Armor Hell

OK, what the heck am I doing wrong here? I'm painting a set of armor for a friend of mine... using the layered effect.

I sanded it, primered it, silver coated, yellow and was applying the green. All of a sudden ALL the green paint started to crackle up and is completely RUINED! Why the heck is this happening????

Now I've got to go back to square one with this ****... sand it all down and start over... WHAT A MAJOR PAIN IN THE REAR! I should be done right now but instead have to start all over! I feel like throwing it in the trash but I can't since it's not even mine. UGH!!!!!!!!!

Any suggestions?

Have you used these same two brands of paint together before? I have painted models before and had one brand of paint not react well to a differant brand.

What brand are you using? I ran into exactly the same problem down here in Florida, but was thinking it was the high humidity. Could be the paint brand is **** as well. Or maybe the paint application too heavy, because once I put on a lighter coat is was fine.

Happened to me with the burgandy Krylon on a helmet too... It was either the temp./humidity outside, or the time I waited between coats. I sanded and tried a few days later, and everything was peachy. Weird.

I had this happen with primer and some spray paints whe they get near the end of the can for some reason. Are you using acrylics or enamels?

Use the same brand and type of paint. If you dont... you cant count on consistant results. Also... due to things rubbing on the armor and such... it dosnt matter what you do short of lots and lots of clear coating... you will end up having paint chip off revealing more silver, as the silver isnt made to have paint added on top of it, espeicaly acrylic.

Oh, and heat dose nasty things to acrylic pait as well.

Same problem on my helmet. Only it happened when i was putting on the clear coat. I was thinking I didnt shake the can enough.

It's one of two things

A. It's a chemical reaction from the paints not "working" together.

B. It's the temp. and humidity

I've had the same thing happen to me... it can really ruin your day when you're 30 hrs into a paint job and than have it crack all to hell when you clear coat it.

Originally Posted by SaxeCoburg

I've had the same thing happen to me... it can really ruin your day when you're 30 hrs into a paint job and than have it crack all to hell when you clear coat it.

That would of made me puke :puke
It happened to me with the primer. I blamed it on the 90% humidity.

Well, its slightly humid today but I've painted in much worse. I'm thinking its the two brands of paints not working well with each other. What a pain in the arse! This time I didn't use the normal paints that I'd typically use... normally I use the Polly scale and/or Testors brands that Lee found. This time I figured I'd try the rattle can versions and I'm REALLY paying for it now.

Makes me want to quit right now... disgusted...

You should wash off your armour with soap and water after it's 120% dry. Even touching the armour leaves the natural body oils on it, which would be a natural mask for the paint to curl up.

I ran into the same problem when I was painting my jp. It happened with every color I shot on it. Talk about being frustrated. I ended up using all krylon colors and had no problems.

Sounds like you didn't let the silver coat dry for long enough-I had the same prob dude. Leave the silver coat for at least two days before applying any colour. And, use the same type, ie, acrylics, or enamels are good too, just use a good dull coat after all the painting is complete- it will take time, leave at least a day to two days between coats and it will come good. Patience is the game here bro, but it is worth it.

It may also depend on the kind of plastic you are painting on. I have had absolutetly no problems with Sintra in the past, I love the stuff... My first jet pack was made out of trash cans, HUGE PEELIGN PROBLEM. I then stripped it about a year later, rebuilt the sucker, primed it (this time), and then painted it.

Humidity also has a big affect on it, when air moisture lays ontop of the surface, the paint won't have as great as a stick. I recommend that you wash the surface first, then dry it very well, then lay the first layer of paint on within the next few minutes. This may be difficult if you are layering the paint on while masking... so the best of luck to you!

Let the silver coat "de-gass" for a few day i.e. air out and dry completely

Originally Posted by fettishist

Sounds like you didn't let the silver coat dry for long enough-I had the same prob dude. Leave the silver coat for at least two days before applying any colour. And, use the same type, ie, acrylics, or enamels are good too, just use a good dull coat after all the painting is complete- it will take time, leave at least a day to two days between coats and it will come good. Patience is the game here bro, but it is worth it.

I don't believe that is entirely true. In the past I have let my silver coat dry for months and the lifting/peeling problem still presisted.

Months? I wouldn't be able to stand waiting for that long.

i've had that problem mixing "paint for plastic" with regular paint. i also think that the fact that i do things so fast actually helps... i usually do all of the layers same day, so the lower layers are still curing.

it seems like the rattlecan painting is more complicated than it really seems on the surface... i've heard of other people having similar problems.

I had the SAME problem come up recently. I was painting the rest of my armor a week after I painted the first pieces. The humidity changed pretty drastically in that week, so I am blaming humidity!!

Darn Bob ... really sorry to hear this happened to ya.

Would it happen to be boba maker armor, because it did that to me with spray can silver, I airbrushed the silver on and it stoped.

Actually the silver cured for about a week before I used the yellow and then the yellow cured for about two days so I'm at a loss. I actually tried soaking one of the chest armor pieces in turpentine to get the paint off and it ate the plastic! The piece pretty much fell apart! Wonderful...

No it wasn't Boba Maker armor, it was a set my friend made himself. He's going to have to make more now. Ugh..

Smooth Bob, next time just set it on fire and take videos and pics and send them to your friend. HA


Just messing with you bro.

Originally Posted by Predatormv

Smooth Bob, next time just set it on fire and take videos and pics and send them to your friend. HA


Just messing with you bro.

Thanks Mark, love you too!

Mine did the same thing the first time too...

Primed with Krylon, silvercoated with Krylon, Caterpillar yellow coat with Rustoleum, green coat with Krylon... literally 30 seconds later, BANG... crocodile texture finish in the paint...

Hmm, and if you wanted that effect, it would never happen. One of the paints is just not liking the other. Is any of the paint enamel and then one layer laquer based?

Originally Posted by webchief

Actually the silver cured for about a week before I used the yellow and then the yellow cured for about two days so I'm at a loss. I actually tried soaking one of the chest armor pieces in turpentine to get the paint off and it ate the plastic! The piece pretty much fell apart! Wonderful...

No it wasn't Boba Maker armor, it was a set my friend made himself. He's going to have to make more now. Ugh..

what did you use for the yellow? mixing a hobby enamel with a rattlecan paint might not work well. the spray can stuff has lots of solvent in it...

Some folks swear by rattle cans but the results can be highly unpredictable. I perfer to have control over my paints by thinning them my self and airbushing them on rather then take the chance at having a rough patch that has to be repainted.

As for the chrome... humidity or not... there is no real good way to make paint stick properly to the silver. A good trick is to clear coat over the silver with some clear coat acrylic if thats the paint type your using. Also use a acrylic silver rather then enamil. Stick with one type or another.

Even the real helmet had pullup over time and over the years. There are some spots on it that are quite apparent and if you compare it to the screen used you can see where more paint has come off.

I still testify that from all the pics Ihave studyed of the armor, it wasnt done using the "layered" method yall are trying. Even if it was you can get the same look and a much more durable and trouble free paint job by reverse layer... doing the silver last before your wash.