The Zoids Lab

[Maiasa Liger]

(I finally got around to making this thread aaahh so much work. Why do I do this to myself. Also on a side note, advanced formatting is torture with this text editor. I'll periodically update it with new findings, discoveries etc. and will probably keep everything in this first post. Also will hotlink the index if I ever figure out how.)

Welcome to the Zoids Lab! Grab your hazmat suit over there, don't forget safety goggles and gloves; and oh do get some fresh air every now and then, cuz some of the stuff you'll be dealing with is nasty! 

I created this thread since I often find myself in the situation of needing to remove paint in some form or another from a Zoid; either having put it there myself in the first place, or having received it that way. Thus I spent a lot of time researching and gathering data on which remedy works best for what, and what is better to avoid. Looking at the plethora of such inquiries throughout various modeler and customizer forums, I thought it'd be useful to compile all my findings into one place for future reference; evidently not just for myself, but for other like-minded people as well. As such I welcome every addition to this thread, so feel free to share your own tips, tricks, experiences and panaceae and I'll gladly add them! 

Obligatory disclaimer: I do not take responsibility for any potential mishaps that may occur following this guide - everything here was written down to the best of my knowledge and belief, but improper use and incautious actions are none other than your own responsibility. If you're unsure about something, hit me up or use Google first! Also obviously avoid chemicals that you are known to react badly to.

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Index

1. How to Layer Paints
2. Stripping Paint
   
   1. Acrylic paint
   2. Enamel paint
   3. Lacquer paint
   4. I don't know what kind of paint this is????
      
   5. Chrome
      1. Turning colored chrome silver
      2. Stripping chrome (see here for how to get ghost plastic)
3. Restoring Aged Plastic
   1. Deyellowing plastic
   2. Dehazing clear plastic
4. Removing Sticker Residue
5. Applying Decals the Correct Way
   1. Stickers
   2. Dry-Transfer
   3. Wet-Transfer (Waterslides)
   4. Protecting them permanently
6. The "Use-Wisely"s and "Do-Not-Use-Ever"s
7. How to Maintain Your Zoid
   1. Reinforcing loose joints

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1. How to Layer Paints

I'm adding this section cuz I've already made some nasty experiences myself with what happens when two paints react with each other... it's not pretty. (Except in one case I've found.*)

Refer to this nifty table on what you can put on top of what:

			Top Coat
		ACRYLIC	ENAMEL	LACQUER
	ACRYLIC	✔️	⚠️	❌
Base Coat	ENAMEL	✔️*	✔️	❌
	LACQUER	✔️	✔️	✔️

* Alkyd resin paints will crackle if you spray acrylic paint on top, so check your can/bottle for warnings! (it does create a really nice crocodile skin effect though.)

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2. Stripping Paint

Aka "help, I oversprayed" - we've all been there. And the fear of ruining a Zoid that way can be quite the stumbling block for any aspiring newly minted customizer. I would know, it stalled me myself for a long time. Fortunately, figuring out the real world equivalent of Ctrl+Z for painting (restrictions may apply) finally gave me the courage to try - after all, if it didn't work out I could just strip and paint again!

2.1. Acrylic paint

Water-based. The most environmentally friendly of all paints. Non-toxic, easy to dilute with water, easy to clean the brush with water as well.

How to remove:

Isopropanol/Isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol)
Works like a dream. Absolute best way to remove acrylic paint. 99.9% works as well as 70% one. You can let the parts soak in it forever as it won't attack the plastic*. Take the parts out every few hours, give them a good scrub with e.g. a toothbrush, and repeat until the part looks the way you want it.

(*Be careful with warmth, I'm not entirely sure but I think leaving it in the sun melted my Zero's shoulder vent.)

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2.2. Enamel paint

Oil- or alkyd resin-based. Dries into a hard shell, if you want durability and that glossy look. Can't be drybrushed (I tried). Clean brush with turpentine substitute.

