Miracle Dip: I AM A BELIEVER!

[Nikolai Tvilde]

I have finally tried the notorious "miracle dip". And it works! Blazing heavens, it works! Anyone out there who still haven't tried this: Go buy it, try it, love it! Just - don't - drink it!

Anyway, I think I found an equavalent to Minwax Polyshades. The stuff is called "Bistrot lakk" (lack/lak/lakka), and is done by "Liberon". It is a "polyuretan" wood-stainer. I bought a can of 250 ml of "silkematt" (satin) at a local artists paint shop. It cost 124 NOK. (About 9£). The colour was "Mørk eik" (Dark oak), and I think it is the equavalent of "Tudor". It comes in a numerous other colours, but appearantly only as clear when it's gloss.

Just in case there are are any fellow north-men lurking out there, I'll state the companies that distrubutes them (I'm only quoting the can; I haven't checked these):

Norway:
Alanor AS, Postboks 80, N-3150 TOLVSRØD

Sweden:
ARTicLEs Leif Eriksson AB, Box 129, 233 23 Svedala.

Denmark:
SKOGVAARD & FRYDENSBERG - DK-1072 KØBENHAVN K

Finland:
OY PARAALETT AB - Fi-00140 HELSINKI

And finally, france:
Fabriqué par LIBERON - F-39210 DOMBLANS

If it wasn't a liquid, I'd marry it!

http://fanaticus.jiffynet.net/boards/smile.gif

PS! Keep a bottle of White-Spirit in the house!



[This message has been edited by Nikolai Tvilde (edited July 23, 2000).]

[arnsteio]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nikolai Tvilde:

Just in case there are are any fellow north-men lurking out there,
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm here, matey (as if you didn't know it)!

Wow! Buying it tomorrow! Gonna paint _all_ summer!

Bless you, Nikolai http://fanaticus.jiffynet.net/boards/wink.gif

------------------
Arnstein
www.uio.no/~arnsteio/DBA/

[Håkan Berg]

Finally, something I can get here in Sweden!
Thanks Nikolai!

(sorry for bringing up such an old topic, but I just joined the forum)

// Håkan

[ August 27, 2003, 08:43: Message edited by: Håkan Berg ]

[Shturmovik]

Actually it's quite easy (and probably also cheaper) to mix your own miracle dip from varnish and artists' oil paints - but be prepared to do a little bit of experimentation before dipping your favourite figures!

I've also noticed that I get better results if the varnish has been thinned slightly so it's a bit more runny than it comes from the factory.

/Shturmovik

[Neubauten]

Using oil paints + varnish sounds interesting - any more advice on that?

I've been experimenting with the miracle dip for a few weeks and have settled on painting it onto selected areas of the figures. I like what it does to natural colours, but to my eye it makes brighter colours (Blues, Yellows etc) look too dirty. It would be great if I could mix my own blue dip, yellow dip etc.

For my Anglo Danish army I have been painting the clothes 1st in Greens, Browns etc and painted the dip onto them. I have then done the flesh, shield designs and spear staffs afterwards and have taken much more time over them as these are the areas that draw the eye.

[Shturmovik]

Originally posted by Neubauten:
Using oil paints + varnish sounds interesting - any more advice on that? It's easier to control the shade if you mix a small amount of varnish with the paint in a separate container and make sure it's well mixed before adding it (small amounts at a time) to the varnish can.

For brighter colours I usually add some drybrushing on top of the dip, then an extra layer of clear varnish, then a final matt spray coating.

I probably spend more time VARNISHING figures than actually PAINTING them... :D

Using different shades of dip on different parts of the figure is actually an interesting idea... I think I will have to give it a try!


/Shturmovik

[GAZMAN]

rather than mixing different varnishes and paints - you could just buy coloured inks.
They do the same thing (apart form they don't protect a figure) and are available in a load of different shades.
Si2

[ August 28, 2003, 08:11: Message edited by: GAZMAN ]

[Basil Bulgar-Slayer]

Here we go again. Miracle Dip, Shmiracle Dip. Using varnishes and stains is not the way to go. Instead, make your own.

