Here's an update on my frosty figures. I obviously searched a bit for advice and received some in the comments. I thought I'd try a couple of solutions to see which was most effective. First up was acetone - nail varnish remover. I can't help thinking that's going to be difficult to put on without removing all the paint and I didn't actually have any. But I had a quick idea that liquid poly glue - ketone, which is like acetone might achieve the same thing and I have quite a bit of that and with a fine needle glu applicator I can drop it on. Tried it and it works, in a fashion.
Where it pooled I tried to whick it away with a corner of card, even that light touch allowed the paint underneath to melt. However, where it was left seems to have dried, unfrozen the frost and left it with an ultra-glossy finish, I mean hyperglossy as you can make out on the Tyranid hoof below. That white spot is pure gloss sheen! I only applied it in small places - pipes, hoof and thorax but where the glue soaked into the Purity Seal you could actually see it working, like the frost was having hot water melt through and where imperfections existed they just melted away!
Where it pooled I tried to whick it away with a corner of card, even that light touch allowed the paint underneath to melt. However, where it was left seems to have dried, unfrozen the frost and left it with an ultra-glossy finish, I mean hyperglossy as you can make out on the Tyranid hoof below. That white spot is pure gloss sheen! I only applied it in small places - pipes, hoof and thorax but where the glue soaked into the Purity Seal you could actually see it working, like the frost was having hot water melt through and where imperfections existed they just melted away!
You can see the gloss on the adrenal gland thorax join here.
These pics show just how frosty the Hive Guard got, I know it could have been worse but this was still disheartening. The next option was to try Da masta Cheef's organic solution of Olive Oil.
WOW! I couldn't believe this. It worked, and it enriched the colours greatly. Sure it's not matt, but it's not quite glossy either and I really like the finish. With results like this I half fancy doing everything without bothering with any further tests. I've tried to brush away any excess and it doess dull the sheen a little bit but somehow it looks all polished again an hour later!
As you can see it looks a bit oily in the creases but it kind of looks a bit 'niddy' so we can live with that. I'm just amazed such a simple solution gave such good results. Of course it precludes my mix of glossy varnish on all the black 'hard points' but I can live with that too.
Theses are the worst affected Devgaunts, I will try some of the other options on these when I get chance.
The Devourers took the worst of the frosting, hopefully we can fix that.
I'll get round to testing/fixing these as and when.
Does the olive oil get messy when handling the figures? Have you tried spraying a matt finish over the top of it to see if that resolves that issue / the semi-gloss look?
ReplyDeleteI only used a light coat so it's not dripping in oil. It seems some other folk had a similar issue following my mishap and also took the advice and then rinsed them under the tap to remove any excess. I also tried this but I can't say either way whether it makes any difference.
ReplyDeleteThe best option I found to remove as much excess as possible was to gently buff the miniature with any fleecy garment you might have. The soft micro-fibres do a fine job of getting into nooks and crannies and removing the oil. I actually have fleecy dressing gown [just imagine!] and the belt is a perfect tool for this, ha, ha!
I also have some old watercolour brushes that also managed to lift an excess. I haven't re-sprayed them as I don't have a problem with it and worry it'll happen again or the oil will prevent the spray from sticking, although I have since used Vallejo paint on gloss varnish in the usual places and it's gone on fine. I wanted to try the variety of options but I think the Olive Oil is so simple and effective it doesn't warrant it, but I may bother for scientific reasons one day.