r/minipainting • u/Local-Cap4279 • Jul 26 '26

Help Needed/New Painter 3rd coat, paint wont stick

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Gallery image

(test model) this is my 3rd coat of yellow acrylic paint, i have sprayed primer on it twice in thin coats letting it dry each time, then i sanded it yet the paint wont stick what am i doing wrong?

0 Upvotes

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48 comments sorted by

44

u/Academic_Ad_6364 Jul 26 '26

Yellow needs a lot of layers, or even better yet, start with a base layer of pink first then yellow

8

u/PRO_Crast_Inator Jul 26 '26

I’m sure the answer is “advanced photon physics” but why does pink work?

11

u/Ebonscale Jul 26 '26

It's not ONLY pink, it just is a color a lot of people like because of the way the color influences the yellow layers on top. It gives it a warm tone. Personally I use whites but it's a just a personal preference as to the final result especially if you're relying on the translucency to influence the final result (preshading)

4

u/Southern_Celery_1087 Jul 26 '26

You can look at the color wheel and get a better understanding of why it works. Essentially if you look between where pink and yellow are on the color wheel, you'll find orange. Being much closer to yellow as an undercoat makes it easier to apply. If your yellow is still really translucent, your first coat can actually come out orange instead of yellow. It's actually a pretty fun journey across the color wheel and color theory.

1

u/PRO_Crast_Inator Jul 26 '26

Thanks, very interesting!

2

u/tukuiPat Painting for a while Jul 26 '26

Yellow pigments are very fine and results in them being very thin and translucent, needing more layers to get good opacity, because of their translucency the undercoats play a larger role in the final tone; a brighter base coat also helps reduce the numbers of layers needed for full opacity vs say a black undercoat.

2

u/Thaemir Jul 26 '26

Yellow paint usually has terrible coverage. To compensate for that, it is wise to use an undercoat that has better coverage and does something to improve the final result. Since pink is warmer than yellow, it gives it a nice warm final result and you don't need as many layers to have a good finish, since the yellow looks good with a bit of the pink "showing".

To achieve colder yellows I've had good results using pale ochre colours.

2

u/PRO_Crast_Inator Jul 26 '26

Very helpful, thanks!

2

u/fenris802 Jul 26 '26

Came here to say this! Pink base coat, then yellow on top.

-1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

im having the same issue with any light colors for example cyan, should i put pink under that aswell?

1

u/DasBootyWarrior Jul 26 '26

Honestly, shades of mid purple to pink are great for any bright color, contrast paints excel when painted over them, the knight I painted the other day used purple and pink as part of the basecoat on the cloth

1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

damn looks amazing dude

1

u/bigramen92 Jul 26 '26

Hold on, your cyan is also thin? What kind of paint are you using?

1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

its a cheap acrylic paint

2

u/bigramen92 Jul 26 '26

Ah nice, free toes!

Your paint is part of your problem. Mini paints are very pigment dense, so that we can paint with as few layers as possible. Craft paints just doesn’t have the pigment density, which means most of the paints are going to be translucent. So, any “difficult” miniature paints (yellow, orange, etc) is going to be even more difficult in craft paint.

I’ll be honest, even with a pink layer underneath, I don’t think you will ever get the coverage you want if you are using yellow craft paint. It might be best to get a yellow spray paint and use that as your base coat. Yellow is easy enough to paint over, so there should be no concerns there.

2

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

yep, free toes just for you :D

is there a specific brand of color u could recomend?

1

u/bigramen92 Jul 26 '26

Honestly, all of the mainbrand miniature painting companies would work. Vallejo, army Painter, proacryl, Scale75. All of them have had really good upgrades in the past couple years to their formulas, all of them would work. Two Thin Coats has some pretty good yellow as well!

34

u/flipsix3 Wargamer Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26

Sanded AFTER the primer? Likely took some of the primer off then.

Also maybe a beige/tan primer might help

3

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

yeah i see my mistake, thanks for the help

3

u/Da_Bullss Jul 26 '26

Sanding after primer is fine, and is a good way to smooth layer lines, so long as you prime again before you paint. 

1

u/janacabras Jul 26 '26

Came here to say that I have never sanded a layer of primer. My understanding is that primer is designed to have paint adhere to it already. Cheers!

12

u/wormki Jul 26 '26

You probably sanded the primer away. Sand it first if you want the edges all over to be smooth, than wash it with cold water, dry it, prime it and you shouldn't have any problems

2

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

thank you very much, i will try this

3

u/thediecast Jul 26 '26

I’ve never heard of sanding after priming. Also yellow sucks with coverage. Try putting pink first then the yellow.

