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Hi all,

As the title states, how do you paint your metal mini's without them chipping around the edges constantly, even just from handling during the process.

I know they aren't too bad once varnished when you're all done etc, but just having to redo parts constantly is driving me up the wall, esp with airbrushed stuff.

Any help/suggestions you have dakka will be much appreciated...

Be careful after finishing them and then varnish the ever living hell out of them? Mine never chipped after I've varnished them. Else you're really, really manhandling the buggers.

 The Grumpy Eldar wrote:
Be careful after finishing them and then varnish the ever living hell out of them? Mine never chipped after I've varnished them. Else you're really, really manhandling the buggers.

Well it's moreso them chipping while I paint them, so they don't get to the varnishing stage :C

Hmm. Have you cleaned them beforehand? There might be mould solution on them perhaps. The stuff is a pesk when painting.

An old Chaplain of mine had the problem to.

During painting, attach them to a splint or piece of sprue with a tiny dab of superglue. Not only will this make it easier to reach certain angles on the mini, but also gives you a 'handle' so you don't need to touch the mini itself.

After that, just varnish and be careful with them.

My method is to clean them, prime them, varnish them, and then paint them. Should there be any metal showing when I'm 'finished' (given family life, occasionally they get somewhat rough treatment), just touch them up, and then varnish again.

Just how I do it.

You need to use a painting handle of some sort.

The Grumpy Eldar wrote:Hmm. Have you cleaned them beforehand? There might be mould solution on them perhaps. The stuff is a pesk when painting.

An old Chaplain of mine had the problem to.

Cleaning - That is definately not something I thought of doing, also would giving them the once over with a wire brush be a good idea?

Paradigm wrote:During painting, attach them to a splint or piece of sprue with a tiny dab of superglue. Not only will this make it easier to reach certain angles on the mini, but also gives you a 'handle' so you don't need to touch the mini itself.

After that, just varnish and be careful with them.

I've seen people doing this with corks etc, so I may start doing this.. it's a little harder with models like Firestorm Armada though as there's not many places that can be glued to other than the peg.

Farseer Anath'lan wrote:My method is to clean them, prime them, varnish them, and then paint them. Should there be any metal showing when I'm 'finished' (given family life, occasionally they get somewhat rough treatment), just touch them up, and then varnish again.

Just how I do it.

Thanks for all the advice

when i do paint a metal mini ( i try my best to find what i want in plastic first though) ... i mount it on something ... most of time i go ahead and do the basing for the main body and mount it there .. then brass rod for the arms and such that i will use to pin it to the model once i am done with a fair amount of the painting ...

Good suggestions. You definitely want to clean them with warm water and dish washing liquid.

Mount them to cork or sprue if you can.

Another thing you can do with the airbrushed bits, give a light coat of varnish when you're finishing a session. Just clear out the airbrush, put a drop or two of varnish in and give it a light coat. Will help protect it as you move on with painting it.

Also consider waiting more time for paint to cure between stages in your painting. Even though paint might look dry after 5 minutes, after 24 hours it's had more of a chance to cure and will be much stronger.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Good suggestions. You definitely want to clean them with warm water and dish washing liquid.

THIS. Also scrub them really good with a toothbrush while washing them with dish washing liquid.

You MUST wash metal minis, and you should bot touch the mini while painting -- but that goes with any mini. Even if you don't chop it, you'll leave oils and grease on the model. You are much better off pinning it to a temporary base (or slot) and sticking that onto a spice bottle or something else you can grip.

Finally, after you prime it, don't paint it right away. The primer continues to cure and becomes much stronger over time.

I'd have to say no to wirebrushing.
Personally I wash my minis in alcohol to get rid of mouldrelase.
And for feths sake.
Let the primer cure properly.
Preferably 48 hours. But in a pinch 24 will do.

 Talys wrote:

Finally, after you prime it, don't paint it right away. The primer continues to cure and becomes much stronger over time.

 Tjomball wrote:

Let the primer cure properly.
Preferably 48 hours. But in a pinch 24 will do.

I did not know this! Thanks to the both of you!

Clean and wash the figures with soapy water and an old toothbrush, rinsing well with fresh water.
Alternative run them through the dishwasher.
Stick the figures on a painting handle such as the lid of a medicine bottle or a piece of cardboard. PVA will do for this.
Prime the models with correct primer for metal and let it dry well according to the instructions.
You can now paint safely without touching the actual figure with your fingers.
Varnish the models still attached to their stands, and detach them when completely dry.

Washing with a wire brush is far too harsh, metal figures aren't that tough. Also you're only removing grease, hot water with liquid soap is fine, and a gentle brushing will do.

Then you need to undercoat with a dec my primer, paint the figure and varnish afterwards. I find the Vallejo varnishes to be very good.

 Lord Scythican wrote:

 Talys wrote:

Finally, after you prime it, don't paint it right away. The primer continues to cure and becomes much stronger over time.

 Tjomball wrote:

Let the primer cure properly.
Preferably 48 hours. But in a pinch 24 will do.

I did not know this! Thanks to the both of you!

This is also news to me.. Thanks again!