Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Please use this thread for posting tips and tricks for repainting or painting Transformers toys in general. Anything you think might be helpful for others can go in here.
Or ask for tips and tricks on what you want to create if it hasn't been posted in this thread.

Got tips or tricks for kitbashing Transformers?
then post them here anything you think might be helpful can go in here or request for a tip if you're stuck on a project!

i think its more of a tip :
movie megatron hands and fingers
i found that ROTF wheelie fingers work well for his hands
ROTF scalpel legs
and the fingers that are on the figure already ,just move em around.
and a little tip for ROTF prime fix, the little pegs that go into his chest get stress marks very easily and will break just as easily, so i found a fix that will do the trick.
drill holes in to where the pegs go towards the top of the little compartment
here are some pics, and please forgive any unclearness.

One thing I have found that helps alot is washing the figure before you start painting .. Getting dust and joint lubrication off a figure can be a huge help when doing a full paint job..

LiKwid wrote:One thing I have found that helps alot is washing the figure before you start painting .. Getting dust and joint lubrication off a figure can be a huge help when doing a full paint job..

i heard that rubbing alcohol works well with this and for a paint remover.

Doubledealer25 wrote:

LiKwid wrote:One thing I have found that helps alot is washing the figure before you start painting .. Getting dust and joint lubrication off a figure can be a huge help when doing a full paint job..

i heard that rubbing alcohol works well with this and for a paint remover.

all you really need is soap and water for an initial wash.

alcohol can strip a factory paint job for you

castrol super clean can strip a botched repaint(i'm looking @ you ravage!)

I imagine you could use brake fluid for this also, but i'd be afraid it would warp the plastic...

Yeah, brake fluid would be going overboard. I've never needed anything stronger than enamel paint thinner and a little elbow grease to get off paint and old stickers.

Mind you, thinner didn't help on the vinyl parts of my 2007 toys (Lil' Scorpy is still sticky almost a year later!), but I'll figure out something...

what works for removing acrylic paint?

Doubledealer25 wrote:what works for removing acrylic paint?

are you wanting to strip the entire figure or just parts of it?

as described above: if you soak(overnight) the figure in castrol superclean you can then scrub off the offending paint-job with a toothbrush.

90% and 70% isopropyl alcohol and q-tips can strip a factory paint job so i would imagine it could take off the acryl as well. I'd certainly recommend trying it in an inconspicuous area first.

well when i went to a hobby lobby store it had acrylic paint remover. will it harm the plastic?

If it's for plastic models, it should be fine.

A cheaper alternative may be OxyClean. Works best on Tamiya paints, but if you've got some, try it!

sorry no oxyclean! but i will keep using the stuff i have now, thanks!

Hi. Sorry that I haven't been logged on here for over a year. Anyway, silly question: Does anybody use Reeves Acrylic Paints? I purchased a set of 12 some time ago and am in the middle of a second repaint. Furthermore, what brand of paints do some of you use for ya repaints?

Just looking for some feedback

JHand wrote:Hi. Sorry that I haven't been logged on here for over a year. Anyway, silly question: Does anybody use Reeves Acrylic Paints? I purchased a set of 12 some time ago and am in the middle of a second repaint. Furthermore, what brand of paints do some of you use for ya repaints?

Just looking for some feedback

I personally have been messing around with Tamiya acrylics. I havn't had any issue with them, and they clean up unbelievably easy.

I've heard great things about the Mr Color line from Gunze Sangyo. Unfortunately, my local hobby shops do not keep stock of them. When i inquired with one of the owners, they said that they are hard to keep in stock because Gunze only ships to the United States "once or twice". I'm not sure if he meant once or twice a year, once or twice a month, once or twice ever six months etc.

I'd be interested in trying some enamels but i haven't a clue how to go about cleaning them up. If anybody would like to shed some light on that for me it would be much appreciated.

Gutter Bunny wrote:

JHand wrote:Hi. Sorry that I haven't been logged on here for over a year. Anyway, silly question: Does anybody use Reeves Acrylic Paints? I purchased a set of 12 some time ago and am in the middle of a second repaint. Furthermore, what brand of paints do some of you use for ya repaints?

Just looking for some feedback

I personally have been messing around with Tamiya acrylics. I havn't had any issue with them, and they clean up unbelievably easy.

I've heard great things about the Mr Color line from Gunze Sangyo. Unfortunately, my local hobby shops do not keep stock of them. When i inquired with one of the owners, they said that they are hard to keep in stock because Gunze only ships to the United States "once or twice". I'm not sure if he meant once or twice a year, once or twice a month, once or twice ever six months etc.

I'd be interested in trying some enamels but i haven't a clue how to go about cleaning them up. If anybody would like to shed some light on that for me it would be much appreciated.

Thanks again for your response. I've heard of Tamiya paints, but have not really looked into them. I hear a lot about Testors or Citadel (from Games Workshop).

