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I've always been one to apply the paint rather thickly, and I'm quite inexperienced when it comes to painting to begin with.
I've now learned the importance of priming and how two thin layers top one thick layer, but i spent some time converting a space marine, replacing an entire shoulder pad with a outstretched sword hand i took from a warrior of chaos model, and another space marine who i filed down at the shoulder to give a lightning claw attachment similar to Dr.octopus. Tragically these models I decided to paint whilst rather sleep deprived, didn't thin my paints and a good portion of the details have been covered up in my efforts to paint white power armour well. In hindsight i realised i should have practiced on a much less important model, but would this problem be solved if i simply paint strip the model?
And how can i prevent this happening in future? Whilst painting large areas the same colour, once one section dries and i notice the colour slightly faded, i paint over it again, leaving me a tad clueless on how many coats i use. And how can you tell if what your doing is right in terms of paint:water moderation or wether your spray painting is too thin or thick?

Yes, just strip the models and start over.

Soak the models in SimpleGreen, then scrub with a toothbrush
*always test on a similar material first*
I use this stuff to strip my minis, never damage plastic, or metal. did not hurt the finecast either, but my scrubbing did break a finecast stave :( just be careful with the soft fragile finecast.

if your paints are to thick: remember to thin it.
OR, if you have a lot of models to do, basecoat, and highlight with an airbrush. I did about 20 DW bone terminator armor this way. does not cover detail, and minimal time to get a good bonewhite with highlights as my main color.

Having problems getting white armor without doing about 50+ layers? First thing is what is your primer color? It should be White. and what color white are you going for? white scars white or bone white or . . . ?

painting large sections. . . . finish one layer, let it dry, then patch up the faded spots, otherwise you will get stuck in a phase of painting over the dry spots when compared to the wet spots, then painting again and agian.
Patience. wait for the large section to totally dry before doing anything with it.

A good way to keep your paints from getting to thick is to add a couple of drops of liquid dish-washing soap to your water. This thins down the paint and also slows down your drying time. Something else a lot of professional painters use is an acrylic matt medium (I mix Liquitex Matt Medium in all my paints) which you can get at any good hobby/craft/art store. The Medium reduces the opacity slightly, but more than makes up for it by increasing the viscosity.

Moronic Nonsense wrote:Yes, just strip the models and start over.

Soak the models in SimpleGreen, then scrub with a toothbrush
*always test on a similar material first*
I use this stuff to strip my minis, never damage plastic, or metal. did not hurt the finecast either, but my scrubbing did break a finecast stave :( just be careful with the soft fragile finecast.

if your paints are to thick: remember to thin it.
OR, if you have a lot of models to do, basecoat, and highlight with an airbrush. I did about 20 DW bone terminator armor this way. does not cover detail, and minimal time to get a good bonewhite with highlights as my main color.

Having problems getting white armor without doing about 50+ layers? First thing is what is your primer color? It should be White. and what color white are you going for? white scars white or bone white or . . . ?

painting large sections. . . . finish one layer, let it dry, then patch up the faded spots, otherwise you will get stuck in a phase of painting over the dry spots when compared to the wet spots, then painting again and agian.
Patience. wait for the large section to totally dry before doing anything with it.

thanks, sound advice, im not sure we get simple green in the UK but im sure it wont be difficult finding the alternative
stupid question: how do i know im not making it too thin? or thin enough? i usually just put my paint on a pallet, dunk the brush in the water and add a few drops like that until i feel its enough
and white scar white, i really want that spotless brilliant white making up the flat sections of my power armour. my current strategy is prime white, wash with nuln oil all over, drybrush celador sky, dry brush lightly with praxeti white and then layer with white scar.

Whatever stuff you use to strip your models, please test it first. I thankfully did. My first test with acetone resulted in a spare ork arm being completely dissolved into a pile of grey goo, it was rather funny. but I have heard stories of someone putting a very rare/expensive/their whole army into a solution to strip paint and having the whole thing melt.
(acetone worked with metal, but ruined plastic, fincast: no idea)

Is your paint to thick or to thin? well depends on what you are doing. obviously the base paints are the thickest, and cover best. layers still cover, but are thinner, and then you have washes or inks which are thin. What you are doing really determines what thickness you want your paint to be and how you paint.

check out this page for ideas of thinning paint: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/235433.page

Your idea for white is pretty good.
It is pretty much what I would suggest. If it hasn't worked so far, try altering the amount of how heavy you wash with the nuln oil. also experiment with the thickness.

Everyone has their own techiniques and ideas of how to paint, so you really have to just find your own. It is all trial and error, and a willingness to experiment.

Perhaps using a "wet pallet" will help. It's reallllllly simple and easy.

Fold some paper towel, wet paper towel, put food grade parchment paper ontop (you may need to weigh down the edges) and you're paint will be good for hours in most cases.

To thin simply dip your brush in clean water and gently stir into the paint.

You can see it mentioned here http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Paint_Five_Colors

wet pallet? never heard of it, but it does look interesting.

Dettol Antiseptic fluid is what you want in the UK for stripping plastic or resin mini's. Available in your local asda, sainsburries and tesco's. few quid for 750ml bottles.

Leave the model soaking in pure dettol in some container (possibly with a lid to contain the smell - I used an old lunch box type thing)

After a day or more,scrub it with an old tooth brush in the dettol. DON'T introduce water untill the mini is free of paint as it makes it clump together and go sticky. Use a seperate pot of clean dettol fluid as a rinse station if necessary.
Then rinse clean with soapy water

Its perfectly safe to leave plastics in this stuff for months on end - but the paint will be softened up after a day or so maybe more for many layers or especially thick paint.

Dont bother making a wet pallette. You can buy the Masterson one for around $8 and it comes with the sponge and a few sheets of paper.

If you didnt prime your models a simple green bath will have them looking like new in no time. I use a denture brush from the corner drug store that I got for 2 bucks. works much better than a toothbrush.

In the UK, Fairy Powerspray for stripping models. I have used it for ages now, stripping plastics and resin models. It even strips automotive grey primer without damage to the model. Can't beat it.

thanks everyone, really helpful
the dettol worked perfectly, my ruined model is now completely fine
as for the problems with paint, i had for the most part been using second hand brushes given to me by a friend, neither of us realising how the brushes get splayed if paint goes up to the metal bit of the brush. now i can put paint where i actually WANT it to go