Paint rubs off of joints.
 

I am currently making a simple Dark Jedi Sora Bulq figure, and I having serious issues with the paint rubbing off the ball joints. Any hints and tips on paints to use or something else I can do for I don't always have to go back and paint the bugger?

Proper preparation is always important when it comes to customizing action figures. Customizing is about 90% prep and 10% of actual sculpting and painting.

That being said, the best way to keep paint from rubbing off at the joints is 2 fold.

1. Wash the figure. Wash it in warm water with some dish soap. Get a toothbrush you don't need anymore to really scrub all over it. This washes away all the oils from the factory that keeps paint from adhering properly to the plastic.

2. After it's dry (you can use a towel and a small fan to make it go faster) you sand the joints...all the joints you intend to paint. You do this with your dremel, and/or sand paper.

I always use my dremel to just shave off the surface of the joint discs and mechanisms. It takes enough off so it's not rubbing against the rest of the figure inside, and it also roughens up the surface which makes the paint adhere better. For ball joints, like in the shoulders, a fine grain sand paper will do the trick. Don't overdo it, just enough to rough up the surface a bit.

But on the actual disc inside the ball joint, use a dremel to shave off a bit on the surface. Remember, don't overdo it.

3. And last, be patient. When you've got the right number of coats you need on the joint to cover it, leave it alone until the paint is completely cured. Depending on what type of paints you use, it could take up to a day before you can safely move the joint without the paint rubbing.

Patience is hard to have sometimes, I know from experience, but if you have it then even painting over a figure's joints can be easy and have a great outcome.

Thank you for the reply! Glad I only used this guy as a test, he turned out swell for the little effort I put into him. I will fallow those steps for customs I really care about! Thanks again!

Tiberius

good advice