Gutter Bunny wrote:

JHand wrote:Hi. Sorry that I haven't been logged on here for over a year. Anyway, silly question: Does anybody use Reeves Acrylic Paints? I purchased a set of 12 some time ago and am in the middle of a second repaint. Furthermore, what brand of paints do some of you use for ya repaints?

Just looking for some feedback

I personally have been messing around with Tamiya acrylics. I havn't had any issue with them, and they clean up unbelievably easy.

I've heard great things about the Mr Color line from Gunze Sangyo. Unfortunately, my local hobby shops do not keep stock of them. When i inquired with one of the owners, they said that they are hard to keep in stock because Gunze only ships to the United States "once or twice". I'm not sure if he meant once or twice a year, once or twice a month, once or twice ever six months etc.

I'd be interested in trying some enamels but i haven't a clue how to go about cleaning them up. If anybody would like to shed some light on that for me it would be much appreciated.

Gunze stopped shipping to the US early last year, saying it wasn't profitable anymore. Supposedly they restarted recently, but they're still hard to find in brick-and-mortar stores. There's a few online stores that carry it.
Personally, I've only ever used Testors on my models and 'Formers. Testors has their own thinner/brush cleaner for enamel. Enamels are a little trickier to use, you need to have plenty of ventilation when you're using them (otherwise... ), but I like the coverage better. Metallic colors especially look more realistic.

JHand wrote:Hi. Sorry that I haven't been logged on here for over a year. Anyway, silly question: Does anybody use Reeves Acrylic Paints? I purchased a set of 12 some time ago and am in the middle of a second repaint. Furthermore, what brand of paints do some of you use for ya repaints?

Just looking for some feedback

I've been using Reeves for a while and I like them. I like that they come thick as toothpaste so you can adjust them to suite your needs.

I've always used Testors and Games Workshop acrylics. Most of the time I'll use Krylon Fusion and Krylon Primer. I know some people swear by Tamira paints, but all I use of theirs are the clear coats.

After everything has been painted I use a Matte or Gloss varnish depending on whatever the alt mode is. Finally, I leave panel lining as the last step. Having some kind of varnish seems to make the panel lining easier.

GRRRRRR! OK, I need some advice from you more experienced TF/toy customisers: I've been repainting a couple of figs (ROTF Swerve into Windcharger and Road Rage, ROTF Gears into Crosscut, plus a little detail work on TFA Bandit Lockdown and a pseudo Onyx Primal redeco on regular Battymus Primal) and when I applied the sealant to keep the paint from coming off (especially bad on 'charger's shoulders after a couple of transformations), it started washing the paint off! And not just the paint I'd applied, the paint HASBRO applied, too...poor Crosscut's Autobot symbol melted before my eyes! My ex, an old vet at lead miniatures, thinks I sprayed too much on, but I also want to canvas some other minds as to what I may have done wrong and, more importantly, what you do/use when you're finishing up a paint job.

Also, on another minor note, I'm having problems getting paint to stick to Robot Heroes Arcee's head; the texture is tacky and comes off on my fingers, as well as mixes together horribly. Any tips?

when I applied the sealant to keep the paint from coming off (especially bad on 'charger's shoulders after a couple of transformations), it started washing the paint off! And not just the paint I'd applied, the paint HASBRO applied, too.

Huh. I've had that happen before by applying bottle lacquer over not quite dry paint, but I've never has a problem with rattle-can stuff. Sounds like the solvent is too strong; what are you using?

Also, on another minor note, I'm having problems getting paint to stick to Robot Heroes Arcee's head; the texture is tacky and comes off on my fingers, as well as mixes together horribly. Any tips?

Wash it with warm water and dish detergent, then apply a two thin coats of acrylic paint as a primer.

Quick (maybe easy) question:

What's so great about gunmetal?

Many of the repaint/custom masters use gunmetal (enamel or acrylic), especially as a layer in metal-effect drybrushing. But it doesn't seem like it would fit in with a gradient scheme, as other colors used don't have that BLUE that gunmetal does (eg, silver, flat black, dark and light grays, etc). So what does it bring to the table?

Thanks!

MutantDinosaur

First off, an update on my previous question: it turns out I was using the wrong type of sealant, so once I switched to the proper type, I've had no more problems with melting Autobrands.

On a related note, however, I apparently got too strong of a paint remover and accidentally melted poor Cybertron Smokescreen's roof off, so, just in general, are there any simpler ways of removing unwanted paint, as well as a way of keeping paint from getting smeared and finger-printed in the first place?

Also, does anyone have any advice or tips on how to keep the original colors from showing through the paint? Case in point, I'm attempting to repaint TFA Activators Soundwave into Rumble, but all multiple coats do is make him look like he's got make-up caked on. It admittedly might just be a problem with the red paint I'm using, since the same thing happened with TFA Oil Slick's "tattoo," but any tips for a novice will be appreciated.

