How to Repair Chipped Paint on a Collectible Figure

A paint chip on a hand-painted collectible feels catastrophic — but with the right approach, most chips can be repaired invisibly. The key is patience in the colour-matching stage and restraint in the application.

What You'll Need

• Acrylic paints in relevant colours (Citadel, Vallejo, or similar)
• A size 00 or 000 detail brush
• Acrylic grey primer (spray or brush-on)
• Varnish matching the figure's finish (matte, satin, or gloss)
• A clean palette and distilled water for thinning
• Good lighting — a daylight LED lamp is ideal

Step 1 — Assess the Chip

Examine the chip under good lighting and magnification if possible. Note:

• How deep is it? Does it reach bare resin, or just through the top colour layer?
• Are the edges of the chip raised or jagged? Raised edges need to be gently scraped flat with a craft knife before painting
• What is the surface finish in the chipped area? (Matte paint looks different to satin varnish)

Step 2 — Clean and Prime

Clean the chip area with a cotton bud dampened with IPA. Allow to dry. Apply a tiny amount of grey primer to the exposed resin — just the chip itself, not the surrounding paint. Allow to dry fully (10–15 minutes for brush-on primer).

Step 3 — Colour Matching

This is the hardest step. Start by identifying the main colour and tonal value. Mix on a clean palette, testing on white card next to the figure until the match is close. Remember:

• Acrylic paint dries 10–15% darker than it appears wet — test on card and allow to dry before judging
• Hand-painted figures have subtle variations — an exact match to the paint tube colour is often wrong because the original paint was mixed or tinted
• Build from a slightly lighter base — it's easier to darken a repair than to lighten it

Step 4 — Apply Paint in Thin Layers

Thin your paint with a little water so it flows smoothly. Apply with a size 00 brush, working within the chip first, then carefully feathering the edges outward into the surrounding paint. Thin layers allow you to build gradually — one thick layer will always look obviously patched.

Allow each layer to dry completely (5–10 minutes) before applying the next. Two to four thin layers is usually enough.

Step 5 — Match the Shading

If the original paint has visible shadow or highlight variation, add these details over the base colour. A thin wash of darker colour into recesses, or a light drybrush of a lighter tone on edges, recreates the original depth.

Step 6 — Varnish to Match

The repaired area will look different in sheen to the surrounding varnish until you seal it. Apply varnish over the repair area, extending slightly beyond it. Use the same type as the rest of the figure — matte over matte, gloss over gloss. A slight mismatch in sheen is more visible than a slight mismatch in colour.