I need to tap into the collective wisdom of the board members here. I’m trying to find a really good sealant to use to prevent wear and chipping on parts like thighs and knees. Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks!

From what I've learned from experimentation and others on the board, the best way to prevent chipping is to sand the joints a bit. I use Aleene's Clear Matte sealer that you can find at WM. It's been good to me so far, but the only sealer I've used.

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I've always liked Plaid Matte Sealer (comes in a black and blue-labeled can), which you can find at pretty much any craft store, as well as Wal-mart. It's a spray-on sealer and a couple of coats will usually do a very good job of stopping paint chipping/rubbing. Lately I've had trouble finding it, though, so I've switched to Americana brand, though I've yet to test it--so I can't recommend it yet.

Another favorite is DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer. This comes in 2 oz. (or larger) bottles and you can use it straight (for a glossy look) or mix it into your paint (for a satin look). For joints, I recommend mixing it into the paint; first sand the joint to rough it up just a bit, then lay on 2-3 thin coats of the sealer/paint mix. I've had remarkable results with it over the years and highly recommend it. Again, you should be able to find it in most any craft store, and it's cheap (less than $2 a bottle for 2 oz.) and lasts a very long time.

Those are the two I recommend most at the moment, as I'm still testing the Americana and Model Masters Acryl Flat (results with the latter are pretty good so far, though.)

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Plaid has never ever worked for me. Goes on sticky and stays sticky. Mind you in Canada it comes in a green can, and my be a different formulation.

- R

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A few months back somebody else mentioned this happening to them, which was around the same time it suddenly became scarce hereabouts and has me wondering if they changed the formula, then abandoned it (since Plaid also makes Folk Art and Apple Barrel, and both paint lines have had their color selections drastically slashed). The only time I've had it stay sticky is when I used it over gloss paint (even acrylic)--then no matter how many coats I applied, it stayed tacky.

Reminds me of Krylon Matte--excellent stuff, you got a TRUE flat finish from it, then they did something to the formulation and it would never quite dry (I've got a figure who's over 3 years old now that's STILL sticky from it!) Still ticks me off because that was some great stuff.

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After a few issues with sealant messing up my hard work I abandoned it completely. Using Grand Slam's guide I learned that sanding the joints and trimming a couple with an xacto worked better for me. I used a sealant from the Art's and Crafts section at Walmart, its for sealing drawings (especially charcoal) and it worked pretty good.



Do we still have access to his guide?

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First off, the best advice I can give is to start with a decent paint. I used Apple Barrel and other craft paints for years and never found a sealant that could stop joint-rub. Then I switched to Tamiya and Reaper paints, which are more expensive, but hold up a ton better (and look better, too. Check my V.Max custom in the critiques form, he's painted almost entirely with Tamiya paints). As far as the sealant, I actually don't use the spray on sealants anymore. I have found I have better luck with the brush on Mod Podge (or something of that nature). It takes a bit more time, of course, but it's worth it. You can get it just about anywhere that sells craft supplies (even Walmart), it comes in what looks like a glue jar.

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I mentioned it before, super glue! I make a paint brush out of a tissue and paint super glue just on the areas the joints will meet up. I coat the area with whatever clear coat I have. I lightly sand the joint only with fine grit sand paper. I generally have good results as long as I don't get it too thick.

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I've only tried this once on a joint, but I have to agree, it works pretty well (used it on an RAH style elbow joint). Catch was I used the brush-on superglue, and must have left the brush out too long because it got all gummed up. The custom, though, worked out great.

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I like using Testor's Dullcote(tm) myself. I have never really had any problems with customs standing up to regular handling with it

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after talking with carnage, I started using primer on everything and somehow thats helped,

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Wow, thanks for the advice guys. Didn't think I'd get this many responses.

Like Spectre..I am firm beleiver in Testors Dull Cote. I love that stuff. I use it for ALL my customs.

Kama

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I use Plaid Matte Sealer (comes in a black and blue-labeled can). I've never had any problems. But I do 98% old ARAH not the new sculpt stuff.
Doc, I finally found the stuff again recently but haven't used my new can yet to verify if it's the same stuff or not as the old/normal kind.

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I noticed Michael's had it in again, but I still have that full can of Americana so I didn't buy any. Not that I've had a chance to test that, either.

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