How to remove:

Turpentine substitute (also called white spirit/mineral spirits/mineral turpentine)
Do NOT confuse this with real turpentine - actual turpentine will soften the plastic to the point that you can bend your runner. Also in contrast to turpentine and benzine it has barely any odor. While you can soak parts in it for days without damaging the plastic, it doesn't do too much by just sitting around. You won't get around spending a fair amount of time scrubbing the parts. But hey, that's nothing new now is it.

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2.3. Lacquer paint

Usually the most fancy kind paint with the most vivid colors and dazzling effects. A lot of well known brands and airbrush paints, like Gaia, Mr. Color, Alclad, Testors One Coat, others and car paints are known for their amazing look and finish. The downside is that lacquers are one of the most resilient kinds of paint and thus hard to get off of things you don't want it on. They aren't exactly environmentally friendly, nor are the chemicals that remove them.

How to remove:

Lacquer thinner
Kind of self-evident. Also eats plastic, only use to wipe.
No soaking!

Nail polish remover
Same as lacquer thinner.
No soaking!

//TODO: TBA but I think that chlorine bleach + TAED + sunlight might work... see the deyellowing section
//TODO: Rubbing alcohol seems to work but needs more confirmation

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2.4. I don't know what kind of paint this is????

Don't freak, you rarely do unless you applied it yourself. In this case, simple trial-and-error is my way to go. I usually test for acrylic paint, and work my way up to the harsher chemicals.

My usual process is:

Isopropanol* -> Windex -> turpentine substitute -> chlorine bleach + TAED -> nail polish remover (no soaking!)

* Honestly, isopropanol is kind of an all-rounder; and, with enough time, will strip any kind of paint. //TODO: to be verified with enamel

@ the Windex - I heard that it's good for taking off acrylic paints and removing chrome due to containing ammonia. I don't have Windex where I live, but do let me know if it works for you.
Still, if none of these work or produce any usable results, I have to get creative lol. As a last resort you can always consider sanding but.... you wouldn't be here reading this if you actually considered that an option.

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2.5. Chrome

More resilient and scratch-resistant than paints, chrome is the depositing of tiny metallic particles on the pieces; either via 1) electroplating, or 2) vacuum chroming. Usually has a ugly yellow-brownish coat beneath which is the harder part to remove.

2.5.1. Turning colored chrome silver

Any kind of colored chrome is made by spraying a clear color coat on top of the silver chrome. As such, it can be taken off, leaving the silver chrome behind. Useful for if you prefer silver over the (often gaudy) gold, or want to paint it with another clear color of your choosing.

How to remove the clear color coat:

Nail polish remover (acetone-free will work as fine as normal one)
Now before you cry "omg don't use nail polish remover on plastic" - yeah well, we're not putting it on plastic. HOWEVER, you still need to pay attention to this process unless you want the chrome to strip along with the color coat. This isn't a "soak and wait" method, but you'll have to do it manually.
What you do is soak a q-tip with nail polish, and then wipe that gently across the chrome. You should see it taking off the color immediately, without the need to apply any pressure. For tighter spots and crannies, press the q-tip a bit against the plastic and spin it a bit, just to enough to reach all areas. Do NOT rub.
!!! This is crucial - your nail polish needs to be fresh, in scientific terms 'hot'. If it's a few months or even years old, it'll be less aggressive and you'll require more rubbing and more passes to get the colored coat off - and will most likely take the chrome along with it. (speaking from personal experience here)
No soaking!

2.5.2. Stripping chrome (see here for how to get ghost plastic)

A few months ago, I was a bit obsessed with the Ghost Shield Liger, and hearing that the Zoids2 Claw can have ghost plastic beneath the chrome made me buy one asap. I got lucky, and it indeed was ghost plastic. It was my first experience in yielding ghost plastic, a lot of experimenting, and a bit of magic~
Even if there's no ghost plastic beneath, you can still strip the chrome if you wish to have the bare plastic to paint; and you never really know which unusual color of plastic might be lurking below the shiny cover... like my King Liger that turned out to have pink plastic below the gold!

