My first gloss, input needed. (1 Viewer)

[New England Soldiers]

Hey everyone,


So, on the prompting of some community members I gave a gloss paint-job a go. I painted the soldier up as normal in acrylics, and then gave him a coat of Testor's Glosscoate. I brushed it on, and it seemed to eat away at some of the paint-job almost immediately.

You can see it on the eyes, the mustache and on top of the knit cap.

I am not sure why this happened, the paint was dry when the gloss was applied. I can only think the acrylic layer was really thin, and therefore the gloss just absorbed it.

Would it make more sense to switch to oil based paints if I were to apply this sort of finish? Any help from gloss painters would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Adam

 

[thebritfarmer]

Only thing I can think of is the gloss coat was for oils/enamels and reacted with the acrylic.

 

[New England Soldiers]

Only thing I can think of is the gloss coat was for oils/enamels and reacted with the acrylic.

That is what I thought as well. I will get back on the horse. I think a trip to the hobby shop might be in order.

 

[ecuriel]

That is what I thought as well. I will get back on the horse. I think a trip to the hobby shop might be in order.

You do not want to mix oils with arcrylics. The arcrylics gloss finishes can work. I collect both matte and gloss and I like the gloss without any finish. Most gloss painters like the Humbold paints.

 

[New England Soldiers]

You do not want to mix oils with arcrylics. The arcrylics gloss finishes can work. I collect both matte and gloss and I like the gloss without any finish. Most gloss painters like the Humbold paints.

Ok, I will go out and pick up some of those. This is a venture into a whole different style of painting than I am used to. I really appreciate the advice.

 

[aujj65]

Some varnishes and paint can react with each other. I only use Humbrol gloss enamel paint, gives a nice deep shiny gloss finish. But you have to give each coat time to dry so a longer process than painting in matt then gloss varnishing.

Jeff

 

[johnnybach]

I'm with Jeff in using Humbrol paint - But I frequently use both Gloss and Matte on the same figure - depending on what I want from them. When finished painting, I use Humbrol gloss varnish (35) to give a nice overall glossy finish - even over the gloss. If I want a super-finish - I then do a second coat of Tamiya X-22, which is an Acrylic finish on top of the humbrol varnish.

I was advised by my local (150 k away!!!) shop NOT to put The X-22 straight on top of Humbrol paint though - as a precaution - as it might provoke the lifting off problems you appear to have experienced.

However - after a coat of Humbrol gloss varnish, the acrylic Tamiya product, goes on fine - and just gives an even deeper shine.

My advice - is to keep playing about with stuff - until you find which is best for you. Try out my method - if you like - and see what YOU prefer. Best of luck - johnnybach

 

[Hazebrouck]

Hey everyone,


So, on the prompting of some community members I gave a gloss paint-job a go. I painted the soldier up as normal in acrylics, and then gave him a coat of Testor's Glosscoate. I brushed it on, and it seemed to eat away at some of the paint-job almost immediately.

Adam,

I've had this happen before, mostly with soft plastic figures and I won't brush on a gloss coat anymore. I only use an aerosol gloss coat and spray it on a dry day after the figure has had around twenty four hours to dry. I think the action of the brush on the paintwork is part of the problem and light aerosol coats seem to prevent this from happening.

I use acrylics mainly and some oils, but make sure that I prime the figure and let previous paint coats dry. I haven't had any major problems, just the odd one here and there.

Your figure looks good otherwise.

A point worth thinking about is what type of style and finish you wish to achieve? I like the glossy modern Britains and paint my figures like them- that is bold colours and no shading, weathering, etc. The reason I raise this point is that it may take a bit of "unlearning" of the way you currently paint to achieve it. I find it hard not to shade a few lines on the faces or webbing! Just something to consider.

Anyway like Johnny says keep playing around with it till you are happy!

This forum is good in that there are guys here who like painting in this style and offer advice. It is also worth having a look at some of the older threads on painting as there is some good information contained in them. This thread of Jeff's in particular I found useful-

http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/fo...=151675&mode=linear&highlight=alma#post151675

Scott (another glossy learner!)

 

[New England Soldiers]

Thank you very much for the input, it has been invaluable. I am noticing that I do have to paint with conscious competence when doing the gloss figures, and it is difficult as I am on auto pilot when painting normally. (shade, highlight etc).

I am enjoying the challenge, and in between other painting projects this weekend I will do another test guy to see if I can closer match the style of a traditional gloss toy soldier.

The community here has been really helpful and welcoming, thank you guys for the good advice. I have a shopping list and will get to it.

More soon!

