Simple Scratch and Rub Repair

Article and Photos by Ashley Stollberg

If you collect model horses, it comes with the territory that one will eventually have its paint damaged. Whether your model fell over, is sporting some marks from play, or has some box rubs from the packaging it came in, a quick touch-up will get that model looking as good as new again! 

A rub on the shoulder of a glossy GG Valentine model.

Supplies

The best way to touch-up scratches and rubs is with acrylic paint. For this, you’ll need a paintbrush, a variety of acrylic paints in colors similar to those found on your model, and a brush-on clearcoat to seal the paint once dry.

Choosing a Paint Color

In this example, we’re going to be touching up a small shoulder rub on a glossy GG Valentine. I looked through a variety of brown paints, and chose a color that is closest to the color of the model in that area. You may need to darken or lighten the color slightly, so it’s helpful to have a few additional paints in slightly lighter or slightly darker colors. When choosing colors, it’s best to open the lid and compare the paint itself to your model, rather than the sample color chip that’s on the lid.

Various shades of brown that could potentially be used to repair GG’s shoulder rub.	Comparing acrylic paint colors to the model.

Painting the Rub

To repair the rub, simply put a little bit of acrylic paint on a fine detail paintbrush and carefully paint over the damaged area. You’ll likely need to do multiple coats to get good coverage, so take your time and let the paint dry thoroughly between coats. Try not to gob the paint on, or you’ll see it as a raised area that won’t match the rest of the model. Also keep in mind that most paints are a slightly different color when wet, so you may need to tweak the color a bit once it dries to get the best possible match.

Painting over the rub using the closest acrylic color. (You may need to mix colors to get the perfect shade.)

Clearcoat

Once you’ve repainted the damaged area and are happy with your results, let your horse dry completely. You can choose not to seal the acrylic paint when you’re finished, but the repair will last longer if you clearcoat it. Brush-on acrylic sealers works well for this, and they can often be found in the acrylic paint section of craft stores. They come in multiple finishes (matte, satin, or glossy), so be sure to get the one that matches your model.

If you’re repairing large areas or several scratches, you could consider sealing the entire horse with an aerosol product such as Testors Dullcote. However, in most cases just using a brush to clearcoat the repaired area is all that’s needed. Once you’re done sealing your repairs, let your horse dry and congratulate yourself on a job well-done! 

The newly-repaired shoulder rub.