First, I make my version of acrylic thinner for my acrylic paints. Simply, it is one part Future Floor Polish/Protection to one or two parts of water. Most commonly, I use a 1 to 1 mix.

Second, I make my own dip: One part acrylic ink to two to four parts of my acrylic thinner. My most common mix is one part ink to two parts thinner. For 15s, I just dip, flick, and set aside. For 25s, I just dip, take care of some puddling, and set aside.

As an aside, I use brown hue inks rather than black because the brown seems to give more dimension to the figures and adds warmth.

The protection from the acrylic floor polish is great. And the whole thing is easy to make, use, and clean up.

Try it.

[Badger]

I use Basil's recipe and I've been quite pleased with it. It should be noted that it does leave a bit of gloss on the figures, and after dunking each figure or brushing the "dip" on liberally, I prefer to use a brush to mop up some of the extra so that I don't get large (relative to the figure scale) brown blotches anywhere, but rather just the highlighting effects of the dip collecting in crevices, depressions, edges, whatever.

It does NOT leave the figures as glossy as using Minwax Polyshades brand stain, but the Minwax coat does seem likely to be even more protective, so I'm likely to stay with the Minwax for my plastics (where the issue of keeping the paint job on the figure is more pressing).

[ August 28, 2003, 12:24: Message edited by: Badger ]

[Ed Dillon]

Originally posted by Basil Bulgar-Slayer:
Here we go again. Miracle Dip, Shmiracle Dip. Using varnishes and stains is not the way to go. Instead, make your own.

First, I make my version of acrylic thinner for my acrylic paints. Simply, it is one part Future Floor Polish/Protection to one or two parts of water. Most commonly, I use a 1 to 1 mix.
&lt;snip&gt;
The protection from the acrylic floor polish is great. And the whole thing is easy to make, use, and clean up.

Try it. Note that it is possible that our Scandiavian friends do not have access to 'Future' brand products. Hence the joy over Nikolai's comprehensive posting of European brands. Still, I think that your recipes are good. Thanks for posting them again.
Ed

[Håkan Berg]

Originally posted by Ed Dillon:
Note that it is possible that our Scandiavian friends do not have access to 'Future' brand products. Hence the joy over Nikolai's comprehensive posting of European brands. Still, I think that your recipes are good. Thanks for posting them again.
Ed That's exactly the thing - I for one have never been able to get either the Minwax or the Future brand stuff here in Sweden!
If any swedes out there knows where I can get it, please let me know.

[Badger]

I should think that most any clear acrylic floor polish for use on linoleum or other synthetic floor coverings would work in place of the "Future" brand stuff. You might need to experiment with tweaking the recipe, but it's not like the stuff is prohibitively expensive.

[imported_Ivan Nastikov]

In the UK it's Johnsons KLEAR.

[Basil Bulgar-Slayer]

Any acrylic floor polish should work. I mention Future simply because it is the only one I can find at the local Target store.

So much stuff, so few choices. :(

[Ed Dillon]

Originally posted by Basil Bulgar-Slayer:
Any acrylic floor polish should work. I mention Future simply because it is the only one I can find at the local Target store.

So much stuff, so few choices. :( Hey Basil, when we novices practice the alchemy of the masters, we like to follow the recipes exactly...
Ed "no eyebrows" Dillon redface.gif

[Basil Bulgar-Slayer]

Originally posted by Ed Dillon:
Hey Basil, when we novices practice the alchemy of the masters, we like to follow the recipes exactly...
Ed "no eyebrows" Dillon redface.gif [/QUOTE]

"Recipes?" We don' need no steeenkin' recipes!

Experimentation is the fun part of the thing. :D The black smudges and the nasty wounds are a slightly negative side-effect.

TTFN