Problems with basecoating - small bubbles

By Dieshe, in Painting

Hi,

I am basecoating my miniatures with citadel corax white spray.

In the chinks of the miniature are appearing small bubbles that crate holes.

What am I doing wrong?

I did shake 2 minutes. The weather was not cold and not hot.

I sprayed in bursts, not too near and from different directions.

I do not think that I sprayed too much becuase there are still areas that did not

get enough color.

Can someone please give me a tip what might be wrong?

Thanke, Dieshe

Edited by Dieshe

As far as I know, bubbles often occur if you are too close or its humid.

Are they savable? otherwise might need to strip them. IMO always base coat very lightly, let dry and if needed....do another very light coat. Much better/safer than piling it on hoping its all covered (not saying you did)

Good luck.

Probably sprayed too much if humidity is not the cause. You DO NOT need total coverage for primer to do its thing. Armpits and the like will sometimes get missed and that's okay; as long as the paint has several places to anchor it will stick to itself (and still to the model) well enough.

I've had issues as well, even just painting onto bare plastic. Like I can paint over one section like the arm and its fine but then I get to the leg and the paint seperates. Almost as if there is a release agent still on them. But I had previously washed an rinsed the models twice. There is definitely some funk going on with some of these figures.

6 minutes ago, Rammstein117 said:

I've had issues as well, even just painting onto bare plastic. Like I can paint over one section like the arm and its fine but then I get to the leg and the paint seperates. Almost as if there is a release agent still on them. But I had previously washed an rinsed the models twice. There is definitely some funk going on with some of these figures.

I did not wash them. Maybe that’s the problem.

I had some issues with primer sticking and bubbling in a few spots, I didn’t wash them, I think they pulled them from mold to box pretty fast.

I would ...

Do some research/youtube on the use of Simply Green to clean them. A SUPER diluted ... like 1 part brush cleaner and 9 parts water ... will work and, if not done right, can damage the model. Simply Green from experience is safe.

Wash them. Someone else had posted some photos of primed figures ... think on FB ... that were doing the same. Good soak in warm soapy water should work.

Spray primer is FINICKY. It's too hot ... too windy ... too cold ... too humid ... too dry ... blah ... blah ... blah ... It is easier for me to sort out where my wife wants to eat dinner (married guys get this one) versus get spray primer to work correctly each time.

For me the dots were due to the primer drying prior to landing on the model. Again, super sensitive product. From what you are saying my guess is from not washing prior to priming.

@LunarSol is right. Little primer goes a long way. Don't need too much.

I used corax and didn't have that problem. You want several light sprayings from about a foot away.

If the paint you are using is losing surface tension and running:

-There is mold release or soap still on the model. If you've already washed with soap, soak for a bit in just warm water and let dry 24 hours.

-Your paint is too thin, especially if you use water instead of medium. Or you may have pools of water in the recesses from not drying long enough after washing.

-Your have bare plastic and should use a primer to give the paint something to hold onto.

After that, maybe it's some weird batch of plastic, but so far everything I've painted has taken paint excellently.

How do I wash the models? Just use dish wash?

Mild soap and water...well rinsed. Air dry as hair dryer might deform them.

I use rubbing alcohol. It tends to clean things and dries quickly. But I can definitely say Simple Green does the trick.