I Need Some Paint Help

I am working on this Vader helmet from Sgt. Fang. Every time I paint I get the oil spots under the paint. Painted the helmet about three times now, and have tried a few things to get what little oil off the helmet. Any ideas?

Have you tried washing it with warm water and soap or dish detergent? That's pretty much SOP listed in the instructions for plastic model kits to get any oils from either production or your skin off of the plastic.

Originally Posted by Riceball

Have you tried washing it with warm water and soap or dish detergent? That's pretty much SOP listed in the instructions for plastic model kits to get any oils from either production or your skin off of the plastic.

Sure have. Also tried with and without gloves.

You should sand it with a wetsand, primer, then sand, then primer, then sand, then...

And after all that you will get the perfect base for paint. I have had these issues with GelCoat too, I don't know why that happens.

Originally Posted by KaanE

You should sand it with a wetsand, primer, then sand, then primer, then sand, then...

Thats what I did, I wetsanded its butt off. Maybe I just need a diffrent kind of primer.

I guess it is just not my day to paint. So I cant work on the Vader now untill I get this paint thing worked out. So I figured id start on my Boba bucket that has been sitting around for almost a year. SAME PROBLEM . Guess I just need to hang it up for a little longer.

At least my AIG stock went up today .

Originally Posted by shortimer52

At least my AIG stock went up today .

Awesome.

Take a soapy wash rag, and wipe the helmet's surface.

It's my understanding that uncured resins will weep in certain areas where not mixed properly or perhaps resin that has past it shelf life.

If it keeps weeping, you may have to chip out the area and refill as needed. If it runs deep it can be a big problem.

Hopefully however it could simply be left over mold release agent that needs scrubbed off with soap and water. Sometimes I use a solvent that "flashes off" quickly to clean the spot and sometimes this works but you have to be careful what solvent to use as opposed to the material your dealing with.

yeah its the wax left over from the release agent that would be my guess warm water, soap and some love my friend. That should rid your problem.

sorry not familiar with it

Try an epoxy based primer. Its what we use on fiberglass and plastic car parts. Also if you are using a spray gun (auto type) your air pressure may be to high.