True Speed Painitng: The Dip, baked, and matted...
Dec 5, 2022 21:05:28 GMT
skunkape, distractionman, and 1 more like this
Post by sgtslag on Dec 5, 2022 21:05:28 GMT
In a recent post on The Miniatures Page, I gave some detail on how I speed paint my mini's (simple block painting) followed by painting on The Dip Technique (faster, more control, less waste, less time, if you brush it on, versus actually dunking your figures into the stain varnish mixture), followed by baking them -- yes baking them to fully cure the oil-based urethane stain, within minutes, not days...
After I brush on the Minwax urethane stain mixture (Royal Walnut color), I give them 15 minutes for the stain varnish mixture to be sucked into the recesses by capillary action, and to be pulled down, by gravity. Then (if I remember...), I wick off the excess stain-varnish pools using the edge of a paper towel. I set them inside of a large Slow Cooker/Crock Pot, I bought at an estate sale, dedicated to this purpose. I bake them, at 170 F/Low Heat setting, with the lid on, for 30 minutes. I do this step in my garage, with the large door open, to allow the volatile fumes to escape. Note that the fumes are just as volatile when evaporating at room temperatures; the heat just accelerates the process.
After 30 minutes, the urethane stain is fully cured, and glossy... Then I paint the mini's with a matte clear coat, to dull the shine. Gloss or satin finish for the urethane stain is irrelevant: they both dry shiny; both need a matte clear coat to dull them; and, both work, the same way, yielding the same end result.
I use this technique on metal, resin, and injection molded plastic figures. The metal figures melt around 700+ F, plastic figures melt around 300 F - 400 F, so 170 F does not harm them; the 50+ resin figures, thus far, have remained unaffected by 170 F to 210 F baking. The 400+ plastic figures get soft and pliable, but they are not permanently affected -- once they cool, they retain their original shapes.
"So... How do they look?", you ask? Check for yourself. 1/72 scale, plastic injection molded, Caesar Dwarves; 28mm metal Essex Gnome Spearmen; 1/72 scale plastic Caesar Orcs; Red Box 1/72 scale, plastic Cyclops; resin(?) Grenadier Fantasy Warriors Dwarven Spearmen; a Marx toy Wooden Fort (not baked, allowed to dry over a few days -- too big for anything but a kitchen stove oven); and the Marx Fort in a game, defended by Hobgoblins, attacked by Humans and Dwarves. I used my kitchen oven, for the first few years I did this. I stopped as it stunk up the house, and the fumes were quite dangerous in the house. I do NOT recommend using your oven, but if you do, prop the door open, turn on any exhaust fan you have, and open windows for a cross breeze, as well! DO NOT USE A GAS STOVE/OVEN!!! Microwave Ovens are not useful, either.
On average, by using assembly line painting (same brush stroke, same paint color, on every figure in a group of the same poses), I average 10 minutes of brushing on paint to miniatures, followed by 1-3 minutes of applying Minwax to each figure. Total brush-work time: 11-13 minutes, per figure. Baking is done en masse, in a 15-quart Slow Cooker. Speed, and efficiency, at their best.
I looked into Speed Paints, Contrast Paints, and the new, Slap-Chop techniques. None of them come close to the speed of simple block painting, brushing on The Dip, baking, and matte clear coating.
Hopefully this will encourage others to try simple block painting, followed by The Dip Technique, on some test figures, at least. It really is the fastest way to paint mini's and terrain. Cheers!
After I brush on the Minwax urethane stain mixture (Royal Walnut color), I give them 15 minutes for the stain varnish mixture to be sucked into the recesses by capillary action, and to be pulled down, by gravity. Then (if I remember...), I wick off the excess stain-varnish pools using the edge of a paper towel. I set them inside of a large Slow Cooker/Crock Pot, I bought at an estate sale, dedicated to this purpose. I bake them, at 170 F/Low Heat setting, with the lid on, for 30 minutes. I do this step in my garage, with the large door open, to allow the volatile fumes to escape. Note that the fumes are just as volatile when evaporating at room temperatures; the heat just accelerates the process.
After 30 minutes, the urethane stain is fully cured, and glossy... Then I paint the mini's with a matte clear coat, to dull the shine. Gloss or satin finish for the urethane stain is irrelevant: they both dry shiny; both need a matte clear coat to dull them; and, both work, the same way, yielding the same end result.
I use this technique on metal, resin, and injection molded plastic figures. The metal figures melt around 700+ F, plastic figures melt around 300 F - 400 F, so 170 F does not harm them; the 50+ resin figures, thus far, have remained unaffected by 170 F to 210 F baking. The 400+ plastic figures get soft and pliable, but they are not permanently affected -- once they cool, they retain their original shapes.
"So... How do they look?", you ask? Check for yourself. 1/72 scale, plastic injection molded, Caesar Dwarves; 28mm metal Essex Gnome Spearmen; 1/72 scale plastic Caesar Orcs; Red Box 1/72 scale, plastic Cyclops; resin(?) Grenadier Fantasy Warriors Dwarven Spearmen; a Marx toy Wooden Fort (not baked, allowed to dry over a few days -- too big for anything but a kitchen stove oven); and the Marx Fort in a game, defended by Hobgoblins, attacked by Humans and Dwarves. I used my kitchen oven, for the first few years I did this. I stopped as it stunk up the house, and the fumes were quite dangerous in the house. I do NOT recommend using your oven, but if you do, prop the door open, turn on any exhaust fan you have, and open windows for a cross breeze, as well! DO NOT USE A GAS STOVE/OVEN!!! Microwave Ovens are not useful, either.
On average, by using assembly line painting (same brush stroke, same paint color, on every figure in a group of the same poses), I average 10 minutes of brushing on paint to miniatures, followed by 1-3 minutes of applying Minwax to each figure. Total brush-work time: 11-13 minutes, per figure. Baking is done en masse, in a 15-quart Slow Cooker. Speed, and efficiency, at their best.
I looked into Speed Paints, Contrast Paints, and the new, Slap-Chop techniques. None of them come close to the speed of simple block painting, brushing on The Dip, baking, and matte clear coating.
Hopefully this will encourage others to try simple block painting, followed by The Dip Technique, on some test figures, at least. It really is the fastest way to paint mini's and terrain. Cheers!