💡 If you're specifically searching for a Zoid with ghost plastic, look at the nub marks (and, if possible, nooks esp. on the inside of parts) in listings of used chrome Zoids! It's a good way to tell right away if it could be ghost plastic (usually a whitish to yellow-grayish mark), or colored plastic. 💡

How to completely strip chrome:

Chlorine bleach <5% + TAED + UV light
Coincidentally this is also my go-to method for deyellowing plastic, so check this method out below in detail. (I've done this before using only chlorine bleach and my radiator which worked in stripping both chrome and the undercoat - but at the cost of white chemical burns, so don't forget the TAED!)
If the chrome is covered by a clear color coat, I've found it extremely helpful to strip that first with nail polish remover before giving it the bleach treatment; since the clear coat is a lot more resilient.
For ghost plastic: keep in mind that chrome has an ugly yellowish-brownish base coat, so don't panic if your freshly dechromed ghost plastic looks more like ugly solid mucus! This only means that you're not done yet - take the parts out, scrub them with a toothbrush, rinse and dry, put them back in. Repeat until you have gorgeous translucent, milky white ghost plastic.

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3. Restoring Aged Plastic

Just like people, Zoids also have the tendency to tan under prolonged UV exposure. Unfortunately, in contrast to people, it really doesn't look good on them at all. In simpler terms called sun damage, it's all too easy to spot yellowed Liger Zeros, browned OJR caps, golden Storm Sworders and other painful examples across the marketplaces.

Fortunately, the unsightly discoloration isn't permanent - this tutorial explains everything in a lot more depth than I am going to here, but it's the basis for my current methods.

3.1. Deyellowing plastic

In simple terms, yellowed plastic is nothing other than "the result of bromine released from flame retardants". Contrary to the common perception, it "doesn't necessarily mean that the plastic itself is deteriorated" and decade-old looking plastic can be turned back to look good as new. 
The key process for this is "mobilizing the bromine, which has migrated to the surface". It is not bleaching the plastic or removing dirt, but an actual chemical reaction. "Ultraviolet light is CRITICAL to the process. The UV is what actually mobilizes the bromine -- just as heat and UV often contribute strongly to plastic yellowing". A day or two of sunlight exposure is usually all you need. Don't put them underneath a UV lamp or let it bake in the sun. "Stronger is *not* necessarily better."

Now you can follow the recipe in the tutorial (and add thickener if you wish to have a paste rather than a liquid), or follow my own ghetto approach below, which is basically just throwing chlorine bleach, TAED and the yellowed parts into a glass bowl, covering that with clear film, and letting that sit in the sun for a day or two. I've even done this for parts that still looked decently white and just threw em in for the heck of it, but then turned out even whiter afterwards.

✔️ This works for all opaque plastic parts and rubber caps alike (I've turned OJR caps back from brown to gray and yellow to white) and has the added bonus of making dry rubber caps a bit softer again (but won't fully restore them).
⚠️ Do NOT use it for painted or chromed parts unless you want to remove the paint/chrome; or for clear plastic as it'll haze it. You can use it for yielding ghost plastic though!

⚠️ At this point I want to point out, that yes - chlorine bleach CAN remove chrome and paints on its own - BUT without the TAED working as a catalyst, you'll end up with ugly white chlorine burns on your plastic. This can also occur when the ratio is off (as I found out just the other day *sad trombone noises*).

How to deyellow plastic:

- 500ml (1 pt) Chlorine Bleach (Hydroxen Peroxide) <5%
I just use the cheap all-purpose cleaner from the discounter. Domestos, Dan Klorix, Clorox, キッチンハイター, whatever you can get will be fine as long as it contains peroxide and chlorine somewhere. You can usually find the safety data sheet for every detergent online which lists the contents.
The bleach I use is <5%, you don't really want to go much higher than that unless you're like..idk desperate. Beware of chemical burns though!
⚠️ Chlorine bleach is corrosive to organic matter. Avoid skin contact with it and don't inhale the fumes. Preferably use glass containers to store it. It breaks down to water, oxygen and salt over time.

