Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Anyone had the above issue?

I was just onto the final stages of painging an sdkfz 222 armoured car, including layers of varnish to finally start powdering. I layered 2 colurss of dry powders on, applied rubbing alcohol, and starting moving things round, when bam! paint started just sliding around. Really frustracting!

I quickly washed the alcohol off with water, and can only hope the paint will adhere itself back to the surface.

I assume you were using acrylic paint?

Rubbing Alcohol has an extreme thinning/dissolving quality on dried acrylic paint. Only use it if you want to remove paint from an area without damaging the model.

thanks - I didn't know that.

Lots of magazines I've read talk about using it as a medium for pigments. What should I do to prevent this happening?


*edit: yes acrylic paint

honestly, I'm not sure how you can fix it other than to find a different medium.

Why were you putting rubbing alcohol on it? Weathering powder doesn't need to be dunked in solvents to set.

Anyways, it is a solvent, which means it's going to dissolve things like lacquer and paint. So will any solvent. The real fix here is to stop using them.

You can use rubbing alcohol (IPA) but you have to use very small amounts and you can't really do much "moving around". Do it over a coat of varnish and let the varnish cure for a couple of days before you try it.

Otherwise move to a different medium. I think the idea of using rubbing alcohol comes from finescale modellers who often use enamels rather than acrylics which are resilient to isopropyl alcohol where your typical acrylics aren't (maybe you could try an enamel varnish before using IPA?). Otherwise swap to something else.

Several companies sell pigment fixers. I've heard of people using white spirit though again you have to be careful with it as it'll strip acrylics if you're not careful. You can also just use water and then finish off with a light dusting of matte varnish, Humbrol do this in some of their tutorials like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7a3pgN7xy4&index=4&list=PL43gvX1AmlLYyQxhzqE4fArGdtbsSXZOV

One of the Humbrol tutorials also uses decal fix, which will fix the powders so you can safely touch them, but also lets you reactivate the powder with a wet brush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmgx2IijrCk&index=1&list=PL43gvX1AmlLYyQxhzqE4fArGdtbsSXZOV

I found all the Humbrol tutorials useful because they do give a range of methods for using weathering powders.

Never heard of using rubbing alcohol for a medium, but it may have a better effect on non-acrylic or oil based paints. On acrylic paints, it is mainly used as a stripping agent and will take everything but the primer off a model.

buypainted uses isopropyl alcohol to set/fix his weathering pigments - when I've done it, it has been with an airbrush.

I use IPA mainly to strip miniatures now, it is amazing.

I use IPA to strip mini's its the best thing I've found to date.

I've also heard of it used to setting pigments, I coud only imagine that its over enamel paints? Or perhaps a hard wearing varnish layer?

It looks as though Jaro from buypainted does it over acrylic paint, presumably with a Vallejo varnish.

That said, when I did it, the IPA was so thin that it didn't seem to affect the paint underneath at all.

Gotta varnish first, then you can use IPA / Rubbing alcohol / pigment fixer.

Moderation is the key.

You don't need much alcohol at all to activate the adhesive in the pigments...

The other thing of course is...are you sure your pigments have an IPA activated adhesive? It isn't uncommon for the fine scale market - but a lot of the stuff in the miniatures market are just powders without any sort of adhesive mixed in (granted most of them are mystery meat...they don't want to accidently reveal what they are rebranding...). Others have a PSA which will actually bond under light pressure (even as light as a brush...).

As a general rule though, a tiny amount of alcohol (I will usually use a brush or a small misting bottle) is all it takes. As an added level of safety, I normally apply a clear coat just before I do my weathering (both to protect the paint...and because my sequence to get to weathering puts it right after decals...which get a clear coat before and after). This ensures that if the IPA does soften the paint, it is softening a clear varnish as opposed to the actual paint job. Once it evaporates, everything should harden back up again.

I always use IPA (70%, since that's what I usually have handy) to fix pigments. Found out the hard way that even quick and gentle agitation (simply spreading it around with a soft brush) is enough to strip thin layers of acrylic - if making a pigment wash, I now stick with water, fixing afterward, if necessary.

IPA does evaporate quickly, though, so it works just fine if you simply avoid agitation. After a dry application of powder, load up the brush with alcohol and gently touch it to the surface, here and there. Capillary action takes over, drawing the alcohol across the surface, where it can fix the pigment and evaporate away with no ill effect on the underlying acrylic. Keeps the pigment exactly where you placed them, too, so long as you don't flood an area and cause runs.

never EVERRRR use alcohol on a finecast. It'll kill the model in a Tyrannid digestion pool style. I lost my Trazyn that way. As long as its not finecast, I think it's good. Works pretty well on metal and plastic.

 Zaki66 wrote:
never EVERRRR use alcohol on a finecast. It'll kill the model in a Tyrannid digestion pool style. I lost my Trazyn that way. As long as its not finecast, I think it's good. Works pretty well on metal and plastic.

Really? That's massively disappointing. Thanks for the heads up!