dougrob173 Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I just finished up a mini for a competition and I'm trying to get the cloth parts down to a matte finish. I tried everything I have, Reaper's brush on sealer which was semi-gloss, liquitex matte medium which made it worse, now its even glossier. Anyway I need to find something quick at a local art store that I can use to give the mini a matte finish. Any ideas what I should get? Thanks a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 (edited) I don't know about an art store, but have you tried a model hobby shop? For example, a place that sells train modeling supplies or the like. You can get Testor's Dull Cote in either spray or liquid. You can also get MicroScale Micro Flat matte sealer. If thinned with water and applied in two coats, you can't get much more matte than Micro Flat. Do NOT mix this stuff with your paint, however. The results are ugly. Edited August 28, 2007 by Cerridwyn1st Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I've faced similar issues recently. I had painted the mob farmer using the Derivan MiNiS paints and ended up with a wonderfully matte mini until I sealed it. The Krylon UV Gloss and Krylon UV Matte combo left things a bit satiny, so I tried a succession of DullCote and brush on varnish combos. The Reaper MSP Brush On Sealer did "okay", but not great. The Liquitex Matte Varnish left things a bit more glossy. I think that the trick with those two is to thin the mix down and apply very thinly and only when previous coats (of anything) are very dry. I haven't perfected the mix and technique yet though. Spraying DullCote on seemed to leave things a bit shiny too until I did a very, very light coat (which dulled things down enough for me to call it "good enough"). Still not completely matte though. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerridwyn1st Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 From what I've found, Krylon Matte isn't. It behaves more like a satin. There is a write up about finishing minis in the threads somewhere, but the gist of it is the more coats of sealer the less matte the result will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vutpakdi Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 From what I've found, Krylon Matte isn't. It behaves more like a satin. Yep, not a flat dead matte, but it's usually matte enough for me. Seems to be more satiny on blues than other colors though. There is a write up about finishing minis in the threads somewhere, but the gist of it is the more coats of sealer the less matte the result will be. Seems reasonable. I just know that the shininess got worse and better and didn't get better than the starting point until the last very light coat of DullCode. I don't have my notes with me, but I think that the progression of coats went something like: Krylon UV Gloass Krylon UV Matte (satiny) DullCote from old can (still satiny) DullCote from old can (glossy: Eek!) Liquitex Matte Varnish + Ultra Matte Medium (satiny-semi glossy) MSP Brush on Sealer + Anti Shine Additive (satiny) very light coat of DullCote from new can (mostly matte, still slightly satiny) There may have been another coat of the brush on varnish in there. I'd like to figure out the trick for the brush ons for when I can't spray. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchantra Posted August 28, 2007 Share Posted August 28, 2007 I've never had an issue with my dullcote being shiny. It's always been a nice dead matte finish. Something to remember is temperature and humidity can affect the performance of any sealer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixminis Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The MSP brush on sealer gets less glossy / more matte as you dilute it with water. Although I have not gotten it more matte than dullcote. At the same time... if I'm super paranoid about my pieces appearance, I'm going to glaze it and not seal the final glaze... that'll really knock it back to whatever level of matte the paint has... Sort of in this order: Paint mini Seal mini tweak with paint Photograph mini Seal mini Yup, I'm a cheater, and you can only do this when you *know* you can protect it with packing and the folks that handle it aren't going to kill that top layer of paint / glazing... Okee, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchemist Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 What I use is thinned RMS brush-on sealer with a drop or two of Vallejo matt medium for improved flatness. Even this doesn't always manage to completely kill the shine, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.