I was using dry rub transfers and as I was removing the carrier paper, it was pulling up the paint. The paint is Model Master Dark Sea Blue acrylic. It had a couple of hours of curing time, but I didn’t prime before I painted (all out of primer).
Could the lack of primer really cause the paint-plastic bond to be that weak? Will PollyScale undercoat be enough to make a good bond, or should I get the automotive primer that I use on larger builds (the build in question is a 1/72 HellCat).
I don’t use MM Acrylics, but I have found that in general, acrylics need more than two hours to cure. Certainly they may be touch dry in minutes, but in my experience with (Tamiya and Gunze) acrylics, they’re bst left at least overnight before masking (which arguably is higher tack than the carrier cheet for dry transfers).
Even after 4-6 hours, Tamiya acrylics are still relatively soft and easily scratched - this may also be the case with MM acrylics.
Certainly a suitable primer may help, but always, cleanliness of the surface being painted is critical. primer or not.
Thanks, Phil. The time-to-dry issue is definitely something to consider. Since I didn’t strip down the entire plane, I can try another rub on a different part that has had well over night to dry. If the same thing happens, I have primer on order. If not, I’ll re-spray the area and give it a few days.
Well, a day and a half later and the paint still pulls up with the transfer carrier paper. I should have my bottle of primer today, so here’s to hoping this solves the problem.
Gigatron: I spent 40 years as a model railroader I used a lot of dry transfers and had the same probluem I solved it by letting the paint dry for at least 48hrs. Then apply a coat of gloss let that dry for 24hrs, then smell the model. If you still smell paint let dry for 24hrs by then it should be dry enough then apply your dry transfers as usual hopes this helps Aceses5[snWcm][bgr]
Though I do think I’ll refrain from smelling my planes. I get enough crazy looks from people now, LOL.
I did try letting the paint dry for 2 days, but it still pulled up. So after I got my primer, I put down a coat of that, let that dry over night, then I put on the top coat and let that dry about a day and a half. I tried another transfer (in an inconspicuous place) and it worked fine. I think it may have been just a bad bond between the MM top coat.