r/501st • u/Waste-Help-1095 • 9d ago

Advice Protect paint question

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Hey guys on my shore trooper costume the bicep armor scrapes and hits my chest connector pieces a lot (as expected) but it’s been starting to chip the paint down to the layer of bonbo. Does anyone have any recommendations of protective coats/ anything to combat this? Thanks

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5

u/PolikarpovKhair 9d ago

I usually put an strip of transparent tape and call it a day

4

u/MissSoapySophie 9d ago

2k clear. It's made for cars, really durable. Lots of brands make it, you can get it on Amazon in matte. Kinda pricey, but worth it.

0

u/Waste-Help-1095 9d ago

Is this what you’re referring to? https://a.co/d/04zlt6K7

1

u/MissSoapySophie 9d ago

Yes, however make sure you get matte. By default it's glossy which isn't what you want.

https://a.co/d/0cf5ulIs

Once you pop the catalyst in the bottom you'll have about 48 hours to use the can before it fully hardens

5

u/Superbroom 9d ago

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot (to my knowledge) that can be done about that. It's a wear point, meaning you can add more layers of paint or clear coat, but it'll still wear down after X amount of troops. My clone bicep rubs against the sides of my chest plate in the same way. I generally just take it as weathering, and am already aware that I'll have to make touchups here and there. For your shore kit I'm sure you've looked at MrPauls build in some way or another, and he goes ALL out with his builds. Any idea if he uses cast urethane biceps that don't wear as easily as hard plastic?

2

u/anakin-skywalker246 9d ago

Use 2k clear coat statement.

1

u/Valafar_ 9d ago

Black undercoat so it reveals the black, just like the originals. Ideally the bicep material is black as well. Other than that, theres s thicker type of transparent tape thats meant to protect paint, but it wouldn't look very good on that spot

1

u/Negative-Eleven 4d ago

I thought the color under the Sahara Beige was Dark Oak brown

1

u/Valafar_ 4d ago

Yes the materials used for the armor is very dark brown, but in this case it doesn't matter if its dsrk brown or black

1

u/frankster1138 9d ago

Some felt on the inside of the part that rubs, along with the 2k.

1

u/Forossa 9d ago

Battle damage, no matter what I do on my armor the paint will come off after multiple troops but I’m a clone so it’s normal anyway

1

u/h2ogeek 8d ago

There are small things you can do to help with wear, but rubbing two parts together is inevitably going to cause wear, just ask your clutch. If someone has come up with something that prevents wear they’re doing a bang up job of keeping it a secret 😆

You can try sacrificial layers like tape if you can find something that doesn’t look awful, else resign yourself to regular touchups. For painted kits, regular maintenance is part of the deal.

1

u/DaamKeldau 8d ago

Hit up a vinyl wrap shop and see if they have any scraps of clear rock guard vinyl. it's super thick, kinda rubbery, and would definitely help. Just make sure you round any corners before you put it on so there's less chance of it catching.

edit: to add, if you don't have anyone locally, I can check my stock and see if I have any scraps.

1

u/Waste-Help-1095 7d ago

Thank you! I’ll keep that in mind

1

u/dat1kid07 5d ago

Natural weathering!