Post by goblinchow on Apr 9, 2017 9:16:15 GMT
One great thing about a new board is that it only takes a few seconds to search the board and make sure you aren't asking a question that has already been discussed!
When I painted up my Ral Partha minis for D&D (The real lead ones) I used hard enamel paints, so the only reason I would use any type of a clearcoat would be to change the sheen on a certain part of the model. I would usually dull coat fabrics and gloss coat metals, shields and armor. The figures were mostly used as a placeholder or focus during the game and were only picked up a couple of times during the whole night. The paints were also hard as a rock and could resist almost anything short of a power tool! Our wargame miniatures get deployed, moved, pivoted, hit by dice, moved again, tipped over (In some games) , hit by more dice, moved again, pulled off the table when killed and packed into a case to do it all over again. To add insult to injury, the acrylic paints we use now are much more fragile than the old enamels or lacquers were. Not only are they softer, but they have a porous finish that absorbs finger oils and discolors at a fantastic rate. I am already noticing that my 40k figures are starting to show quite a bit of wear and dirt. (Yes, I wash my hands before playing, but we seem to pick up quite a bit of dirt from the scenery on the tables as we play.) They are mostly un coated, although I have used GW 'Ardcoat in a few select places where I wanted things a bit shiny. Now that I am painting up some serious PP armies, I would like to coat them with something more suitable for hard use.
I have been using some Vallejo Game Color paints, and they seem to wear quite well, but most of my paints are GW and I will be using P3 paints for some of the "signature" colors on my Warmahordes armies. (That way, I have a chance of matching other armies of the same faction) I do a lot of automotive modeling, but the clearcoats I use for that would melt or peel our acrylic paints. (I use actual lacquer paints with thinners sprayed through a gun.) I have some Tamiya clear lacquers in spray cans that are fairly safe over their line of acrylics, but I haven't tried them with our miniature paints. I have GW 'ardcoat and Vallejo Game Color clearcoats. I think I have a reaper varnish laying around somewhere. I won't be able to airbrush until I can go back to my house, which will not be for a long time. I would be limited to spray cans or brushed finishes for the time being.
What clearcoats do you guys tend to like? Do you all tend to spray the whole model with one clearcoat, or do you brush on matte and gloss over the different parts to keep the model looking more realistic? Do the acrylic matte coats tend to discolor and die with finger oils too? It seems like for a while, the historical wargamers at out local meta were glosscoating everything for durability and ignoring the look. If I switch over to Vallejo Game Color, can I get away without clearcoating anything? I would love to hear what is working for of the other painters out there.
Thanks,
Dave
When I painted up my Ral Partha minis for D&D (The real lead ones) I used hard enamel paints, so the only reason I would use any type of a clearcoat would be to change the sheen on a certain part of the model. I would usually dull coat fabrics and gloss coat metals, shields and armor. The figures were mostly used as a placeholder or focus during the game and were only picked up a couple of times during the whole night. The paints were also hard as a rock and could resist almost anything short of a power tool! Our wargame miniatures get deployed, moved, pivoted, hit by dice, moved again, tipped over (In some games) , hit by more dice, moved again, pulled off the table when killed and packed into a case to do it all over again. To add insult to injury, the acrylic paints we use now are much more fragile than the old enamels or lacquers were. Not only are they softer, but they have a porous finish that absorbs finger oils and discolors at a fantastic rate. I am already noticing that my 40k figures are starting to show quite a bit of wear and dirt. (Yes, I wash my hands before playing, but we seem to pick up quite a bit of dirt from the scenery on the tables as we play.) They are mostly un coated, although I have used GW 'Ardcoat in a few select places where I wanted things a bit shiny. Now that I am painting up some serious PP armies, I would like to coat them with something more suitable for hard use.
I have been using some Vallejo Game Color paints, and they seem to wear quite well, but most of my paints are GW and I will be using P3 paints for some of the "signature" colors on my Warmahordes armies. (That way, I have a chance of matching other armies of the same faction) I do a lot of automotive modeling, but the clearcoats I use for that would melt or peel our acrylic paints. (I use actual lacquer paints with thinners sprayed through a gun.) I have some Tamiya clear lacquers in spray cans that are fairly safe over their line of acrylics, but I haven't tried them with our miniature paints. I have GW 'ardcoat and Vallejo Game Color clearcoats. I think I have a reaper varnish laying around somewhere. I won't be able to airbrush until I can go back to my house, which will not be for a long time. I would be limited to spray cans or brushed finishes for the time being.
What clearcoats do you guys tend to like? Do you all tend to spray the whole model with one clearcoat, or do you brush on matte and gloss over the different parts to keep the model looking more realistic? Do the acrylic matte coats tend to discolor and die with finger oils too? It seems like for a while, the historical wargamers at out local meta were glosscoating everything for durability and ignoring the look. If I switch over to Vallejo Game Color, can I get away without clearcoating anything? I would love to hear what is working for of the other painters out there.
Thanks,
Dave