Can anyone point me in the direction of some good tutorials for repainting? there is a lot of warhammer stuff online which is probably pretty relevant, but since transformers move around a bit there may be some specifics.

I have a simple airbrush I plan to use for larger sections and such, and I will be looking into decent smaller brushes for detailing.

The hobby shop guys I talked to recommended acrylic water based paintss and a Top loaded dual action air brush. Maybe the air brush is overkill, but I got it as a gift so I want to learn to use it.

My first project will be repainting ROTF superion into G1 colors and painting the Fans Project kit a bit as well.

Notable questions:
- How to prep the figures (with or without existing paint) Strip it all down? remove the paint apps with alcohol? Base coat over everything? no base coat, just paint?
- How to mask off ears I don't want touched, or for hard line edges? Painters tape? rubber cement?
- Should I be dis-assembling the transformers and painting the individual pieces on their own? Should I bother putting paint on ball joints?
- Clear coat everything?

Obviously I am totally in the dark, and need some good information to point me in the right direction.

thanks

IceWilly wrote:Can anyone point me in the direction of some good tutorials for repainting? there is a lot of warhammer stuff online which is probably pretty relevant, but since transformers move around a bit there may be some specifics.

I have a simple airbrush I plan to use for larger sections and such, and I will be looking into decent smaller brushes for detailing.

The hobby shop guys I talked to recommended acrylic water based paintss and a Top loaded dual action air brush. Maybe the air brush is overkill, but I got it as a gift so I want to learn to use it.

My first project will be repainting ROTF superion into G1 colors and painting the Fans Project kit a bit as well.

Notable questions:
- How to prep the figures (with or without existing paint) Strip it all down? remove the paint apps with alcohol? Base coat over everything? no base coat, just paint?
- How to mask off ears I don't want touched, or for hard line edges? Painters tape? rubber cement?
- Should I be dis-assembling the transformers and painting the individual pieces on their own? Should I bother putting paint on ball joints?
- Clear coat everything?

Obviously I am totally in the dark, and need some good information to point me in the right direction.

thanks

Here's how I do it:
Gather up some small empty bottles (paint, pills, whatever). Take the torso apart (GO SLOW if there are any gimmicks containing springs, as they may launch themselves across the room), note which screw came from which hole, and put the parts you're not gonna paint into a bottle, then label it. Pins can be removed by tapping them out with a hammer and nail. You may want to use multiple bottles if there's a lot of screws. Alternately get a roll of double-sided tape and mark each screw individually. Either way make sure you remember what goes where. Trust me: mixing up or losing screws and other hardware is a major pain in the ass. Set the limbs aside for later.
You can strip the factory paint off the plastic parts with rubbing alcohol or paint thinner, then wash the parts in warm water and dish detergent, and let them air dry.
Okay, here's where things get tricky. Remember most parts on a TF are moving parts, and you will have issues if you put paint on too thick. Be very careful when painting, or, if you feel comfortable enough: Note any areas where parts will rotate or slide past each other while posing or transforming, and with a nail file or fine grit sandpaper very gently sand them down. You want to remove only about the thickness of two pieces of paper. This way once you paint and seal the parts, you should be back to the original dimensions, and you shouldn't have to worry about binding or paint-wear.
From here you can paint, detail and wash as you see fit. Go slow, and give the paint time to dry between colors; I can get away with as little as a half hour, depending on whether it's acrylic or enamel paint. Don't bother painting the balls or inside of the socket, the paint will just rub off, and worst case you may change the shape, causing the joint to become stiff. Once you're done painting, give it a day or two to dry completely, then seal the parts. I prefer Testors Dullcote in the rattle-can for robot part and non-car alt-modes (Carformers get Glosscote, natch), but use whatever you like. Set the torso aside and start on the limbs. Once you finish painting one limb, reassemble it, then move on to the next). Once everything is done, reassemble the figure, and transform and/or move all the limbs just to make sure everything works.

For your specific questions:

I've found that enamel or acrylic, most hobby paints cover well enough you don't need primer unless A) you're painting white something that was originally dark or B) the part is PVC (2007 Screamer's "fingers", Barricade's head, etc.).

You can use anything from post-it notes to tape (Scotch Pop-up Tape is a godsend!) to pin-stripe tape to silly putty to funtak to mask off parts, depending on what you're doing, or what effect you want.

Osprey publishing has a great book on airbrushing, as does Kalmbach.

I'm working on my first repaint. Coverting a Universe Sunstreaker to Wheeljack using the Master Collectables upgrade set. I'm basically done painting and I'm pretty happy with my results. I still have all the parts unassembled and curing. My concern is the paint rubbing and chipping off especially at the interlocking tabs for the body panels. What do you guys do to prevent this?