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.

Hi,

Yesterday I wanted to coat some minis using Wraithbone Spray as I wanted to experiment a bit more with contrast paints. Yet the spray acted really weird. at first, applied directly on a GW plastic as well as Victoria Miniatures Resin Model (both cleaned beforehand) it just ran down like water, barely sticking at all and building ugly puddles. So I removed it again and sprayed an undercoat of Chaos Black, that immediatly sticked perfectly. Afterwards I tried again with Wraithbone. While it was a little bit better this time, the coverage was still quite meh, so I tried to spray another thin layer as the models were tryouts anyway. But still the result is far from what I expected (and spraying three undercoats would cover up tiny details, which is dumb)

As you can see, a lot of the "higher" parts in the face, on the flag and the flak armour are still quite dark. I once had similar poblems with Corax wite spray, but on a much less serious level.

Has anyone encountered similar problems? Do you have any tips for me? I suspected, that it might have been to cold outside when I sprayed (around 4 °C), but as the Chaos Black made no problem at all I find this quite puzzling.

Might seem an obvious question, but did you shake the can well?

Temperature would've had an effect too.

I don't use spray (paint with brush), but I've found Wraithbone separates when left for a bit. All I have to do is give the pot a little shake and it's fine.

Don't have that issue with Abaddon black or Mephiston red, so am guessing it is something to do with the mix in Wraithbone.

Literally a 5 second shake sorts it for me.

Different sprays have different properties and you’ll find black or metallic sprays to be faaaaaar more forgiving than light colors. Did you shake the can like crazy for a solid minute? 4C sounds cold, like near freezing so that could also be your problem.

If your spray is running into recesses like that it looks too “wet” like you’re spraying too close too long. Did you spray sweeping by the model or just spray directly onto it in a long burst?

I shook the can for about 30 seconds and afterwards sprayed from a distance of about 15-20 cm (about 6-8 Inches) in short bursts. So like pulling the trigger and immediatly releasing. Than take a look at the result and spray the next short burst. I'm definitly no professional with spray cans or airbrush, but with my usual chaos black that was enough to get nice results.

But I will try to wait for a warmer day, shake longer and try a more sweepin motion.

Pyroalchi wrote:
I shook the can for about 30 seconds and afterwards sprayed from a distance of about 15-20 cm (about 6-8 Inches) in short bursts. So like pulling the trigger and immediatly releasing. Than take a look at the result and spray the next short burst. I'm definitly no professional with spray cans or airbrush, but with my usual chaos black that was enough to get nice results.

But I will try to wait for a warmer day, shake longer and try a more sweepin motion.

I'd advise shaking the can for about a minute and a half. It's usually the safest way to do it.

ALL rattlecans must be shaken for 2 minutes whitout pause. if you dont do this the paint wont be properly mixed.
there is a reason to why that is mentioned on the can...

if you hold the model too clouse the paint will pool up and drown the details thus why you are ment to spray at 20cm distance.
never do 1 thick coat, do 1-2 thin coats.
you can paint outside below 0c temp, BUT you must then make shure that the model is room temperature and that the rattlecan is warm. to get a rattlecan warm just place it on the heater for 5 minutes then shake it.

dark primers covers more easily then light primers, that is why it is easier to prime with black then white/gray.

OK, thanks. Than the error might be really to short shaking.

moust likely yes.
however if the same thing happends again after a proper shake, then try and wash the models with dishwash soap in cold water before you prime.

all plastic is somewhat greasy from the sprue creation and it could prevent the primer from sticking.
that is allso the reason why you must wash resin models before you prime if you ever get your hands on resin models.

I usually do this, both with plastic as with resin models. When I get back home I will try to remove the excess undercoat and try again after a longer shake. Fingers crossed.

Edit: and thanks for the tips regarding temperature etc.

I have to disagree with FrozenDwarf about one thing...

DO NOT put the can on a heater. There is a risk of the can exploding.

Place it in a bowl of slightly warm water (lukewarm) the heating will be more gentle this way.

Other than that he is spot on

Warm water should be enough to heat a can, water is a better conductor of heat anyway.

CuddleMonkey81 wrote:
I have to disagree with FrozenDwarf about one thing...

DO NOT put the can on a heater. There is a risk of the can exploding.

Place it in a bowl of slightly warm water (lukewarm) the heating will be more gentle this way.

Other than that he is spot on

Good lord how hot is that heater?!?

While I wouldn't put a can on any open element, no home safe heater will explode a can. They just don't get that hot. I usually warm things in winter by placing them on the mantle above my fireplace (which DOES get hot enough to be dangerous.. the insert.. not the mantle).

 meatybtz wrote:

CuddleMonkey81 wrote:
I have to disagree with FrozenDwarf about one thing...

DO NOT put the can on a heater. There is a risk of the can exploding.

Place it in a bowl of slightly warm water (lukewarm) the heating will be more gentle this way.

Other than that he is spot on

Good lord how hot is that heater?!?

While I wouldn't put a can on any open element, no home safe heater will explode a can. They just don't get that hot. I usually warm things in winter by placing them on the mantle above my fireplace (which DOES get hot enough to be dangerous.. the insert.. not the mantle).

Better safe than sorry. Warm water works better anyways.

Heaters continuously generate heat where as heat from warm water is simply transferred (finite source of heat).

Short update: I took your advice and gave the can a solid 3 minute shake before I sprayed the next models (and shook in between). I kept a bit more distance and sprayed in a sweeping motion. The result was great.

Therefore thanks a lot, you saved my day.

Good work. Shake like crazy and spray across the models, not starting directly at them.

RE: The can on the radiator

I put a chilled Army Painter spray can on the radiator, it was double wrapped in a dish cloth, was on less than 5 mins and rads weren't set hot

I then shook the can and the concaved end turned inside out, I did put steel putty on the end cap and continued to use the can.

Then end results were that the extra volume caused the can not to work so I have a can 1/4 full of paint and no propellant

Short update:
I could salvage the mini and it turned out quite good for my current capabilities.


Thanks again for all the valuable input.

Edit: I only used contrast on the shirt, in a mix of 2/3 Nazdreg Yellow and 1/3 Skelleton Horde

I’m glad it worked for you, contrasts are good for blocking out color if you’re careful with your edges/corners.

Regarding the shaking: I find that you don't have to "skake" so much as "twirl". The ball-barring in the car can be used to mix up the pigment the settles in the bottom of the can.
So I tend to swirl it around the bottom of the can for about a minute, turn it upside down and swirl the top of the can (where thinner paint should be) and repeat the process until the swirling at each end is as smooth as the other. I throw in a few shakes in between, but not much

By doing this, it is much easier to tell if the mixture is even, since you will get more resistance at the bottom than the top as the pigment will prevent the barring from rolling.

Once I'm satisfied with the mix, I also always do a "dummy" spray off into the distance. The "tube" that the paint is pushed through often does not get mixed even when swirling/shaking, so you have to discard that paint that's been sitting in it. If you don't do this, the mixing won't help because you'll have a layer of clear fluid that hits the model first and the rest fo the paint will slide off that.
Once you see even paint coming through on your dummy spray, then you can apply to your model in short bursts.

Using this method has allowed me to basically use any spray paint, even the cheapo ones, and get the same results as the more expensive sprays intended for minis

-