Resin miniatures care: wash, glue, prime, fix a break, and is cured resin safe?

Our resin miniatures arrive cleaned and cured, so you don't need to wash them: prime them with any normal miniature primer, glue them with superglue (plastic cement won't touch resin), and pin any heavy joint or break. Bent spears straighten in hot, not boiling, water, and once resin is fully cured you handle it like any other hard plastic miniature, with a mask and water for sanding. Here's every step, from the box to the painting desk, with photos from our own studio.

Wash before priming?

Not for our models: they're cleaned and cured before they ship

Glue

Superglue (CA), gel or thin

Primer

Any miniature primer, spray, airbrush or brush-on

Bent part

Hot (not boiling) water, hold straight, let it cool

Out of the box

Primed

Painted

Do you need to wash resin miniatures before painting?

Not ours. Every model we sell is printed to order in our Perth workshop, then cleaned and cured before it leaves, so it's ready for your primer straight out of the box. Our basing bits and resin bases ship washed and cured too, on their print sprue.

A wash still helps in two cases. If a model has been handled a lot, or sat in a hot car or a dusty cupboard, skin oil and dust can stop primer gripping evenly. And if you've sanded or filed anything, the fine dust sits in the detail. Either way, give it a gentle scrub with an old soft toothbrush in warm water and a drop of dish soap, rinse it, and let it dry completely before you prime.

The washing you read about in 3D printing guides, in isopropyl alcohol, is a different job: that's how a printer cleans liquid resin off a fresh print before curing it under UV light. We do that in the workshop, so you never need to.

Removing supports and print marks

Resin prints grow from the printer's build plate on thin supports, which touch the model at small points. Our basing bits and bases come on their print sprue, a little like a plastic kit, so the delicate pieces travel safely. If any model or bit you get has supports, little nubs or a raft attached, here's how to clean it up:

1. Clip, don't twist

   Use sharp flush cutters and snip each support right where it meets the part, flat side towards the model. Twisting or snapping supports off can pull a chip out of the surface or snap a thin part with it.

2. Scrape the contact points

   Shave each little nub flush with a sharp hobby knife, cutting away from your fingers. Resin is hard, so take thin passes rather than one deep cut.

3. Smooth it, wet

   For anything a knife leaves behind, a fine sanding stick or wet-and-dry paper used wet keeps the dust down and gives a smoother finish. Rinse the part afterwards.

Off the printer

What glue should you use for resin miniatures?

Superglue. Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, sold as superglue, bonds resin to resin, plastic, metal and MDF. Gel superglue gives you a few seconds to line parts up and fills small gaps; thin superglue wicks into a tight joint you've already pressed together. A pin-head drop is plenty for most joints, and too much just squeezes out and blurs the detail.

Plastic cement doesn't work on resin. Polystyrene cement glues plastic kits by melting the two surfaces together, and resin doesn't melt that way, so the joint never takes. Use it only for plastic to plastic.

PVA (white glue) is for sand, grit and grass tufts on the base, not for holding resin parts. An accelerator spray, sometimes called kicker, sets superglue in seconds, which helps when you can't hold a part still; use it sparingly, as it can leave a white bloom on the surface.

Do you need to prime resin miniatures?

Yes. Acrylic paint grips primer far better than bare resin, and primer evens out the colour, so you can see the detail and your first coats go on smoothly. Any primer made for miniatures works on resin, the same as on plastic or metal.

Black, grey and white primer all work; pick the one closest to your finished colours. Hold the can or airbrush about 20 to 30 cm away and build up two or three light passes from different angles rather than one heavy coat, which floods the detail. The dragon in the photos above was primed black.

How do you fix a bent spear, lance or sword?

Thin resin parts can bend in the post. The fix is gentle heat:

1. Dip it in hot water

   Dip just the bent part in hot (not boiling) water for a few seconds, until it softens a little.

2. Hold it straight

   Straighten it gently with your fingers and hold it in place.

3. Let it cool

   Run it under cold water, or let it cool in the air while you hold it, and it sets straight.

Don't use boiling water, and don't hold a lighter or hot-air gun near it: too much heat can soften the whole model or scorch it. If a part arrives broken rather than bent, contact us within 30 days of delivery with your order number and a photo, and we'll send a replacement or refund you.

How do you fix a broken resin miniature?

Most breaks are a spear tip, a sword or an arm, and they glue back cleanly. For anything bigger or under load, like a rider on a horse, a big weapon or a wing, add a pin.

1. Clean up the break

   Brush off any loose crumbs, and check both halves fit snugly. Don't sand the break flat: the rough edges help the parts line up.

2. Glue small parts straight on

   For a thin part, put a tiny drop of thin superglue on one face, press the halves together for 20 to 30 seconds, then leave it to cure fully before you handle it. A light mist of accelerator sets it instantly.

3. Pin heavy joints

   Drill a small hole into the centre of each face with a hand drill (a pin vice) and a 0.5 to 1 mm bit, and glue in a short piece of brass rod or a cut paperclip so it bridges the joint. Line the holes up by dabbing paint on the first pin end and pressing the parts together: the dot marks where to drill the second hole.

4. Fill and paint over it

   Fill any gap with a little modelling putty or gel superglue, smooth it, then prime and paint over the repair.

Is cured resin safe to handle?

Liquid resin is the hazardous stage: it can irritate skin and eyes, which is why printers wear gloves and work in a ventilated space. Once a print has been washed and fully cured, it's handled, glued and painted like any other hard plastic miniature, and that's the state every model leaves our workshop in.

A few sensible habits still apply, as with any model kit:

• Sand wet, and wear a mask. Sanding, filing or drilling resin makes fine dust. Wet sanding keeps it down; wear a dust mask when sanding or cutting, and wipe the dust up with a damp cloth rather than blowing it away.
• Wash your hands after sanding or cleaning up a model, and before eating.
• Keep it away from little ones. Our models aren't toys: they have small parts and aren't suitable for children under 14.
• Don't burn it or heat it hard. Hot water for a bent part is fine; a flame or hot-air gun isn't.

Painting a lot of resin, or printing your own? Read the safety notes that come with your resin, primer and paints, and follow them. More on how resin printing works: resin vs filament for miniatures.

Storing and carrying resin models

Keep painted and unpainted resin out of strong sun and away from hot spots like a car dashboard or a window sill: heat and long UV exposure can bend thin parts or fade paint over time. Carry models standing up in a foam-lined case or a magnetised box, and pick them up by the base, not by the spear. A coat of matt varnish over finished paint protects it from handling.

Quick reference

Ready to base them? Our basing guide takes you from bare base to finished scene, and resin vs plastic miniatures compares the two materials for figures and basing bits.