Baking Enamels?

ManicMan

ManicMan

Lord
Okay, this is probably loosely connected to miniatures but I was doing some checking and reading on some stuff and there was this thing with using enamel paints, doing a few layers, then baking them... in an oven...

huh? didn't give a reason.. does it kinda puff up? does it form a strong glaze? no clue.. I rarely use enamels but It just got me wondering what this is about.
 
Not something I've come across anyone doing for miniatures, but I think baking enamel paints is generally done to enhance the cure of the paint. It should then be more durable. I'm not sure of the melting points of the various pewter mixes used in casting miniatures, but it would be similar to that used for cooking your average roast dinner; I'd be worried that the temperature required would be close to that of the melting point of the miniature.
 
I think that the paint curing is often done around 200°C give or take, so would likely be a problem for most miniatures. It may be that a lower temperature could be used for a longer period of time though.

Is it something you're thinking of trying? I'd probably contact the paint manufacturer and see what they say about temperatures and timings if so. You've got me curious about this, I do like an experiment!
 
^_^ naw, just looking around and wondering cause I've never heard of such a thing. Kinda wondering what it does and why. Maybe it makes the enamel glaze over. No clue ^_^ might be some use for it in some related field. Maybe a nice way to make stain glass style for miniature windows (my last ones, I designed a frame/design, 3D printed it, stuck on a clear piece of plastic and painted that plastic with washes. Not perfect but not bad)
 
I think it increases cross-linking of polymers formed and also rate of polymerisation. So (if the molecules of polymer were spaghetti) instead of having more single strands of spaghetti, the spaghetti strands are much more likely to all linked together at random points making a significantly stronger network. It will also likely increase rate of oxidation at the surface and rate of driving off solvents in the paint. I guess any variation in oxidation could potentially start to change colour, depending on the paint pigments used.
 
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