question for exp. gw painters...

[beej]

my question is in regards to the glossiness of gw paints...

no matter what technique i use to thin my paints the mini always seems to have a slight glossy appearance to it.

i\'ve noticed that some of the most experienced gw painters (i.e. bobby wong, matt verzani) use gw paints, but achieve a matte look...how is this accomplished?

is it something simple like just using a matte sealer? Is there some other way that im overlooking? Or is it just the way it is?

Thanx....

beej

 

[Flashman14]

Nearly every good painter I know uses a Matte sealer of some kind. I just bought a can of Testor\'s Dull Cote - and from all accounts it\'s superior. Havent tried it yet though.

Actually a good recipe from pros who sell miniatures is to apply first one coat of Gloss followed by two seperate coats of Matte after. That\'s to give you a good and handleable mini. For display you could probably get away with just one of Matte or Dull (the terms are interchangeable).

 

[aku_djinn]

Matte Finish

Testor\'s is the best matte finish I have been using a long time, but it is not enough to protect a mini from wear and tear, you need to give it a coat of GW sealant or Armory, what have you, first--then a coat of testor\'s. It will affect the quality of the finish b/c the sealants don\'t go on thinly. But it defines a gaming piece vs. a display piece. Just so you know before you go blasting your best minis with a thick coat of sealant...

I\'ve had the same problem with the gloss effect after using Future floor wax as a thinner to the GW paints in those horrible new jars... haven\'t resolved it myself either satisfactorily.

 

[DD]

matte paint

Hi. This is my first message on this site. I have no experience in fantasy figures but in historical models.
How to obtain figures that are not glossy, if you use oil paint it is said that you must make a mix of different colours and do not use a basic one alone (red, blue, yellow...) (e.g. for a red coat you will have to mix red, yellow and brown). Moreover, what you can do is placing your figure under a lamp to dry it.
Hope that will help.

 

[Badaab]

I\'ve found that certain colors tend to have a glossier finish than others, especially reds, oranges, and browns. I tend to water these colors down more than normal when applying them, and the glossy effect will disappear after the paint has completely cured.
Since I generally don\'t seal my own models, I can\'t comment on the dullcoat, but I\'ve heard its pretty decent.

 

[Jericho]

I\'ve always liked a good semi-gloss varnish myself, but there hasn\'t been a very good one that I\'ve found. The Purity Seal GW sells is pretty close I think. As long as you don\'t hose the model in it, the shine isn\'t that strong, but it adds a bit of richness to the colors whereas matte varnishes can make them a lot flatter. Plus, the shine does fade considerably as time goes on... after a couple years it looks just like the mini before being varnished (I know because Purity Seal is the same as the old school matte varnish GW sold like 5-6 years ago).

The little bit of gloss allows for light to play on the surface a bit more to make more shades and hilights, but does it with enough subtlety to prevent the freshly waxed convertible look

So yeah, personally I like a little bit of shine and Purity Seal used carefully is fine for that.

 

[Badaab]

Hey, there\'s nothing wrong with that \"Waxed car look\" if that\'s the effect you\'re going for.
My model car collection would look pretty silly in matte finish, or even semi-gloss for the paint. And, running with that thought a little, a Tiger tank would look pretty silly in semi-gloss... so flat is the answer there. I think that finish is should be reserved for a model-by-model judgement, but that\'s just me.

Joe

 

[Flashman14]

ya - badaab - obviously! On a single miniature, I go back typically, and though a figure has been matted, gloss the areas that need to be shiny - jewels again, weapon hilts, buttons, metal things in general, etc etc.

Hey! congrats on membership!

 

[dresch]

Flat finish on Tanks

Originally posted by Badaab
.. a Tiger tank would look pretty silly in semi-gloss... so flat is the answer there.
Joe

Actually, while tanks and such are initially painted in a flat finish, after a little use in the field they take on a semi-gloss finish. Therefore, a matte finish is more appropriate; a completely flat finish on a model tank looks lifeless and unrealistic. I have actual field experience with WWII german armor, and while it wasn\'t a Tiger, it did include 251D halftracks, a Hetzer, and a StugIII.

If you want, check out the Imperial Guard vehicles I painted in a tri-color camo scheme, one of which one Bronze at the Chicago Golden Demons this year. They all have a matte finish.
http://members.aol.com/drdresch/gal40kig.htm

Regards,
David D.
Online Miniature Painting and Modeling Guide
http://members.aol.com/drdresch

 

[Badaab]

Well, thanks, Flashman... I noticed the 100 posts drawing near so I sort of pushed it, to get \"Membership\"... lol

Point taken, dresch, but I think you and I might have different interpretations of matte and semi-gloss... I don\'t interchange the terms, although I know a lot of people do. Its just my background in photography speaking, and semi-gloss paper has a different finish when compared to matte, or flat, or pearl, or gloss, or... well you get the idea.

Also, nice tanks... congrats on the Demon.

Joe

 

[Zilo]

matte look

I had the glossy look problem before, but that was before I started to use incredibly thinned paint. I dont use ANY inks on my figures either and it makes it alot tougher to make the figure look like it has a good contrast (I love contrast). But I feel its worth it when my figure has that \'all paint , no ink\' consistency.

Basicaly, try thin your paints down . More water = less pigment which = a matte look. Ever seen a drop of water dry completely ? It will give you an idea as to what water does when you add it to paint.

 

[Sturmhalo]

No need to worry about the finish that different paints have (glossy, semi, matte)! One coat of matte varnish and everything has a uniform finish! If you want semi or gloss areas just pick them out with a suitable type of varnish.

Easy peasy

 

[Seth Gecko]

I have had the same problem of glossiness from GW paints for many years. I have found a solution from Tamiya, they make a pot in their paint range called \'Flat base\'. I mix a little bit of this with the colour I\'m using, and it always comes out flat or matt.