Whats the best way to protect paint on posable models?

[Hunter Rose]

I'm making a Kotobukiya  Border Break model and it has quite a few interchangeable and posable parts and I want to fully retain posabillity without paint scratching off.

I'm priming and painting and then a thinned FFA for coat panel lining and a final matte FFA top coat.  Will that be enough to stop paint rubbing off or should I do a few more thinned FFA coats to fully protect it?

[sunsanvil]

With my MG mobile suit builds I just pay close attention during dry fitting and note areas of potential contact/scraping.  Its usually a simple matter of sanding down (in some cases grinding down) where appropriate, not just to allow for paint thickness, but ultimately enough that there will be a fraction of an inch clearance so that two surfaces don't rub against each other.

From there its just a matter of being careful.

[Hunter Rose]

Oh I'd not thought about that, thankfully from my dry fitting so far the only major rub spots are the elbows knees and on the folding plasma rifle so I shall sand them down to help.

Thanks for the response, very helpful 

[sunsanvil]

Those are always spots to look out for.   Classic example:

Whats the best way to protect paint on posable models?

Here I would have sanded or filed out the inside of the blue part so that the grey would slide in with room to spare.

[Hunter Rose]

Yeah I see what you mean, thanks for the pic to clarify

My only real problem spot is the elbows which are hinged on one side only and the upper and lower rub on each other as they bend

Whats the best way to protect paint on posable models?

Had a thought though whilst responding, I think if I cut a washer of .3 plasticard and use it as a thin cuff around the arm peg it will create just enough clearance to avoid rubbing. hmm, some experimenting and more dry fiting is needed.

Thanks again for the helpful advice sunsanvil, you've really helped me get my head around it!

[Kane82]

I should think so as long as you're cautious when changing parts.  I never have paint scraping issues with pose-able kits using roughly the same process.

[Grail]

Fixed pose and FFA man..    

[warder120]

Is it the inside of the joints rubbing together that you're worried about?  if it is the interior portion of those elbows, what if you just didnt paint them?  then there is no paint to be scratched off of something you can't see anyway