{"id":22021,"date":"2015-08-25T19:44:09","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T19:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=22021"},"modified":"2017-04-17T12:09:21","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:09:21","slug":"tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures","title":{"rendered":"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale<\/a> share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an an abridged version of their tutorial found here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Although 3D-print models do not differ so much from \u2018ordinary\u2019 kits, its rich details and material may cause surprises.<\/p>\n

1. Check the model<\/h1>\n

Are all parts apparent and do the parts fit together properly? Please contact\u00a0Shapeways \u00a0<\/strong>(service@shapeways.com)\u00a0when the kit is incomplete or damaged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1a\"<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

2. Clean the model thoroughly<\/h1>\n

The 3D-print models will feel a bit greasy. In this condition the paint won\u2019t attach properly. Therefore clean the parts thoroughly with dish washing liquid. Use warm water (max 70\u00baC\/max 158\u00baF)). Let the parts soak for quite some time (3 \u2013 6 hours). Meanwhile the water will turn cloudy. That\u2019s the wax. Repeat this procedure if needed. In the end the the kit won\u2019t feel greasy anymore and show an almost complete white colour.\u00a0It is of utmost importance that the models are properly degreased \u2013 otherwise the paint will not stick!\u00a0<\/strong>Small remainders can be removed with a swab or toothpick.<\/p>\n

\"2a\" \"2b\"
\nA better alternative is to use a hydrosonic cleaning machine. It is also possible to clean the models in acetone (max. 5 minutes). Please clean the model afterwards with water.<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

3.\u00a0Polish if needed<\/h1>\n

If needed the kit can be polished gently with fine sand paper 400. Small bumps can also be polished with toothpaste and toothbrush.Please mind that you do not rub away the fine details.<\/p>\n

\"img_2057\"<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

4. General painting tips<\/h1>\n

The ordinary model kit paints can be used. Mix the paint properly. Apply only a thin layer of paint and let it dry for 6 hours. It is better to apply several thin layers of paint rather than one fat layer. It is best to dilute darker colours. Always start painting the deeper surfaces. The chassis can preferably be painted with heavily diluted matte paint first. The paint will creep in the deeper surfaces.
\nUsage of gloss paint should be avoided. Satin and matte paints will improve the looks of your kit.<\/p>\n

\"01\"<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

5. Specific painting tips<\/h1>\n

If desired the interior can be painted too. Please mind that the material is semi-transparant. which means that the interior colour will be visible on the exterior too.Therefore apply the exterior colour first on the interior side. The second layer should be the final interior paint.
\nTo improve the looks it is advised to paint the inner and ridges of the pillars in a dark grey or brown paint. This will make the pillars appear much slimmer.<\/p>\n

\"6b\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The final step is painting details such as lamps, bumpers, striping, licence plates, etc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[489],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-products-and-design"],"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01-625x469.jpg","yoast_head":"\nTips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures - Shapeways Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an an abridged version of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"joris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"joris\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/938b4c3f5430a23320b54d0ff1d4bba0\"},\"headline\":\"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-25T19:44:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-17T16:09:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\"},\"wordCount\":442,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Products and Design\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\",\"name\":\"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures - Shapeways Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-25T19:44:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-17T16:09:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an an abridged version of\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg\",\"width\":674,\"height\":506},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/\",\"name\":\"Shapeways Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shapeways Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shapeways-blog.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shapeways-blog.png\",\"width\":943,\"height\":121,\"caption\":\"Shapeways Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/shapeways\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/shapeways\",\"http:\/\/instagram.com\/shapeways\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/938b4c3f5430a23320b54d0ff1d4bba0\",\"name\":\"joris\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e438617ae718efd30ac443b071fd9793ea032327fb5779c3e2d3e92f727eaa0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e438617ae718efd30ac443b071fd9793ea032327fb5779c3e2d3e92f727eaa0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"joris\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/author\/JorisPeels\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures - Shapeways Blog","description":"Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an an abridged version of","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"joris","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures"},"author":{"name":"joris","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/938b4c3f5430a23320b54d0ff1d4bba0"},"headline":"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures","datePublished":"2015-08-25T19:44:09+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-17T16:09:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures"},"wordCount":442,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","articleSection":["Products and Design"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures","url":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures","name":"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures - Shapeways Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","datePublished":"2015-08-25T19:44:09+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-17T16:09:21+00:00","description":"Shapeways Shop owners Joris and Maurice of RailNScale share some advice on preparing and painting miniature models. This is an an abridged version of","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","width":674,"height":506},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/tips-n-tricks-for-painting-miniatures#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tips \u2018n tricks for painting miniatures"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/","name":"Shapeways Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#organization","name":"Shapeways Blog","url":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shapeways-blog.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/shapeways-blog.png","width":943,"height":121,"caption":"Shapeways Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/shapeways","https:\/\/x.com\/shapeways","http:\/\/instagram.com\/shapeways"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/938b4c3f5430a23320b54d0ff1d4bba0","name":"joris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/prodshapeblog.wpenginepowered.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e438617ae718efd30ac443b071fd9793ea032327fb5779c3e2d3e92f727eaa0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e438617ae718efd30ac443b071fd9793ea032327fb5779c3e2d3e92f727eaa0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"joris"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/author\/JorisPeels"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/01.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"joris","author_link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/author\/JorisPeels"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}