No, I don’t mean cleaning more mould lines etc… I mean literally cleaning the models with soap and water!
Casting miniatures entails using some form of slippery silicon release agent to get the finished models/parts out of the mould. The manufacturer probably does some cleaning of this but I like to make sure. Also, during preparation, you are probably manhandling the model parts a lot, getting lots of skin oil all over them. All these slippery substances make paint not stick very well to the model. And if your primer hasn’t stuck very well, you’re on to a losing battle from the start when it comes to protecting your paint job.
At Christmas I made the mistake of not cleaning some Swooping Hawks after I violently “manhandled” them a lot to bend the wings into a more dynamic shape and clean off the mould lines. As soon as I picked up the models after they’d been primed, the primer started to rub off. It was completely useless and they had to go back in some dettol to be stripped before starting again.
For cleaning, I use an old toothbrush for big parts and a softer big paint brush for small parts, and some warm water + washing up liquid. Every part gets a through scrub and rinse before being left to dry over a radiator. Only then will I proceed to prime the model.
Although this obsession with cleanliness is most important during the priming stage I also in general try and make sure I have clean hands during the painting process to avoid any further skin oil compromising the paint layers.
Applying this to the Necrons
Quite simple really! Here are 20 Necron Warriors and 5 Immortals in a bowl waiting for a dunking:
(Amazing how small a space 25 miniatures take up when not assembled, eh?)
Here they are drying on a tea towel after being washed with Fairy:
Once dry they are ready to be primed. Exciting!