- 2 Tbsp Oxy-Clean (TAED)
I use cheapo Oxi-Power stain remover from the drug store. Any brand is fine, as long as it contains TAED (Tetra Acetyl Ethylene Diamine), which acts as a catalyst for the hydroxen peroxide. You also need this to avoid white bleach stains.

Scale as needed.

Put your plastic parts in a bowl or casserole dish, preferably made of glass, but ceramic is fine too. The best (and fastest) result is achieved by using a shallow glass dish and spreading the parts. You want them to get as much sunlight as possible, which is what we need to activate the bromine and remove the yellowing.
Pour the bleach into a beaker (preferably one made of glass and clean thoroughly with dish soap afterwards!!!), add the 2 Tbsp of TAED and mix. The mixture will start foaming, the foam will settle later. Pour the mixture over your parts into the dish. If the parts swim and don't seem properly submerged, that's fine. You can shake the bowl later or splash the mixture onto the parts, that's all it really needs.
Cover the dish airtight with clear film, and place in a sunny spot. The deyellowing process will also work with an overcast sky, but a lot slower. (if you don't get any sunny days at all during that period, I'd leave it next to the window for like a week.)
You will already start seeing a visible difference while in the dish. Once you consider the parts done (a day or two of full sunlight), take them out, rinse them and admire your good as new parts!
The solution won't store btw, at least not for long. 1-2 weeks is alright, but beyond that you'd want to make a new batch.

If you have a part that's too big for a dish (though idk how??), or no fitting dish at all, what you also can do is put the parts and mixture into a ziploc bag! Just be warned that it might start to leak, so maybe put it onto a plate or similar.

Also this should be self-explanatory, but don't put the dish or bag onto a surface that would not take well to coming in contact with chlorine bleach. I.e., anything organic.

Actual example #1: Before and after. The broken cap on the left is how all the white caps were - yellowed, dirty, and extremely brittle. Deyellowing didn't just turn them back white, but also made them softer again. I unfortunately didn't keep one of the gray caps for comparison, but they were originally BROWN, oily and sticky, and extremely hard and brittle.



Actual example #2: Before and after. Storm Sworders like to turn gold and very brittle over time. I like the silver better tho (and it's less brittle too) 💁



☆*･゜ﾟ･*MAGIC*･゜ﾟ･*☆

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3.2. Dehazing clear plastic

Honestly this solely follows the research I've done on restoring hazed car headlights. You can try polishing the surface with e.g. toothpaste; but I haven't experimented with anything else myself really.
You cannot deyellow clear plastic unfortunately (yet; and to my knowledge), as it will likely haze it. //TODO: need to run experiments to confirm this

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4. Removing Sticker Residue

We all hate it. Thus it's important enough to get its own entry.
Also works in all other parts of life where you happen to need to remove glue residue (glass jars, metal cans, etc., you name it).

How to remove:

Turpentine substitue (also called white spirit/mineral spirits/mineral turpentine)
Not to be confused with actual, real turpentine.
Soak a q-tip with it, or just use your finger to dab it on and rub the sticker residue off. Works like a charm, even if there's still a papery layer present~

Naphtha/benzine/petroleum ether
I'd only use this on non-plastic parts tbh.

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5. Applying Decals the Correct Way

Adding this section cuz even I am not entirely sure at times what the best way is, so I'm collecting advice from fellow Zoiders and Gunpla modelers here.

5.1. Stickers

Are common with cheaper or more kiddie-targeted kits. I.e., the Tomy kits, or some bootlegs. Usually seen as the "worst" kind of decals in terms of quality and finish, as they are quite thick and usually have a lot of whitespace around the design.

Thus, it is highly recommended to trim stickers with an xacto or razor blade to lessen the toyish look.

Since stickers, well, stick with help of an adhesive, you want to apply them in one go, without anything contaminating the sticky surface. After applying, rub them down with your finger first gently, then with a bit more force to lock them in place and remove any air bubbles. If you still have air bubbles left that you can't get out, prick the bubble with a very thin blade or needle to allow the air to escape.

