6 replies to this topic

[Argentee]

Well tonight I prime Dita for the fifth time. Or is it six? I'm using Reaper brush on primer.

If I have a problem (discover a seam, get paint on too thick, accidentally peel all the primer off her nose...) is there a way to remove primer/paint from just part of her and re-prime? Or is it back to the pine-sol spa?

[Heisler]

I have used acetone to remove paint down to the metal in small areas. If you have some nail polish remover you can try that, apply carefully!

[buglips*the*goblin]

Q-Tips! Q-Tips! Don't use a brush, like I did. BAD MOJO, VERY BAD!

[Serenity]

First see if you can fix up the area with more primer or matte medium. I've done this lots of times over mold lines that I couldn't get rid of easily with files, etc.

For stripping small areas, you can use fine wet/dry sandpaper (600 or so grit) wound into a tight roll, or wrapped around a toothpick or wire (say, a paperclip wire). Fine grit diamond files or other fine abrasives will work too. Abrasives can also be used after stripping with a liquid (once the primer/paint has been allowed to harden again) if you need to taper the edges.

For larger areas, I've used isopropyl alcohol, the 91% variety, which seems to work more slowly and gives better control than strippers like W&N Brush Cleaner and Restorer, which is very strong.

If you use an old brush, use a tiny one. You can cut them shorter for better control. Q-tips can be cut down (sort of), or you can use the cardboard applicator, cut to a point, to soak up and apply just a little stripper.

[Adrift]

I've used mineral spirits and it works well.

[ced1106]

I'd just apply another coat of primer. If you search on "miniatures painting primer black white", you'll find all kinds of thread about priming in multiple layers.

fwiw, If you use gesso, you can scrub it off with a toothbrush. Useful if you're not sure what color to paint your miniature.

[Wren]

If you find a mould line after you start to paint, you can usually carefully file it or scrape it as you normally would, taking as much care as you can not to damage adjacent areas of paint. Any bare spot of metal due to that, or due to rubbing off primer while you paint, you can paint with brush-on primer so you don't need to strip and repaint the whole miniature! If you have a little divot or other texture that shows that spot is somehow different, you can keep filling it in with additional coats of primer until it matches up with the surrounding area. Reaper's brush-on sealer can be used in a similar way to smooth rough texture or scratches on a surface you want to look smooth. This is best for large smooth areas like cloth, you don't want to apply lots of coats of stuff to small detail areas.

Removing overly thick paint from just one section of a mini is a bit trickier. If it's an area that's fairly self-contained or has borders, it can be done. What I mean by borders is whether the area is contained by the sculpt itself. Like if you get too much paint into a raised shoulder pad or cod piece, it can be possible to carefully apply something like Winsor & Newton liquid brush cleaner to the area with a small brush, then subsequent careful rinsing (with not too much water on the brush) and maybe a bit of scrubbing with a dry brush to get off the flakes of paint. Once you get it fairly clean of paint use brush on primer and start again. I've only done this a couple of times, most recently with a mini that was almost done. It had a belt with very finely sculpted detail that got gunked up with paint.