, from an online retailer, or from a local game store?

Thanks! And have you used those colors before with no crackling, or is this the first time you have opened the bottle? Can you tell me if the paint is thick or fluid when it comes out of the bottle?

All this info helps me figure out roughly when the paint was made. Fresher batches will show little or no thickening. Paints from online retailers have sometimes been sitting around for over a year. Paints which are fluid are a batch made within the last year, and mean I need to check our current stock!!

Thanks again for taking the time to answer all my questions,

--Anne

[yani]

No problem :)

I believe I got the grey from a retailer at the beginning of the year, and the brown was very recent - end of August purchase from an online retailer. The grey I've used before; this was the first time that I used the brown on a mini. I had cracked open the bottle to paint my colour reference chart with no problems.
They're both pretty fluid; the brown is a bit more thick than the grey. I have thicker consistency paints in the MSP line, and they're aren't thick in comparison.

I'll get to work on trying it thicker later today :)

[Jubilee]

I stopped getting crackles when I switched from Krylon primer to tamiya fine surface primer.

/ali

[muttmutt]

I so gald i ran a search for this..... I too been having cracks in my paints with Pine Green. From reading this Im pretty sure it was bc I put it on too thin i guess. Also I not sure if I need to post this here or do another search I also been having a clalky look with some paints mainly Ultramarine Shadow and Bloodstain Red, can anyone give some pointers or advice so this wont happen again?

[Vaitalla]

Can you describe the chalky look you mention? Are you saying the paint is gritty or is it frosty-looking after it dries? Do you have a picture?

Also, you say you think you applied the paint too thin...can you tell me how much you thin it? What type of primer do you use?

Thanks so much! Gosh I hate this problem...I have never heard of it popping up with these colors before, either. Especially the Ultramarine triad, they are more recent and entirely formulated with new paint bases.

Any help you can give would be appreciated...and if you can give us more details we will be glad to help you.

--Anne