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5.2. Dry-Transfers

//TODO: rubbed on with your finger nail. Highly advised to use masking tape to lock them in place.

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5.3. Wet-Transfer (Waterslides)

//TODO: I have no clue I really need to look into them myself LOL

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5.4. Protecting them permanently
Thanks to Maethius for providing input on this topic

Once you've applied your decals in a perfect way (trimmed, correct position, no air bubbles beneath, pressed into any panel lines or depressions), you want to have them stay permanently in place. If you don't, they might start to peel over time (stickers), rub off on friction (dry-transfers and waterslides), or plainly fall off after drying (waterslides).

While I personally haven't used decals yet, I've come across a lot of Gunpla modelers that suggest the following workflow:

Fully painted kit -> gloss clear coat -> apply decals -> finish with clear coat of your choice (gloss/satin/matte)

The first gloss coat has the purpose of providing a smooth surface for the decal to adhere to. You can skip it, but that's up to you.

Do keep in mind that if you want to use paints that don't like topcoats (e.g. pure metal colors or chrome paint/powder), you want to apply them either AFTER topcoating the decals, or masking/excluding these parts.
I think it should be possible to apply decals on top of chrome in some way, though don't know the best way to do it yet.

Instead of using two layers of clear coats, you can also try decal setting solution and apply the stickers directly onto the finished model. However, I have yet to research for which types of decals this works; and if it does require a top coat after all, or not.

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6. The "Use-Wisely"s and "Do-Not-Use-Ever"s

If none of the above approaches have helped so far, there are some last resorts other than sanding. However, and I emphasize, these are meant as a last resort and I try to avoid them like the black plague. Honestly you should never even reach this point.

Chemicals with a ⚠️ are to be used at your own responsibility and only as instructed.
The ones with ⛔ you should never ever even touch and I will literally come to your house and revoke your Zoids ownership license if you do.

⚠️ Nail polish remover:
Even the acetone-free one will eat your plastic. Useful for stripping the clear color coat off of chrome though!
No soaking!

⚠️ Turpentine:
Useful to remove enamel paints. Wipe/rub the paint off with a cotton pad or swab. If soaked, it will soften the plastic to the point you can bend it.
No soaking!

⚠️ Naphtha/benzine/petroleum ether:
Has many names, smells like gasoline, do not inhale and preferably use outside; the odors cause at the very least a headache. Melts plastic, I only advise using this if you really don't have any other options. Best to use a cotton swab and rub the paint - but you'll have to rub a lot and too much will rub the plastic right off along with it. 
Can be used to remove sticker residue, though be careful! I prefer turpentine substitute for that.
No soaking!

⛔ Cellular thinner:
Eats plastic for breakfast. I'm serious. Hands off unless you want to literally melt down your parts. I had a runner piece in it for a literal second and it melted like butter between my fingers afterwards. Not as if the smell wasn't any warning...

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7. How to Maintain Your Zoid

So you successfully stripped your Zoid and want to keep it that way; or just repainted it, or just built a new one - in each of these cases you will most likely want to preserve it in its currently prime and perfect state for as long as possible. Fortunately, Zoids are low-maintenance pets - there are just a few things you should keep in mind.

- No direct or strong UV exposure
Matter of fact, plastic is not exactly best friends with UV light. As pretty as Zoids look when basked in sunlight, they will develop an unsightly tan or loss of color over a prolonged period of time. You want to avoid direct sunlight, and keep them in a part of the room that is barely to ever hit by it. If you wish to have them glisten in the light nevertheless, I strongly recommend placing them behind UV blocking glass. Normal glass does block UV radiation at least to a certain extent as well buuuuut if you've ever placed anything behind a window for a while you know that that's negligible. (Glass cabinets are so convenient - they keep your Zoids UV-, dust- and pet-protected while looking super nice~)

- Look after your rubber parts
Rubber belts and parts are infamous for dry-rotting. Give them a good rub with Armor All every once in a while so that they won't dry out and crack. Of course sunlight, a dry and warm environment will speed up the degradation. E.g. König Wolfs or the belts on HMMs are very prone to this.
Rubber joints on HMMs tend to do the opposite and get loose over time. Loose joints and hinges can be easily fixed by giving the ball joint or peg a coat or two with clear nail polish.

