Hat Soft Plastic

[Coen]

I was hoping to get some advice on the Hat soft plastic. I absolutely detest the stuff (hard to paint and hard to remove mold lines) but unfortunately some of their best sets were made in this plastic (Peninsular War British, Nassau Infantry, French Light Infantry etc.)

A while ago I primed and half painted some Peninsular Brits. I recently retrieved them out of their storage boxes to continue the project, only to find out that a lot of the paint and primer had flaked off. None of my usual primers (Vallejo, Citadel and army Painter) seem to adhere to this type of plastic.

As an alternative I have used Revell and Humbrol enamel paint as a basecoat for the Hat soft plastic figures. I find that it works quite well and provides a good base on which I can then apply my usual acrylics. Recently, however, I read that oil based paint such as these enamel paints often start a chemical reaction with softer plastics, destroying the figure in the end. This has me quite worried since a large part of my collection was painted this way

In short, this means that I have three questions:

1. What are good primers to use on the soft rubbery Hat plastic that won't damage the figures long term?
2. How do I strip my now ruined half-finished paint job of the aforementioned Brits without damaging them?
3. Has anyone ever experienced (long term) bad results/ averse effects from using enamel paints on the Hat soft plastic?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[zulu`s 1000`s of em]

I have painted 1000`s of them and the following works. First wash them in warm soapy water, and do this properly, the way I do it, is to use hot water from the tap, add a squirt of washing up liquid, throw the figures in and leave them for as long as you like, but not less than half an hour. You can also scrub them with an old tooth brush, all of this is to remove the release agent used in the mould to stop the plastic sticking to it, the same stuff stops paint sticking too, and that is why this preparation is important. Once this is done rinse them under running water, then leave to dry at room temperature. Now you have a choice, if you have done everything properly and the figures are clean and free from any release agent you can either paint normally or you can prime them, I use a spray all plastics primer normally used in the automotive trade. Then paint as normal, preparation is everything get it right and the paint sticks, get it wrong and it does not. Once finished I usually apply a gloss varnish coat , once that is dry a matt varnish coat. You then will have figures where the paint job will out live us.

[Bessiere]

I have also painted thousands of HaT figures using the same process as zulu's 1000s of them. I have only used acrylic paints and never had much issue with flaking. The biggest problem areas are those on the extremes; places you might grab the figure by. An occasional bayonet or sword tip can be found missing it's paint but that's about it. I just make sure to paint those areas heavily and do the same with the varnish.

[Fire at Will]

Similar to above, but I do the wash stage by using the dishwasher on an eco setting (not too hot). But with the Hat soft plastic I found that some release agent still remained, so I tend to give them a second wash. The second wash also helped to firm up the plastic.

[Coen]

Thanks for the answers, gents.

I am afraid, however, that I am already doing the things described above (rinsing in lukewarm water, scrubbing with a tooth brush). In my case it doesn't seem to work. Perhaps I should do a more thorough scrubbing? Currently the paint almost jumps off as soon as stuff like the muskets bend even slightly.

[Coen]

I am most curious, however, whether my enamel base coat solution might actually be a good one or perhaps a long term hazard.

I have also heard people using wood glue/ white glue as a base coat for soft plastic.

[Bluefalchion]

I painted my first rubbery HäT figures not long after switching permanently to acrylics, so I cannot comment on the enamel interaction.

I did paint some Caesar figures that were fairly soft with emamels and had some issues, primarily paint that would never dry. Once I started soaking the figures properly and priming with watered down gesso, that issue went away. That was over a decade ago, and the figures still look the same today.

[Minuteman]

Thanks for the answers, gents.

I am afraid, however, that I am already doing the things described above (rinsing in lukewarm water, scrubbing with a tooth brush). In my case it doesn't seem to work. Perhaps I should do a more thorough scrubbing? Currently the paint almost jumps off as soon as stuff like the muskets bend even slightly.

I think there is an element of 'knowing what sort of plastic' you are working with here.

I tend to use different approaches to preparing plastic, depending on what the manufacturers have used to make the figures in the first place.

All figures: a very good wash in hot water with detergent, scrub with an old toothbrush, rinse, then straight into cold water. Leave to dry naturally. Then:

Harder plastics (eg: Zvezda/Italeri) I tend to use a white PVA as the base; paint over in a moderately even coat (do not over-brush), then leave to dry naturally. I then prime with a dilute coat of, for example, Vallejo Grey Primer, Then paint with fairly thin colours to create 'layers'

Medium density plastics: eg Airfix, Strelets: This varies: Some plastics as above, but some plastics eg: some of the recent Strelets stuff, which does not 'bend' much is better with an oil-based enamel base coat (no white glue PVA) then acrylic colours. In fact, some of the Strelets plastics do not accept a white PVA glue layer at all well.

Soft bendy plastic: The HaT Rubbery plastic has to be the worst stuff that has yet me made to produce 1/72 figures in. When they started producing figures in this 'stuff' I knew that things were not right at HaT Industrie... The approach suggested by 'Zulus 1000,s of 'em' is probably as good as any...use a plastic primer which is designed for all sorts of plastics, then acrylic paints and experiment further. White PVA base coating does not work on this stuff, and neither does oil-based enamel (it flakes), so a third option has to be the best.

One possibility, incidentally, is to soak the figures in white spirit for half an hour. Then wash very well in detergent, then undercoat/prime with spray plastic primer.

[Bluefalchion]

Another thing to try is soak them in warm water with some dish soap and a little bit of bleach for at least a week. In some cases it takes a bit of time for the anti-stick moulding agent to dissolve away.

[zulu`s 1000`s of em]

If you are doing all the prep and it is not working, then it could be if using tins of oil based paints you have not mixed/stirred the paint enough before use , but that is the only thing I can think of that could cause a problem. As I have said, painted thousands over more than twenty years like this ,it works.