Painting the armor 

 

Before painting the armor I have been known to put a finishing coat of plaster or even wall sealant (GAP) over the top of the armor to fill in any holes and gaps and give it a smooth coat.    You can also sand this surface to get it really smooth.    Now you are ready to paint.  

  1. The under coat is made of plaster that you can find from any hard wear store. (this gives the armor the correct weight and a smooth surface)

  2. Spread the plaster 1-2mm thick. Don’t try to do this step in one thick coat it will flake off when you paint it.

  3. Be mindful not to bend the armor when applying this plaster it will break!

  4. The amount of layers is up to you the more you do the stronger the armor and the better the finished project will be. ( I normally do at least 5-6 coats)

  5. As in all steps try a piece of the leg plate to get the hang of it, then go for the body and arms

It is best if you use oil based paints or spray paints.  Think long and hard about the colors you use you will have the armor a long time and you want it to look nice.  In the last step I told you about cloth, cloth make a great backing for the armor but you should always paint then glue the cloth.   If you have a air gun use it to paint if not use spray paint or use a droppign method for the paint pictured below..

Be sure to put quite a few coats of paint on the armor, it will develop a nice deep color and allow for some small scratches.  Now its on the the lacquer.  Lacquer keeps the moister out of the plaster and gives the a nice bright shine.   The more lacquer on the armor the better it will hold up and shine.   You can never put to many coats of lacquer on a suit of armor. you can put to thick of coats on the armor.  Thick coats on the armor equal pealing lacquer. And the sucks! 

 

 

Questions? Comments? Insults? contact the web master at: Ichiban@wakagashira.com

 

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