- Don't leave the batteries in
A no-brainer, really. Though many used Zoids have battery corrosion or leakage due to poor care and negligence. Fortunately the latter can be easily dissolved with a q-tip soaked with vinegar or lemon juice - as long as it's acidic in order dissolve the alkaline battery leakage. I already taught my Shieldy to walk again by using this trick~
⚠️ Battery leakage is toxic, try to minimize skin contact and do not ingest!

7.1. Reinforcing loose joints

Joints sag over time. Especially the more taxing the pose is, and the longer it stays in it. Fortunately, this is very easy to fix!

Loose joints are the result of the force and friction exerted on the plastic, which causes the socket to slowly but surely give in to the male part of the joint (e.g. the ball or peg). Therefore you want to reinforce it - which is, in other words, simply making the parts thick enough to create a sufficient amount of friction again. There's honestly a million products you can use for this, so I'll list some of the most common ones. You can apply them either to only the ball/peg/etc., or to both parts, depending on how loose the joint is.

- clear nail polish (or colored if you prefer) or any other gloss clear coat
- floor polish (e.g. Pledge Floor Care Finish)
    Quote by siningy: "pledge is the go to for tightening joints for most people as there's no chance of it damaging plastic and it can be dripped into hard to reach areas."
- duct/electric/clear/masking tape
- acrylic medium
- Mod Podge
    Quote by Hanyoutai: "This basically acts like a glorified elmers glue but has a clingier finish. I used this for a defective HMM Liger Zero I received, where the back boosters couldn't connect. The pegs were of such a disparity in width from the holes that they simply did not make contact. At all. I applied a few very generous coats of modpodge and it fit exactly like it should. [...] Usually my go to for loose joints is also clear nail polish because I like the rubbery finish compared to other products, but I do find that it dries out and breaks down faster over time. Especially compared to modpodge, which is a bit thicker so I don't tend to use it for tighter fits like HMM Zoids."

If the socket is made of a rubbery material like the PC parts on HMMs, they are more prone to become loose due to their soft nature, and the environment can even accelerate the process. You might also not want to use a paint that dries into a hard coat for these - Pledge is highly recommended here.

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[dchan]

This is great Mai! I've seen a couple examples of people de-yellowing aged plastic and never really understood it until reading your explanation.

I have a couple of badly painted models from when I was younger and haven't known what to do with them. I'm pretty sure it was acrylic or enamel though, so luckily it seems like removing it would be quite straightforward. Thanks for putting all this info together.

[Maiasa Liger]

dchan oh man hearing that it helped you understand makes me super happy ;u; Good luck stripping your painted parts! I'd recommend taking a small part and soaking that in isopropanol for an hour to see if it works~

[Maethius]

Excellent info, Maiasa!

[Snowflake]

how do people get away with using primer and topcoats when even a single layer of paint is enough to muck up joints by making them thicker than they used to be?

[Maiasa Liger]

Thanks Maethius ! Took me a sweet while to compile it all :'>

And well Snowflake I'd suspect either masking the joints, or scratching the paint off of them later. Or just using spray paints that make super thin coats/airbrushing I guess?

[Maethius]

Oct 2, 2018 13:53:17 GMT -5 Snowflake said:

how do people get away with using primer and topcoats when even a single layer of paint is enough to muck up joints by making them thicker than they used to be?

I usually mask the joints on my builds. However, since adding paint also adds weight, I so sometimes paint in the joints purposefully to keep them snug after all of that weight as been added.

[Snowflake]

Hmmmm never thought of that. Good advice, thanks!

[Maiasa Liger]

17/OCT/2018 - updated with advice for applying decals and how to reinforce loose joints

[Hanyoutai]

Thanks for the new additions!

