Problems with paint flaking off

[Rainshine]

I'm a brand new to really trying to do mini painting at all, so I picked up the LTPKs out of a complete lack of knowledge and despair at the size of my collection.  So far, it's bee enjoyable, even if not looking good.  Painting Bones with MSP paints.  I'm following the advice as best as I can -- scrubbing with soap and water before, letting it dry, paint base -- but am having trouble in a few spots with paint persistently flaking off.  A good example is the Bones V Goblin Minstrel -- the tubes that come over his shoulders will hold their paint for about four hours, and then it all comes off.  I presume I'm doing something wrong, but I don't know how to fix it.  Suggestions?

[lexomatic]

A few possibilities

1 you didn't clean the mini enough before painting. I keep an old toothbrush just for cleaning minis. I use dish soap for extra grease removal.

2 primer can help

3 working the paint too much when it's wet. This was a problem for me for a while. Switching to paint different parts while stuff dries can help. I used to flood my minis for washes then try to paint.

4 you're brushing it off with contact moving the mini around to paint different parts. A holder of some kind (Pill bottle and tack even, or a fancy one). Also helps the hand grip with less fatigue

5 maybe the paint is a bit separated and you have a lot of medium so it's drying slowly or there's not a ton of paint

6 some paints i find dont work well (a lot of vallejo game color is glossy and thick) and don't work as well as a base coat

Any of these ring a bell?

 

Edited August 7, 2021 by lexomatic

[BLZeebub]

Lex touched on it, but you are shaking your paints vigorously each time you use them, right?

[Rainshine]

I am trying to, but that seems the most likely of the points.  I do use a brush for cleaning.  I've been doing them in batches on purpose, so I'll do some work on each of three or four then let them sit for twenty or thirty minutes before doing more; I've noticed that some of the colors seem to change consistency on the palette a lot quicker than others.  Blade Steel and Polished Silver seem to dry up fast for me, Dragon Bronze seems to almost separate into different colors.   Thanks all 🙂

[Heisler]

Metallic colors, in general tend to separate quickly, a couple swishes with the brush, now and again, will help keep them mixed on the palette.

[DocPiske]

I always paint a base coat of a nonmetallic paint first and then over paint with a metallic. Dark brown for bronze, black for iron or steel, gray for silver, and ochre yellow for gold. Metallic flake paints are notorious for poor coverage. I usually then apply a shading wash over the metallic paint, let that dry and then apply another layer or highlights with the same or lighter metallic paint.

[Rainshine]

Ooh, thank you!  Looking at them again, nearly all the problems of this sort, or of mixed paint out of the bottle not applying great, have been metallics.  The swords and shields I've done so far have taken quite the beating.  I'll try the black base next time!

[Glitterwolf]

2 hours ago, Rainshine said:

Ooh, thank you!  Looking at them again, nearly all the problems of this sort, or of mixed paint out of the bottle not applying great, have been metallics.  The swords and shields I've done so far have taken quite the beating.  I'll try the black base next time!

 

For steel / Iron Base Blue

For Gold Base Brown

For Bronze base Green

For Copper Base Red.

 

It will enhance the look if your metallics aren't too thick.