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This is a nightmare

I washed the parts in soapy water, dried them off, base coated with an acrylic spray and spent a good while painting them. But then when trying to glue the parts together I noticed that the metal on metal contact was causing the paint to chip. We're talking very light contact here.

I glued on one arm and it fell off... the glue didn't fail, the 5 layers of paint did, leaving a nice shiny hole...

So what's the problem? Should I strip all the paint and try washing it again? Reprime with a different brand spay?

Thanks in advance guys

I'm no professional, but I've painted a few metal models and found that if the paint won't stick, adding some model glue to the paint works well.

You need to glue then prime then paint, not prime>paint>glue, if you have to paint before you glue leave some bare metal for you to glue on to.

if you are going to glue them once painted then leave the contact areas bare, paint will mess with the glue and stop it from sticking, this is why alot of people prefer to paint once assembled when it comes to metal models.

Alright thanks for the help guys. But even after I've glued them together I don't want the paint chipping off so easily, is this due to something I've done wrong? Or is it normal to have to keep metal models in a protective bubble.

Aside from better primer, your only other option is to matte/gloss coat it.

Paint can chip, that's why some people use protective clearcoats and so on.

Once you're totally happy with your paintjob but, before you base it, give it a good coat of varnish. I've only ever used GW 'ard coat -i'm sure there's others out there but i'm too lazy to look for them- and find it gives a good level of protection.

once ive let a metal model dry i allways give it a thin coat of matte varnish to stop it chipping, if you use too much it does tend to look weird on the model, and also some brands of varnish may dry with a milky effect to it, so you may want to try a few on practice models 1st.

i still use the GW ard coat spray, which now is no longer about.

awesome,will try that. Thanks guys!

As others have suggested clearcoat helps. Unlike what others have suggested, I would recommend a few layers of varnish to ensure maximum protection. When I painted my pointy Hordes miniatures, I coated them with 4-6 coats of clear gloss varnish before finally giving them a matt coat to finish it off.

I personally use car spray paints I get from the local hardware shop, you might want to have a look at that.

Cheers

I normally assemble metal models completely before painting, but in cases where that would make painting very difficult (like arms across the torso or something) I will paint parts seperately, then scrap away some paint on the contact points, glue or in the case of very heavy metal pieces, use a dab of green stuff, then touch up a bit.