For tightening insane joints I'd also like to recommend Mod Podge. This basically acts like a glorified elmers glue but has a clingier finish. I used this for a defective HMM Liger Zero I received, where the back boosters couldn't connect. The pegs were of such a disparity in width from the holes that they simply did not make contact. At all. I applied a few very generous coats of modpodge and it fit exactly like it should. This isn't the first Zoid I've received to have this problem. Had it on some motorized ones, too.

Usually my go to for loose joints is also clear nail polish because I like the rubbery finish compared to other products, but I do find that it dries out and breaks down faster over time. Especially compared to modpodge, which is a bit thicker so I don't tend to use it for tighter fits like HMM Zoids.

[dchan]

Whoa, thanks for adding to such an already comprehensive resource Any tips on painting rubber Tomy caps? I was thinking of acrylic gel medium, as I know one of the properties is that it makes acrylic paint more elastic when cured. But maybe there's not really a good way to paint that sort of material.

[Maiasa Liger]

Thanks Hanyoutai , added your suggestion! :D

Oct 18, 2018 1:05:13 GMT -5 dchan said:

Whoa, thanks for adding to such an already comprehensive resource :) Any tips on painting rubber Tomy caps? I was thinking of acrylic gel medium, as I know one of the properties is that it makes acrylic paint more elastic when cured. But maybe there's not really a good way to paint that sort of material.

Honestly? I've found that everything works for rubber caps kinda :'D as long as you're nice to them and wash them beforehand (duh). I haven't had paint flaking off of them yet - ON THE OTHER HAND, if we're talking about rubber parts like Liger Zero X fins or Hayate Liger blades... for these the best thing I've found are Rub n Buff metallics. They can be drybrushed on, and since they are waxes, they adhere very well to the rubber and even take a bit of bending one way or the other~ They are also great for Bio Zoids armor!
I haven't used acrylic gel medium yet, sorry. I tend to avoid any hand painting with glossy finish (slash enamels slash gloss acrylic slash lacquers slash :'D).

[dchan]

Oct 20, 2018 4:43:45 GMT -5 Maiasa Liger said:

Honestly? I've found that everything works for rubber caps kinda :'D as long as you're nice to them and wash them beforehand (duh). I haven't had paint flaking off of them yet - ON THE OTHER HAND, if we're talking about rubber parts like Liger Zero X fins or Hayate Liger blades... for these the best thing I've found are Rub n Buff metallics. They can be drybrushed on, and since they are waxes, they adhere very well to the rubber and even take a bit of bending one way or the other~ They are also great for Bio Zoids armor!
I haven't used acrylic gel medium yet, sorry. I tend to avoid any hand painting with glossy finish (slash enamels slash gloss acrylic slash lacquers slash :'D).

Huh, weird. I didn't realize how much the caps bulge and deform when placing them onto the pegs, but the ones I've had to handle a lot while painting tended to flake a bit. On the other hand the ones where I just put them on and let them be seem to be fine, like the bottom one in this photo:



Good tip with the Rub n Buff metallics though! Haven't had a need to try it yet but will keep it in mind.

[Maiasa Liger]

Oct 20, 2018 12:08:41 GMT -5 dchan said:

Huh, weird. I didn't realize how much the caps bulge and deform when placing them onto the pegs, but the ones I've had to handle a lot while painting tended to flake a bit. On the other hand the ones where I just put them on and let them be seem to be fine, like the bottom one in this photo: (img) Good tip with the Rub n Buff metallics though! Haven't had a need to try it yet but will keep it in mind.

Honestly I don't really know ;v; I'd guess that paints drying into a hard shell like enamels are more prone to cracking, but it should be a no-brainer to not squeeze painted caps and stuff like that. But yea I can only highly recommend the RnB stuff, it's amazing and the golds are more metal-like than any other paints I know~

[kyuofcosmic]

Wandered over here to double check on hazed clear plastic cleaning and realised I’m gonna have to do a write up on waterslide decals at some point