Better paint than acrylic?

hey there, i've been building some armor, but i have a problem, i use acrylic paints, so when i have taken the chest piece out for a test spin, i find where the shoulders are touching the armor, the paint gets rubbed off.

i've heard enamel paint is much better at resisting this kind of thing, is that true? is there a better paint than acrylic that's not ungodly expensive that i can use for my armor?
thanks for your time.

From my experience the enamels (Humbrol in my case) can take a lot more punishment than acrylics. But, have you clear coted it before you used it? A clear cote might stop it from scratching as easily.

i've been using an ultra matte coat that i spray on which helps, but not enough for my tastes.
thanks.

I used rattle cans for my armour and then matt coated the lot. I've had very little damage occur when out and about in my armour. The only problem I found when doing the layered method on my armour with cans was paint not sticking to previous layers despite being the same brand.

Acrylics should stand a fair bit of wear and tear, Especially when clear coated. Enamels can be a bit of a pain on anything other than plastics (excellent for painting up little HO gauge people) in my experience.

Make sure that before you paint it, you clean it very well.

Also, light sand it to give it a surface to bite on to.

Finally, a good primer that is made to bite into the type of plastic your using will help.

Metal primer doesnt bite great on plastic. But there are primers made especially for plastic.

Originally Posted by Stormrider

Make sure that before you paint it, you clean it very well.

Also, light sand it to give it a surface to bite on to.

Finally, a good primer that is made to bite into the type of plastic your using will help.

Metal primer doesnt bite great on plastic. But there are primers made especially for plastic.

Agreed.

I will always use enamels given the choice. After having trooped in my suit for almost 7 years, I noticed that enamels are defintely tougher than arcylics.

Is the Testors brand paint used on plastic car models durable? I was trying to find a good paint to paint damage areas.

Originally Posted by laguna

Is the Testors brand paint used on plastic car models durable? I was trying to find a good paint to paint damage areas.

Its pretty good. Thats what I use for alot of my stuff. they do come in both acrylics and enamels. Use enamels if you want more durability.