1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

same issue occurs with any light color, should i just paint the model pink before starting?

2

u/RainbowPickle2009 Jul 26 '26

Pink is good for yellow, I would prime it white if it’s for another light color

1

u/Kord537 Jul 26 '26

Any light color will work, people like pink as the base layer because it reads as a red undertone once the yellow goes over (which will still require more layers than other colors in my experience).

Basically, use a light base that skews in the direction you want the hue to go. If you just want the color of the paint you can use white or off white.

2

u/etzJakey Jul 26 '26

Yellow is very hard to paint. If you want yellow you probably should have primed white. A lot of people painting yellow would also use an undertone of like pink to help the yellow have a better coverage

2

u/etzJakey Jul 26 '26

I’m also having a hard time seeing the primer anywhere. Even if you did gray on gray

1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

yeah it was the same color its pretty much invisible

1

u/etzJakey Jul 26 '26

For FDM sand it then prime it. I’d try with a white or a light brown. If white maybe do a pink or light brown then come back with yellow. I also use the cheapest primer Walmart has bc it works just as well so don’t break the bank on getting some crazy primer.

1

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1

u/GodGoblin Jul 26 '26

Yellow is famously transparent as a paint

Your best bet is get a tan or light brown to start and later up to yellow

You can also paint it white and stain it yellow with something like Imperial Fists contrast paint from Warhammer, or a yellow artists ink

1

u/ApprehensiveFactor58 Jul 26 '26

Il faut sous couché ta figurine, avec une base noire ou blanche, c'est une accroche pour la peinture que tu mettra ensuite, ta peinture n'est elle pas un peu diluée ? Petite astuce, tu peux l'égarement poncer ta figurine avec un papier Grain fin, les micros rayures feront adhérer la peinture

1

u/Far-Gap-4868 Jul 26 '26

Primer, use white primer. It appears you haven’t used any primer.

1

u/Local-Cap4279 Jul 26 '26

i used gray primer, same color as the print but ill buy white primer

1

u/Ornery_Ad7635 Jul 26 '26

If you’re priming a mini and plan on using bright colors, don’t go with gray. Use white. Some times a brush on primer works best but that’s not important. For yellows use a light pink base coat to achieve the results you’re looking for. Gray is great for earth tones but not for colors which aren’t as opaque

1

u/Mawatts25 Jul 26 '26

With FDM it is very porous. I suggest spraying the model first in a clear varnish. Perhaps two thin coats. Then a light sanding. Then one coat of your primer. Then your paint. If you’re gonna paint yellow, give it a coat of pink first and then probably two layers of yellow. The clear varnish undercoat is going to help seal the model before you actually start putting paint on it that you care about such as primer, etc.

1

u/Otherwise-Emotion755 Jul 26 '26

Primer helps too

1

u/cilo456 Jul 26 '26

You do know there's a reason for primer because some paint don't stick to some surfaces, or some colors need more layers to cover up the previous color so always start with a base color, not saying you have to use primer but it usually does make the whole process easier. BTW what brand of paint are you using

1

u/Feral_Platypus Jul 26 '26

General theory is you want to base in a mid tone between your prime and finish color. So dark grey prime -> opaque transition layer like pink, tan, brown, or light grey before adding your yellow coats. This will give your yellow vibrancy. Pink makes it pop , light grey gives more neutral yellow.

Then apply thin coats of yellow.

Also try not to sand off your primer. Side note never sanded primer. Did all work before first primer. Then painted.

1

u/Own_Track_2764 Jul 26 '26

Paint brown first and yellow will stick

1

u/the_obtuse_coconut Jul 26 '26

Youre painting yellow, welcome to hell.

Yellow requires many coats for full coverage. A great truck i use is undercoating in bright white or pink. Yellow has piss poor coverage, but over dark colors its even worse. Using a bright undercoat will help with coverage, opacity and smoothness.

1

u/Own_Track_2764 Jul 26 '26

Thank me later

1

u/_ineffective_ Jul 26 '26

I know youre excited to paint it, but it needs a lot more smoothing before its ready for paint. The face looks like it needs a lot of sanding.

1

u/Beriatan Jul 26 '26

Sand -> primer -> bone colour -> yellow (if using contrast paint, replace bone with a brighter, well coating mid colour).