Got some dusty models, or a crazed/frosted surface from matte sealing gone wrong? Check out how to restore miniatures to their former glory!
It’s one of the cold hard realities of life. You paint up a mini and no matter where you store it, it’s bound to get dusty. Whether you found an old model in storage or are doing a cleaning sweep through your display case you can clean up your dusty minis quickly with this trick.
We’ve got a video and a step-by-step write up on how to get your minis looking great again!
Restore Your Miniatures To Their Former Glory: Tutorial
To start things off, you’ll want to grab a can or two of electronics duster. It’s basically just canned air that people use to blow junk out of their keyboards. You can use up the air pretty quick so depending on the size of the model, you may want to get two cans. At this point, you’ll want to take that canned air and start blowing off the biggest chunks of dust off the model. You don’t need to worry about getting everything off at this stage in the game. Just a good once-over knocking the thickest layer of dust will do.
Use Water & Isopropyl Alcohol to Clean the Mini
After you’ve taken off the biggest chunks with the canned air you’ll want to have an airbrush on-hand and fill the reservoir with 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol. BEFORE YOU SPRAY THE SOLUTION: open up some windows and throw on a mask. This stuff is horrible to breathe in. When you’re ready to spray, you’ll want to cover the entire model lightly with your airbrush. What this solution will do is dissolve the dust as well as blow it off the mini.
THIS WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU SEALED YOUR MINI BEFOREHAND. If you are one of those people that doesn’t lay down a matte varnish coat on your mini once it’s been painted, do not use alcohol and water on your model. It could strip and eat away at the paint job you worked to get. With that said, you can also use the 50% water/alcohol solution in this step to eat away any “frosting” effect by a sealant that was applied too thick.
Take a paper towel and dab the model lightly where you’ve sprayed. Don’t press and drag the paper towel. You could strip/smear the paint underneath.
Re-seal Your Mini After Drying
After letting your mini dry off fully from its Alcohol Rinse use a clear gloss varnish to seal in your mini’s paint. This will also lock-in and protect the Alcohol Rinse to prevent further dust, and will not frost your model again.
To tone down that glossy coat, you’ll want to use a second coat of sealant, this time using a lusterless flat coat. Testors Model Master line has some fantastic products although these cans have been increasingly hard to find.
Rust-oleum’s dead flat spray can is basically the same product and is more readily available. We’ve done a full review of this spray as well.
There you have it! By now, you should have one mini restored back to its former glory!
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How do you restore your miniatures when things go… wrong? What’s your favorite kind of sealant for your projects?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
