Reaper MSP HD Paints cracking and flaking

[DocPiske]

I have had an issue with two bottles of the MSP HD paints. After curing the paints cracks and peels or flakes off easily. At first I thought I was not shaking the bottles enough, but after testing that theory by shaking one for several minutes, it still cracked after curing. The two giving me issues are 29816 Solid Blue and 29808 Golden Yellow. I've had both for 18 months or so. Other bottles bought at the same time seem fine.

 

My question is this: do the MSP HD paints require thinning with water or acrylic medium? Or are these just two bottles that happen to be bad? I ask because I would like to use the HD series as a base coat for Bones, but thining with water is not a workable solution for those models. I had used the blue on the storm giants and it flaked off; I had to scrub the model and repaint the areas with black.

 

Thanks.

[Thes Hunter]

I have all the HD paints, and I haven't observed this problem. I'll test out my copies of Solid Blue and Golden Yellow when I get a second later today. Are you painting on metal or Bones, and are you using this as the first coat? I ask cause I want to reproduce the conditions you're using it under to see if mine behave the same way.

[DocPiske]

I have painted on both now, primed metal and un-primed Bones and the result is the same. Even the small pool of paint left on my palette cracked once dry.

[ferret]

I have used HD solid blue on several figures and have had no problem with it cracking whether used straight out of the bottle or thinned with water. I have not used Golden Yellow enough to have a opinion about it. I have noticed some blues and greys will crack if you put them on too thick (or let them dry on the palette). Even when using the paint straight out of the bottle for a bones mini, I applied the paint pretty thin so it took three coats to get a good basecoat. So, you might try using lighter coats, but if that doesn't work it may be a problem with the batch of paint you have.

Edited October 5, 2013 by ferret

[Furongian]

I would have suggested that it is the Bones that is responsible since paint flakes off them if you look at them sideways, but since you are having the same problem with metal I wonder if it could be due to your local environmental conditions. I've had paint crack inexplicably before, when it never had before, and never since, all from the same bottle, and I've often wondered if the humidity might have been the cause.

 

Another possibility is that the paint might crack if the primer on the metal miniatures hasn't completely dried. If you've painted the miniatures sooner than 24 hours after priming them try letting the primer cure for at least that long and see if the problem persists. As for the Bones, I've had no luck at all painting them unprimed no matter thoroughly they were washed, so that might be the issue with these.

[DocPiske]

I usually wait a day (or week, or year, whatever) after priming before painting.

 

The thickness might be an issue; I'll have to test the rest of the MSP HD paints I have to see if it's a property of the line or just a couple of bad bottles.

[buglips*the*goblin]

I would have suggested that it is the Bones that is responsible since paint flakes off them if you look at them sideways

 

 

That's highly unusual, if you're experiencing a lot of that. I've noted a couple of paints prone to it from my old pro paint (elven green, breonne blue), and some master series (black, walnut brown) - but outside the rare misbehaving paint, all the stuff I use sticks like glue.

 

ETA: The troublesome paints are only when used as the first basecoat. They don't flake if they're put on over something else.

Edited October 6, 2013 by buglips*the*goblin

[TGP]

I have painted on both now, primed metal and un-primed Bones and the result is the same. Even the small pool of paint left on my palette cracked once dry.

 

Is it possible these two bottles failed to be consistently "stored in a cool dry place, above nn but below nn degrees F" ?

 

And, not saying it was the end user that did in these bottles, coulda been UPS, USPS, some mysterious distributor, a FLGS that lost power overnight and subsequently...froze...or overheated.

[DocPiske]

Anything is possible, but none of my other paints seem to be affected. I think I'll just toss em and buy new ones. Just wanted to know if I was using them wrong somehow.

[cthulhudarren]

I assume that the minis were thoroughly cleaned and dried before applying the paint?

[Wren]

Try thinning them just a little with water (like 2-3 drops paint to a small drop of water) and see if that helps. I have a vague memory of people very occasionally having problems with some master series paints when painted on in thick coats. The only cracking problem I've had personally is with Master Series black painted on base rims, which I probably was painting too thick to get it done ASAP.

[Furongian]

The first Bones I tried when they were initially released were fine, but everything from the Kickstarter has been highly paint-repellent, no matter how thoroughly I wash them. I've found they need a coat of brush-on primer before they'll take the paint. I'm not sure what the problem is, but it has been persistent in every miniature from the Kickstarter.

 

I would have suggested that it is the Bones that is responsible since paint flakes off them if you look at them sideways

 

 

That's highly unusual, if you're experiencing a lot of that. I've noted a couple of paints prone to it from my old pro paint (elven green, breonne blue), and some master series (black, walnut brown) - but outside the rare misbehaving paint, all the stuff I use sticks like glue.

 

 

[Wren]

The figures I tested on to write my FAQs in the Bones section were pre-Kickstarter figures, but since them I've painted most of the Pathfinder goblins and townsfolk from my Vampire box, and I haven't noticed them acting notably differently.

[Slendertroll]

I've had no problems with them either. Even the ones I forget to wash take paint if I really slop it on there for the first coat.

[Wren]

I am washing the ones I paint now, which is in contrast to my test figures. I use perfume and dye free dish soap. (Which is for my benefit, not the Bones, but I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility that what we're cleaning figures with could account for some difference in experiences.)