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Hey everyone, I'm painting up some Iyanden Eldar for my girlfriend, and I'm having a problem with the yellow paints I'm using. No matter what I do, Averland Sunset, Yriel Yellow, and Flash Gitz Yellow all rub off or hold a fingerprint with the slightest touch. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and if so, what can be done to fix it?

Thanks,
B

Are you letting it dry fully properly?

Are you thinning your paints?

If all else fails you should spray a varnish over it to preserve it.

Yes, no (never had a need to thin my paints), and I'll wind up having to do that probably. Do you have any spray varnishes that you'd recommend?

I use an Airbrush (i like my liquitex matt and gloss varnish)

i used to use testors dullcote and works fine.

When you say you are waiting for it to dry, how long are you waiting?

Acrylics can feel dry in minutes, but to properly cure takes hours. When I'm waiting for something to properly cure (before I varnish or apply something that might hurt the underlying paint), I'll wait a full day. The paint will be a lot tougher after a day.

Other basic things:

1. Wash your models in warm soapy water before painting them to get mould release agents off them. Try and use a soap that doesn't have any lotions or anything, I use dish soap myself. Getting the mould release off will make paints stick better.

2. Make sure you're priming them with a decent primer. Give a thin coat of primer, doesn't need to be massively thick.

3. Varnish after you've finished painting and waited for some time for the paint to cure.

I don't typically varnish my models because I don't give them enough abuse to damage the paint and I usually want to change the glossiness of the paint. But when I do varnish, I like Vallejo's satin varnish. I find it pretty neutral. A matte varnish will make models look too dull IMO, also matt varnishes tend to be the most finicky. Gloss makes them look wet. A good satin varnish is what I like.

I do wash them, and in the case of the Falcon I'm working on, I did a coat of Yriel Yellow last night, let it sit overnight, and started working with it this morning. The same thing was still happening.

As for the primer, I've been using the same stuff for two years and never had a problem with it

I paint my minis with yellow this way :

Airbrush + Tamyia Yellow XF = win

Tamyia is alcool based so it dry in 10 seconds, i just apply the varnish when the mini is fully painted.

I don't have an airbrush, and I'm kind of asking about yellow citadel paints... Sorry, not trying to sound like a dick, but it's getting frustrating...

Cant say i can figure it out then.

If you are washing > priming > painting > then letting it cure properly, it shouldn't be doing that.

Though i suppose it could be the gw yellows or a very unlucky batch of paint(s).

however a quick dullcoat varnsh should take care of it, giving you a hard surface to work on. (also probably mount the model on something so you have less of a chance to touch the mini it self perhaps.)

What are you priming with?

Rustoleum flat black primer, which I've had no problem with for the last two years

I haven't used a lot of GW yellows, only the "base" one whatever it's called and I've never had a problem with it wiping off unless I apply excessive force.

I see you are in Ohio as well so ... this time of year I paint while using a space heater ( keeps my feetsies warm ) and while I have that running if I want something to cure quickly I wave it in front of the heater about 8" away from it of course. Humidity should be fairly low but as of right now in my area (Canton) it is higher than normal ... just had some rain come through.

Not saying humidity is the problem but it does not help. Not sure if you are painting in a basement as I do but brick walls pull moisture into a house again bringing humidity into play. The space heater will help to make some of that go away, but not all of it.

I gloss all of my mini's with Krylon Satin finish clearcoat and if I do not use the space heater they will fog this time of the year.

^^^ A hair dryer works too, just don't overheat the mini. Please don't ever use a heat gun though. lol

Anyway, the yellow... how much have you handled the minis with your bare hands? Oils from your fingers will interefere witht the paint's ability to bite, and will mess with paint you have already applied too. So, wash your hands before painting, eh?

Other possibility is a bad primer batch that has minimal or no tooth. Try a test of it on something else, and a different primer too, then apply the yellows to see if the primer is the problem.