Get a Grip ! .... (Or, reach for the S.T.A.R.S. ...)

Ok, little mini painting adventure.

This is for the people, who have the RE Beretta, with the golden emblem on the grip.

The original emblem is a really shiny gold colour, it really dazzles and reflects under good light.
The problem is, its such a thin coat, on tiny raised markings, its rubs off very quickly and easily, even with light handling…

This is on my silver M92, completely original…

This is the black one, fairly well worn…

My original thoughts were, " How can i best restore the paint, and protect the thin restoration, for the future?"

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Went to the local hobby shop, and showed them.

They had a lacquer based paint, a paint pen, and clear lacquer coating.
I got both paints, to try each.
I knew it would be a very fiddly job, needing very fine control, as the raised markings are tiny…

Washed and dried the grips, and gave it a crack…

1: Lacquer paint…had problems from the get go. The finer tip of the paint brush looked like it would give finer control, but… the paint would blob on the tip. Remove a bit on paper, then apply. This led to a tiny amount of paint on the tip, which was applied unevenly…thicker at first, then running out.
Also, the paint needed regular shaking ( cap on / cap off) to keep it mixed.

I got pissed off, quite quickly…

2: Paint pen.
Much better. Easier to control, constant flow rate, i used my Dental Loupes (3x Magnif) and was able to follow it quite well. Still slow and laborious, but got there…

Not as good as the original finish, but better than before…

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Maybe clear coat after restoring it might be the G O :+1:

Tamiya TS-13 Gloss clear or Tamiya TS-80 flat clear to give a bit of longevity.

It was challenging, but the loupes really helped…

So, onto the clear coat, and this is where things got…“interesting”…

I let it dry overnight, then applied some clear coat on top.
There was a mix of paint, original shiny, and newer matte.

The clear coat attacked and dissolved, the original paint…!!!

Several swear words later, i tried using the lacquer thinners i bought ( hobby shop reccomended) and it just made a hell of a smeary mess. I suspect it started to attack the plastic as well…
I quickly washed it all off, and sat on my hands…

Net result , after a while…clear coat is touch dry, original gold paint dissolved by clear coat…and remaining paint remains “muted”, under the clear coat…

Photo soon…

So, im quite gun-shy now, of clear coats…

I also am starting to think, the paint pen, may be much sturdier adhesion wise , than the original paint…

So , to test it, i have applied some paint pen, to a different blaster…

I’ll let this dry, for 24 hrs, then see how well it holds up to “robust handling”.
So far, a little paint dot has proven resistant to fingernail scratching to remove.

If it sticks on really well, maybe i’ll just leave it without the clear coating…reapplying with the pen is fairly straight forward, and if you have to do it once or twice a year, no biggy…

I’ll then apply some clear coat, to see what result i get / if it attacks pen paint / if it dulls the paint underneath.

With the coated one, i’ll try removing with acetone.
Ive been told this will remove paint, without attacking the plastic.
Then, apply paint pen from scratch , one uniform colour, and see how it goes…

These grips are hard to get, so i dont wanna screw them up…

I’d like to put a clear coat on the untouched, virgin silver M92, but im not going anywhere near it, until i figure out what the clear coats are going to do…

Those Markers are not to be used on ABS plastic I suspect that is the problem.

You want this marker. X-12 GOLD LEAF | TAMIYA

Tamiya 89012 X-12 Gloss Gold Leaf Enamel Paint Marker Plastic Model Craft Tools | eBay

Here is the pic, after the clear coat was applied…

The clear coat attacked the original paint, and dissolved it.
The paint marker paint remained, but looked “subdued” , under the coating.

This grip, has marker pen only, two coats, it does look quite pronounced…

From a non magnified view, you can barely see the imperfections.
If this is pretty long wearing, i may just leave it at that.

Im now a bit gun-shy of the clear, but will proceed as above.
Hopefully i can sort out some clear coat that works…

If only we could get more grips in, easily…

The grips on the Barry Burton Gen2 look choice…!!

I may try getting a set of those grips in…but…

QLD Police wont give B709’s for accessories, only whole blasters.
So, its order them in, and see if customs allow them…( who’s on today.??)

Funny, you can get a b709 for a furniture kit , for the real steel little badger, but not a gel blaster…

Sigh…

The grips are only like $30 US…

See how you go.

The Tamiya option is the g o as enamel/lacquer paint where as the Gundam Mr hobby are water based marker pen is acrylic paint and can play games and is not as tough.
Tamiya clear coats work well but will not with that Mr Hobby pen.

I’d start over with Tamiya paints, mask the button area off finishing with a couple clear coats for longevity :+1:

Hope that helps :+1:

If only I knew all this, at the beginning…!!!

Would have saved a lot of grief…!!

I’ll order some Of those in, and see how long the current stuff lasts…
Thanks…!

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Hey @Maiphut, quick question…

What type of clear coat, would you use on the Virgin, Original gold emblem…?

I dont know what type of paint it is, just that it dissolved under the hobby lacquer clear i bought…

Its also worth mentioning, i have a rattlecan of rustoleum spray on clear ( which i will try, on my painted test blaster).

Is there a universal clear coat, which is safe to use on pretty much any paint?

I really don’t wanna screw up, my unmarked grips…

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Try Tamiya x-22 acrylic gloss clear or x-35 acrylic semi-gloss clear. Doesn’t have the solvents.

Obviously, i dont have much experience, in the model/ painting area…

But, i took the hobby store advice, as gospel.
They didnt mention anything, about the possibility of the clear coat, melting the paints.

Should have asked here first, for the good gen!!

I’ll try those clear coats, on a teeny, tiny section, of the virgin grips…

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And, i assume those clear coats are compatible, with the Tamiya marker pen, as above.??

Yes. I use the Tamiya and Gundang marker pens. Lacquer clear should only be used over Tamiya lacquer spray paints (TS codes). Lacquer paint will eat into some forms of poly styrene and poly propylene plastics . Revell sparkling clear is another good water based clear. Most clears will dull down chrome paints to silver.

When I paint an interior for a model. usually paint with gloss then use semi-gloss clear on the bolsters and flat clear in the centre section and floor coverings.

Use Tamiya spray semi-gloss clear finish coat after painting a blaster

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How well do the Tamiya marker pens last / wear.?

i.e. the original coating came off with lightest of use.
The marker pen i used, seems to have better adhesion.

If i were to skip the clear, would the tamiya marker stand up to a fair bit of wear.?

The gold really stands out, i dont wanna dull it down…

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Marker pens all wear off unless they are allowed to harden or are clear coated. The Tamiya or Uni-Posca are designed to be used on static models generally. When they have been used to accent stuff on blasters they have been clear coated to avoid the colour wearing off

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Thanks.
Final question, which clear coat is the best, for the least amount of dulling??

What would you use.?

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Probably Tamiya x-22 gloss clear

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Got busy elsewhere, all good Wombat’s got you covered :+1:

Ok.
Paint question.

I got my Tamiya x12 marker pen from china ( that was fast), the paint is good, shiny, well mixed…but has a very thick tip.
It will be hard to apply, to the very thin raised ridges.

I bought a bottle of x12, but for both this bottle, and the Mr Hobby Lacquer paint… i cant get them to mix properly.

After about 3 mins of shaking, i open the bottle, and its still a mixture of paint, with some clear liquid mixed into it. The marker pen is all solid paint.

Whats the best way, to get them to mix properly.??
I have a superfine paintbrush, that may be the best way to get the bottled X-12 onto the ridges.

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