Why is my Warhammer paint bumpy or gritty?
Rough paint has four usual causes: a texture paint used by mistake, a rough primer coat underneath, a coat reworked while it was drying, or paint put on too thick. Feel an unpainted corner first. If it is gritty there too, the paint is not the problem. On battered armour a pitted finish can pass for old metal, so you may not need to fix it.
Do the primer test first
Feel a spot that holds only primer, such as the inside of a leg or under a cloak. If it is gritty there, the primer went on rough and more paint will not smooth it. If it is smooth there, the roughness came from the paint, and the table below shows which kind.
Match the rough patch to its cause
| The rough patch | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Gritty everywhere, including unpainted corners | Primer that dried before it landed: sprayed from too far away, or in damp air | Spray in short, closer passes in dry air next time. For this model, thin coats of paint hide some of it but the grain stays. |
| Sandy patches only where one pot went on | A Technical (texture) paint | Keep it for bases. Cover the armour with a Base paint. |
| Ridges or dragged lines where you touched up | A coat reworked while it was part dry | Leave each coat alone until it is dry, then add thin paint. |
| Thick, lumpy finish all over | Paint used thick from the pot, or with dried bits in it | Wipe the rim, skip the crumbs, and thin the paint a little on a palette. |
If it was a texture paint such as Armageddon Dust
Armageddon Dust is a Technical paint, and Technical paints are made for textured bases. Games Workshop's painting team describe them as much thicker than other paints. They suggest a Citadel Medium Texture Spreader to put them on, because a normal brush loses its fine point as the paint dries and pushes the bristles apart. With no spreader, a piece of plastic from the box or a coffee stirrer does the job.
Armageddon Dust comes in Paints & Tools: Warhammer 40,000 (11th Edition), and that set is sold out at the moment. Put the texture on the base. If it has gone onto armour, that part needs repainting rather than fixing.
Why touching up wet paint makes ridges
A half-dry film of paint grabs the bristles and drags into ridges. If you come back to add more before the coat is dry, you damage the coat you just put down. Contrast paint has the same problem: see why Contrast goes patchy.
Put each coat on in one pass and leave it. When you see a bare patch, wait until the coat is dry to the touch, then add a thin layer. Do not chase it while it is wet.
When bumpy paint is fine to keep
On the armour of a veteran in battered plate, a pitted surface reads as old, worn metal from normal playing distance. It looks wrong on faces, cloth and smooth vehicle panels.
You cannot paint a bump flat. Thin coats soften it but raised grit stays. We would not sand painted plastic on a detailed model, because the sculpt goes with the paint. Your choices are to keep it, add weathering on purpose, or repaint that part. Our page on fixing a bad paint job sets out the repaint options. If the grit looks chalky and dusty, drybrushing is the more likely cause: see why drybrushing looks scratchy.
Common questions
How do I get rid of grainy primer?
You cannot paint over it smooth. Thin coats of paint hide some of the grain, but it stays. Next time spray in short, closer passes in dry air, and feel an unpainted corner before you start painting.
Can I sand bumpy paint off a miniature?
We would not. Fine sanding takes the paint down, but it takes sculpted detail with it, and plastic marks easily. Keep the bumps, turn them into weathering, or repaint that part.
Does old paint with dried bits in it cause lumps?
It can. Dried crumbs from the rim of the pot or the palette end up in the brush and then on the model. Wipe the rim before you close the lid, and do not scoop out skin or lumps.
Technical paints, thickness and the Texture Spreader: Warhammer Community, 14 July 2023. That Armageddon Dust is a Technical paint: the paint types named in this shop's listing for the 10th Edition Paints + Tools set, which holds the same paint. Prices and stock: this shop, read live. Why a half-dry coat drags, and the causes of rough primer and of dried-out pots, are our own advice.