Sealer?

[thetang22]

Ive been a miniature painter for about 15-16 years, but now I'm wanting to try my hand at some minifig painting customization. I've done some very light research so far, and it seems it's basically all the same processes I'm already familiar with from my miniature painting experiences.

The one variable that stumps me is the choice of sealer. I've always been familiar with the 3 primary types: Gloss, Matte, and Satin. In miniature painting, it was almost exclusively matte, if done for display purposes...but gloss was sometimes used for heavy play, due to the increased protection. Satin was rarely used by anyone.

The uncertainty for me comes from the fact Legos have a very peculiar sort of finish to them. It's not quite gloss or matte...but maybe more like a satin finish. I'm just not sure, personally. Is it something funky like layering of different types of sealer (matte over gloss)? I was hoping anyone who's had good results matching their sealer choice to lego could chime in.

Thanks for any help.

edit: I guess I should be a little more specific. Some parts of a minifig look like they've got different finishes. Some pieces look glossier while others look more matte. Heads for instance are pretty glossy looking most of the time, whereas I see some arms and hats in my collection that are pretty matte by comparison (and I'm talking about new minifigs too...not just ones that would have been scuffed from years of handling).

Edited February 7, 2015 by thetang22

[Wardancer]

A difficult question. Using enamel paint, I rarely felt the need to use any sealer at all. However, once I used a very matte paint that needed sealing. I Mixed glossy and matte to get some satinlike coat. I figure thats closets to regular bricks. Too shiny looks strange, also it makes talking pictures more difficult.

One might also argue that the use of capes brings a very matte material into a fig anyway, so that a matte seal would be a smaller deviation from that than a high glossy one.

Also cutting and sanding lego surfaces changes their finish. There might be cases where applying a seal could repair a surface that has been sanded or scratched in a customization process.

[thetang22]

I've never used enamels. With mini painting, it's almost exclusively done via acrylics, so that's what all my experience is with.

I was sort of wondering the idea of mixing varnish in with my paint, and wondering how that would work out. I've never done that with minis before because it was always implied that you would seal them. However, in this case I'm 1/2 tempted to not seal (and chance giving a strange finish). I was wondering if the varnish mixed with the paint would still be sufficient. I know it's possible to do, but would it end up being too thick? You could always mix thinner in with it...but at what point would it defeat the purpose?

I imagine I've got some trial and error ahead of me... At the same time, I may just attempt a Satin finish...like you were suggesting. That's kinda what I was thinking might be the best bet.

Thanks for commenting, Wardancer.

[Wardancer]

It also depends on what kind of customization you'll do. "Extenders" like me (just made up that expression) extend the possibilities given by LEGO only a bit. The result still looks very much like lego, but like lego that does not exist officially. In this case you only have a limited amount of paint on a fig and sealing becomes a minor issue.

Others modify figs almost completely. Methods like drybrushing, a lot of painting and others sometimes make the result look like a Warhammer fig. This is totally legit and often requires a lot of skill. In this case you will have figs with a big percentage of the surface painted and that might need sealing.

Anyway, it's a lot of trial and error. I am excited to see what someone with a lot of experience like you will make.

[thetang22]

It also depends on what kind of customization you'll do.

This is something I'm debating a bit right now. I'm still at the brainstorming stages of all this, so I'm not quite sure yet. I know anything I do paint, I will want to do so with the intention of using it as gaming pieces...so they will likely see a lot of handling.

I have enough painting experience that I should be able to do full-fledged painting conversions, full of shading, highlights, and the such. However, I've seen some examples of those...and while they look cool...they tend to look less and less like Legos the more extravagent the painting gets. Legos rarely have any sort of color gradients on their models....it's much more frequently crisp, clean lines and blocks of color.

I'm thinking I'd probably rather do painting that looks more Lego-authentic...but I'd probably be interested in doing at least 1 model with full painting detail, just to see how it would turn out.