How do YOU protect your paint?

[Slave1Pirate117]

Hey everyone! This topic is about PAINT, specifically the protection of paint. Matte finishes are the go to in the Star Wars universe and they must be protected! When it all boils down, it's the paint that we labor on the most when putting together a Boba build. At least that is my theory as I have yet to tackle that on my own build.

The amount of time and effort that goes/will go into every scratch, dent and scuff must be protected.

In my case, all of my armor pieces are made out of aluminum. Connection points between armor pieces are a danger zone when it comes to paint destruction no matter what material is used. Examples of these areas are the collar and cod pieces. Aluminum might be worse due to its rigidity. Another place would be the squarish nuts pressing against the armor pieces that assemble these sections.

I have aluminum nuts for these areas rather than plastic so I decided to use plastic washers. These washers could be superglued to the bottom of the square nuts. I included photos below of what I will use at these points.

The question here is in the title: What do YOU do to protect that paint? Areas of high wear like between armor plates, gauntlet areas of wear, etc. Share what you did to eliminate or minimize this damage!

I will update as the thread moves along!

Wear Points List
1. Armor overlap locations
2. Keyboard Key Nuts: Plastic washers between the keys and armor are a possible fix
3. Jetpack lower aluminum bar: heat shrink tube slid on and heated to provide a rubber coating is a possible fix
4. All over! A good clear coat will protect the majority of your paint while transporting, wearing and storing your armor.

 

[BudaFett]

There's going to be areas paint will come off with ware and tear. The connecting points with the keys and the area with the jetpack harness are the most scratched and worn. It's happened on all the screen used costumes as well there's not much you can do to prevent it...even with a metal base.

To answer your other question...most painters use a nice clear coat to add that extra protection.

 

[Slave1Pirate117]

I understand. i would like to prevent it as much as possible. You make a great point about the jetpack harness. The lower aluminum bar that the lower hooks of the jetpack rest on COULD use a piece of heat shrink tubing. it would be unnoticeable behind the jetpack yet would protect the paint on the back plate and any possible contact with the jetpack itself. When I get there ill give that a try to eliminate some of the wear.

 

[Slave1Pirate117]

I was thinking about using some felt on the underside of the armor pieces where they overlap each other. This may prevent or delay some wear between pieces from movement or shifting as the armor is worn.

 

[Fettacini]

For the ultimate protection, spraymax 2k clear matte from Amazon. It’s an actual 2part(paint plus hardener ) in a spray can. You use an included tool to pop an inner capsule to release the catalyst and then have about 48 hours to spray it before it hardens in the can. This is the toughest clearcoat you can get. I’ve used the gloss, satin and Matt and it’s amazing if pricey

 

[Slave1Pirate117]

For the ultimate protection, spraymax 2k clear matte from Amazon. It’s an actual 2part(paint plus hardener ) in a spray can. You use an included tool to pop an inner capsule to release the catalyst and then have about 48 hours to spray it before it hardens in the can. This is the toughest clearcoat you can get. I’ve used the gloss, satin and Matt and it’s amazing if pricey

Yes. I have used these before. We have an automotive paint supply place in town and I use this for painting my machines so I don't have to mix paint or get my spray gun out.

A good clear coat is obviously a necessity for protecting our paint. I assumed that was a given

Nevertheless it should be on the list!

List updated.