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.

Hey guys, I've spent all day painting some oldhammer Tyranids and I'm enjoying the feth out of it (maybe some pics later), but I have a bit of a problem. The white paint on my carapace has been chipping off after about 10 hours or at a rather light nick or if it falls. Can anybody recommend a varnish or some way to ensure that it doesnt happen? Thanks!

Chipping is really more about the connection between the metal and the paint itself, than something varnish solves entirely.
In future, a good primer will help with this.

For now, you want any varnish that isn't water based (acrylic) as it offers the most protection.

Hrmmm. So I guess imperial primer just isn't that good, or maybe I should have used more? Any experience w/ imperial primer and metal?

Imperial Primer isn't great. I'd be surprised if it's actually a primer and not just acrylic paint.
Most of GW's sprays are mistaken similarly, but if you look, nowhere do they claim to be primers.

A Vallejo brush on would serve you better.

Thanks so much buttery! I'm afraid of using sprays this time of the year for obvious reasons...

When it comes to metal models it's really important to wash them in warm soapy water (dish soap works well) before painting them. They'll have mould release agents on them, and as you handle them you'll usually put some body oils on them as well. Wash them just before you prime them and avoid handling them between when you wash them and when you spray them.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Imperial Primer isn't great. I'd be surprised if it's actually a primer and not just acrylic paint.
Most of GW's sprays are mistaken similarly, but if you look, nowhere do they claim to be primers.

A Vallejo brush on would serve you better.

It's been a while since I've painted metal models, but in general if you're worried about paint chipping I can't recommend Vallejo, it's the only primer I've used so far where I've had problems with masking where the primer itself has lifted off the model.

Tamiya and Gunze both make specific metal primers, I haven't tested them but I've heard good reviews. I don't know how they compare to auto shop metal primers though.

In the past I've always just used regular spray paints on my metals and as long as they were washed beforehand, it hasn't been a problem.

How cold is it where you are? Normally in cold weather you keep the can warm (in a bucket of warm water or some such) and the miniatures warm inside your house, go outside, spray them, then bring them back in. The trick is not letting the can itself get cold. But it does depend on how cold it is outside.

For models that are already painted, a couple of thin layers of varnish should help protect them but isn't going to be as good as if you'd done good surface prep to begin with.

Tamiya's metal primer is pretty much the only spray primer I'll use on metal.
For a brush on primer, I tend to stick with the liquitex black gesso.
I always have to hit a few spots after the first coat dries but it's fantastic to paint over and I've yet to see a single chipping issue after painting.

Ah, well, I guess it comes down to other factors. I did 110 metal Mordians and Tanith sing August with the Vallejo grey primer that states for brush or airbrush. I've been heavily using them on tabletop (mostly unvarnished because I'm a slob) and the only problems have been slight detail loss through rushing. I've not chipped one since September. Some were airbrush, many were by hand due to not having a spray area.

It does however, take a day or so to cure. It's very easy to peel off until around 18-36 hours.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
It does however, take a day or so to cure. It's very easy to peel off until around 18-36 hours.

That's why I waited 2 days before over coating and another 3 days before masking and the vallejo primer still lifted. I would have thought it was my own error but I've heard similar complaints from a lot of people.

I just don't think Vallejo PU primer is all that tough and/or doesn't have great adhesion compared to your average spray paint (be it acrylic or lacquer or enamel) or hairy brush painted lacquer or enamel. But I haven't tried the lacquers on metals yet, the standard Tamiya and Gunze lacquers (which I love) aren't recommended for metals, but they do make the specific metal primers which I've heard good things about, but I'd want to test them myself before I endorse them.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Imperial Primer isn't great. I'd be surprised if it's actually a primer and not just acrylic paint.

It definitely has more grip than normal paint, I know because I used to at easter to make bunny prints through the house on the tiles - was a real pain to get off (razorbladed it), where normal acrylics would peel off like acrylics should.

Still terrible, hence using it for kids projects.

AllSeeingSkink wrote:

Tamiya and Gunze both make specific metal primers, I haven't tested them but I've heard good reviews. I don't know how they compare to auto shop metal primers though.

I've used the Tamiya with good results. Mr. Hobby is really good too. However, both are pretty expensive compared to the alternatives.

A friend of mine uses the tinted army painter sprays for his metal models, and is quite happy with them. Letting them fully cure makes a difference, too.

I've used krylon fusion in the past and it has worked fine.

So I used some vallejo matt varnish and it's still kinda shiny. Is there any fwar to remove the shinyness? Maybe watering down the varnish?

Shake it more and do another coat

Will do!

matte varnish is effectively gloss varnish with gak in it, if it comes out gloss, then you haven't agitated it enough - an upside (i suppose) is that if you now shake it, it will be EXTRA matte, as you have less varnish to matting agent.

Well I just did a scratch test on an Exocrine I varnished and primed w/ imperial primer and one I primed w/ vallejo and didnt varnish. The varnished one scratched easily while the well primed one didnt at all. Looks like I have some stripping to do! Thanks for the input guys!