Painting Resin Figurines Help

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**Coolhandluke67**

Me and my wife are really new with making resin figurines. Now we are trying to paint them. I hope someone can give us advice on how to get the paint to stick on better.

We noticed that the acrylic paint isnt sticking very well to the figurines. The figurines are plastic, so the paint kinda slides everywhere, and doesn't grip on like with a canvas. Do you guys have any recommendation besides spray painting? (the figurines have a lot of detail so spaying would present different problems)
We tried different acrylic paint, so I dont think it is the brand. Perhaps a different primer? The Primer we use was recommended to use by Smooth Cast. Right now its nearly impossible to get an even coat of paint on. And we cant color it with just one coat, we need at least 2 or 3 coats to get any coverage.

Here are the materials we use. If you recommend something else please let us know.
We use Smooth-Cast Plastic Liquid for making the figurines. (We dont have access to a vacuum chamber) We sand them down some after, rinse it with soap and water, dry it. After that we spray primer from the brand PLastiKote as was recommended from the people at Smooth-Cast. I do 2 coats. We then use Acrylic paint for painting. By the brands Reeves, College and Craft Smart.

Hope someone can help us. Thank you very much!

**jonolikespie**

Never heard of the primer, acrylic, or resin brands so I can't speak to their qualities. The first question I would ask is how long you're giving the primer to dry, a solid 24 hours might let it bond better if you're giving it significantly less than that.

Vallejo does reliable primers and acrylics, if there is a problem with the paints you're using swapping to them should make an immediate difference.

Pictures would probably help too.

**Glasdir**

If the figures are resin, chances are it's covered in release agent which you are supposed to wash off using warm water and washing up liquid before painting otherwise the release agent tends to cause what you are describing.

I've never heard of the other brands of paint but I am aware of reeves, who primarily produce paint for arts and crafts. You need to use paint that has been formulated with miniatures in mind not any old art and craft paint otherwise you do get issues with it. I can't stress enough that you need to use proper miniature paints for painting miniatures, I die a little every time I see some tutorial online about using cheaper paint "alternatives" that are actually just cheap crappy craft paint, those people have absolutely no clue what they are talking about and then wonder why their minis look absolutely awful compared to others.

**MDSW**

Definitely give them a bath with mild soap, rinse well and let dry. This will remove any oil, release agents, etc. Then I prime in flat enamel in the primary color of the mini. Enamel will bond better to the material and provides a much tougher base coat and the flat finish lets your acrylic coats stick great.

I use the flat enamel in an airbrush, but you can brush it on. I recommend the Testors brand of flat enamels. This works perfectly for me every time and nearly eliminates any paint chips later on.

**Scott-S6**

Scrub with dish soap and then use a good spray primer - valspar, krylon, etc.

**tneva82**

I wash them thoroughly and after that it's never been problem. Trick is making sure every part is washed as it's not really visible is it washed or not. Don't be careless, be systematic with your washing. Don't just rub randomly.

**CREEEEEEEEED**

Is hand soap ok? I used detoll anti bacterial, figured it was strong enough. Also used cold water, because I didn't want to bend anything.

**Glasdir**

CREEEEEEEEED wrote:
Is hand soap ok? I used detoll anti bacterial, figured it was strong enough. Also used cold water, because I didn't want to bend anything.

No, hand soap isn’t as strong as dishwashing liquid, it doesn’t have the right chemical composition. You also need to use warm water. It won’t cause anything to bend. Using warm water makes the soap more effective at cleaning and makes the release agent come off better. Cold water doesn’t do that (it’s all down to chemical collision theory).

**CREEEEEEEEED**

Hey, something I remember from chemistry GCSE, now that is a rarity. Alright, I'll give them another scrub, thanks for the advice.

**Cleatus**

As others have said, give the models a good scrub with soap and water. You're U.S. based, so try Dawn dish soap.

Agree with the comment above about your choice of paints. Craft Smart is the Michael's store brand of cheap acrylic paint. I haven't had much luck with it in general, though it might vary by color and batch. Consider a slightly higher quality paint. At least something a little bit more pigment like Delta Ceramcoat, or even better: Vallejo. You're going to the trouble of making your own resin figures, you might as well spend more than $1 on paint. Here's an interesting blog post that compares a few different brands that might interest you: http://texaswargamer.com/techniques/yellow-paints-comparison. There are a lot of painting how-to articles and YouTube videos out there. But nothing beats practice and experience to understand what works for you.

You also might be thinning down your paint too much. No, painting miniatures is not like painting on a canvas. If the paint is sliding right off the model (even after washing) perhaps you are adding too much water.

Can you post some images of the results you are seeing? That would give folks a better sense of the issue and allow others to provide more guidance. Thanks!

**timd**

Are you using any mold release when casting, if so which kind? If you are using a silicon release, you will probably never get it off of the miniatures and need to consider other options.

Scrub (not wash) with stiff toothbrush, warm water and Dawn.

You need a good primer for resin that has more bite (stronger solvent) than hobby primers. Have never used Plasticoat but have used LOTS of Krylon gray primer with good success. There are also paint on primers, but I have not used them on resin.

You probably need to upgrade your paints to miniature hobby paints like Games Workshop or Vallejo. These paints have a much higher pigment concentration that artist or craft paints allowing you to thin them for good flow but still retain high pigment concentration for good coverage. Craft paints are fine for painting scenery, but not very useful for painting figures.

**Scott-S6**

Plastikote is Valspar - just different regional branding. It's great primer.