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Bubbled up paint on resin models

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  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Lancaster city
  • 682 posts
Bubbled up paint on resin models
Posted by cats think well of me on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 3:54 PM

Hi all,

A few years ago, I'd built a F&C Reading XMp 36' boxcar and when I took it out of storage I first did touch ups with the same Tru-Color Reading boxcar paint and that went um not great, as Tru-Color paints are usually not brushable. After some touching up, I'd given it a coat of Tamiya clear flat, and thought okay, this is done for now. Well, some places on the paint started to bubble and the paint, maybe a quarter of it, easily scratched off with my finger nails and I have numerous areas that are back to bare resin, yet on some other parts of the model, the paint is sticking without issue. I'd try carefully to scratch at it, and if it came up easily, I'd keep removing paint until I found places it seemed to actually be sticking to the resin. I contribute this to poor preparation techniques on my part a few years ago when I built the model. I think I hadn't worked hard enough to clean the mold releases, skin oils, and more when I'd built it. Recently, I've had good luck with Tamiya gray primer sticking to my resin models and thought I'd try carefully applying clear flat coats from Tamiya and than repainting with the Tru-Color paint. Since the model is white resin, would a white primer be good to start? I'd be concerned using using a gray primer would create different hues around the model's painted surfaces.

Anyone else have this happen with Tru-Color or other brands of paints not sticking to resin models? If so, what did you do to fix it? I'd rather not completely strip and repaint but I'd like to not have to deal with paint coming off easily over the years.

Thank You

Alvie

  • Member since
    January 2009
  • From: Bakersfield, CA 93308
  • 6,526 posts
Posted by RR_Mel on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 4:16 PM

I’ve been using True-Color Paint for years and I’ve never had it come off like you described.  Sometimes it will get small chips when I ding it with something with a sharp edge.  True-Color Paint is solvent based and sticks extremely good to any surface.

I’ve had problems with Crafters Acrylics chipping off plastics.  I’ve never used Tamiya flat clear, my norm is either Testers Flat Clear in the rattle can, Krylon or Rustoleum Matte.  For my models that are painted with True-Color Paint I use True-Color Flat Clear in my airbrush (locomotives).
 

Mel


 
My Model Railroad   
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
 
Bakersfield, California
 
I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

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