 

[Dragoon]

Adam,
I use Vallejo and Foundry mat acrylics and then gloss coat them. To avoid the problem of paint lifting when varnishing, I will top coat the completed figure first with the milky white looking gloss varnish made by Vallejo. This type of milky white acrylic varnish dries clear and is very gentle on paint. When that is completely dry, I brush on a coating or two of clear acrylic varnish (Tamiya X-22) for a deep clear shine. I have had no problem of paint lifting or smearing w/ this method. - Ken

 

[Wilsonedward]

G'day Adam,

I paint toy soldiers in production quantities and use Vallejo Acrylics which I find superb.

For varnishing (MATT or GLOSS) I use nothing but SPRAY CAN "Testors Dullcote" (for a MATT finish) or "Testors Glosscote" (for that classic toy soldier look).

Two nice even coats with an hour in between and you soldiers will look fantastic.

This product will not lift or effect your paint finish and while it's a couple of dollars more than the cheap stuff the results speak for themselves.

I have painted and varnished throusands of toy soldiers and this product has never let me down.

Stay away from the 'brush on stuff' mate and go for the SPRAY :smile2:

Try it mate and you'll be pleasantly suprised.

Regards from down-under,

Craig
WETS

 

[New England Soldiers]

Thank you gents again for the great ideas! I picked up some supplies from the hobby shop and will be giving it another go this weekend.
We are expected to have some weather here in CT, so hopefully the power stays on. The advice has been great though, and I look forward to showing my next attempt(s).

Cheers

Adam

 

[aujj65]

Some varnishes and paint can react with each other. I only use Humbrol gloss enamel paint, gives a nice deep shiny gloss finish. But you have to give each coat time to dry so a longer process than painting in matt then gloss varnishing.

Jeff

Crimean War French Infantryman painted using just Humbrol gloss enamel paint.

Jeff

 

[New England Soldiers]

That is very sharp Jeff! Looks great. I just have to juggle buying all new paint, or just the glosscoat for the acrylic.

I have 300+ bottles of hobby paint I use, all of them acrylic. I am spoiled with that much of a color palette, and I can't imagine what it would cost to replace even half of what I am used to painting with.

I will pick up some of that Humbrol Gloss Enamel though to experiment with. If I like it I can just grow the collection over the winter.

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Adam, you might try the Future idea, too. It can be airbrushed, as well as brushed on. I brush it on, after the finished colors have cured, but I haven't tried it in my airbrush yet. I have not had any problems with it attacking the colors underneath. It can also be tinted and used like a wash.

Prost!
Brad

 

[New England Soldiers]

Hi, Adam, you might try the Future idea, too. It can be airbrushed, as well as brushed on. I brush it on, after the finished colors have cured, but I haven't tried it in my airbrush yet. I have not had any problems with it attacking the colors underneath. It can also be tinted and used like a wash.

Prost!
Brad

Brad,

I have used future in the past mixed with my acrylic, but never as a final step. I will give that a try too. I am going to try a bunch of these iseas, and see what pans out next. Thank you for the tip though, I have a bottle of it right next to my painting table.

Regards

Adam

 

[aujj65]

That is very sharp Jeff! Looks great. I just have to juggle buying all new paint, or just the glosscoat for the acrylic.

I have 300+ bottles of hobby paint I use, all of them acrylic. I am spoiled with that much of a color palette, and I can't imagine what it would cost to replace even half of what I am used to painting with.

I will pick up some of that Humbrol Gloss Enamel though to experiment with. If I like it I can just grow the collection over the winter.

Thanks Adam, it's part of the thread that Scott highlighted earlier. I have just 14 different colours from the Humbrol gloss range and mix these to make another 5 or 6 colours.

Jeff

 

[New England Soldiers]

Thanks Adam, it's part of the thread that Scott highlighted earlier. I have just 14 different colours from the Humbrol gloss range and mix these to make another 5 or 6 colours.

Jeff

Good point there. I do plenty of mixing, but I paint for a living so I have to have whatever a customer might want. Personally 14 jars would be more than enough.

 

[PolarBear]

Here is a suggestion I found on another forum--this one for aircraft models.

There are several better alternatives to Future for gloss coat. One of which is Liquitex Gloss or High Gloss Varnish. It's semi-flexible thus doesn't crack, designed to go over paint, not floor, can be hand brushed or airbrushed straight from the bottle without orange peeling, provides UV protection so your paint doesn't yellow, and does not turn white when decal setting solutions are applied to it (unlike Future).

 

[New England Soldiers]

Very cool. I am knee deep in commissioned soldiers at the moment, but will be posting up pics of that project soon. I should be back to experimenting soon, I picked up some guys at the Hobby Bunker in Mass this week to experiment on.