I was doing a scratch-build and the pieces I was using were supposed to come with primer already on them. There was definitely a layer of something on them. I did all the usual preparations, but I noticed while painting that the paint was peeling off at edges, where I was touching it, and where it had touched another surface.

I've never had this happen before on anything, and I didn't even notice until I was most of the way through the job. I've heard people talk about using sprays that are supposed to seal paint in situations like this. I'd want something that doesn't change the look though (no gloss, etc.). Also, I'd prefer if it was something that allowed me to continue painting on top of it so I could touch up any areas that were messed up and to finish any of the details that I didn't feel like doing when it was all coming undone.

Alternatively, I could use some tips on how to strip all the paint down (maybe even including the apparently bad primer) so I could start over on my own terms.

To seal...Testor's Dullcote. Nice matte finish, and you can paint on top of it.

To strip...LA's Totally Awesome (Can be found at Dollar Stores in the US). Bar none the best paint stripper I've ever used.

Piscopas is a name you can trust. There isn't much more to add to what he's given you, except on how to strip your model:

• pour your liquid into a jar so that the ship will be submerged.
• allow it to soak for at least an hour. Most people do overnight, but I've found that fresher paint starts to come off relatively quickly.
• scrub the paint off with an old tooth brush under running water. Use a tooth pick to dislodge paint stuck in crevices.
• repeat as needed.

Manage your expectations though. When I first tried it I foolishly expected the dip to magically remove the paint with little or no effort. Don't delude yourself, there will be effort. And some paints can be really difficult to remove completely such as primers.

Over a period of a couple of months I've painted and repainted one of my X-wings 3 (or 4?) times now, stem to stern without any harm done to the model until I finally settled on a look I liked, so keep that in mind: there's lots of opportunities for do-overs!

Simple Green is another brand you can use to strip models, if you don't mind the strange medicine and pine-needle smell.

Thanks! This should be a lot of help. :)

Do you have pictures of the peeling paint? I would like to see the effect as I have never had it myself.

Unfortunately not at the moment, I've touched it up for now already, and I actually have no way to take pictures at the moment (as unbelievable as that may be nowadays). As it is, I've got some other repaints I've been meaning to post about but haven't gotten pictures of either.