I think I’ve mentioned this in the past. But rubbing a vinyl toy with vinyl paint thinner or any paint removing chemical like acetone causes damage to the toy often leaving the surface covered in micro holes. Granted they probably aren’t overly noticeable, but they bug the shit out of me. I would recommend using an acrylic paint for rubs, and washing the paint away with just water. Then use a heat gun to set the the acrylic and clear coat it when dry. This technique will also allow you to put a rub down on top of an area already painted with vinyl paint because the water won’t rub away the vinyl paint.
This really helped me! Thank you, Joe! With this in mind, is it possible to paint details with acrylic paint on top of portions that are already painted with vinyl paint (Mad Ape, in my case) and then hit it with some Mad Ape clear coat? Will it affect the acrylic in any way, or just clear coat like normal?
Yes, I almost always use acrylic paint for brush details, it covers better and doesn't disturb the vinyl paint below. V-color and Mad Ape just don't cover well as brush paints, and when used sometimes pick up or remove the paint below. when I do use it, I find sometimes you need to do 2 or 3 layers just to get good coverage. I prefer thinner acrylics made for models and airbrushing like mr color or tamiya. I also use a lot of paint markers because I find they are more precise than a brush. Again, all you need to do is heat set and then clear coat after acrylic.
I just wanted to take a minute to thank a few people, specifically @JoeMan, @Rich, @3wing, @obsessedpanda, @eckotyper, @Paulkaiju, and @evom. I really appreciate everyone's advice and it's helped me tremendously. I was sick for a couple weeks and didn't get nearly as much done for DCon as I wanted but without everyone's input I might not have gotten anything done at all. Thanks everyone! Even things that I read previously that didn't apply at the time are massively important. Something @Rich said in passing saved my ass last night. I got my paint masks in and was using them and I switched from one color vinyl to another annnd the mask didn't fit...then I remembered Rich saying that you have to heat the vinyl when using masks. If I didn't hear him say that I probably would have panicked and gave up on those last few pieces. But instead I grabbed the heat gun and finished strong! Thanks for sharing your knowledge y'all!!!
Thanks so much for this! I’m an artist and have been thinking about painting up some custom for myself... see how it goes. Following this thread
Speaking of painting vinyls; I stumbled upon this great video on Goto-San that was uploaded last month apparently.
Edit: My wife got me an airbrush for Christmas. I'm excited to try it out, and also pretty nervous about screwing up. I have to save up for a while to afford some decent Vinyl Paint and some blanks. I’m glad this thread is here as a resource.
Starting to paint some vinyl again. I need more paint though, and a lot of Mad Ape is out of stock, so I'm considering my options. Definitely want to try some Mr. Color, but open to any suggestions. Few questions: How well does Mr. Color adhere to vinyl? Related: Is it a solvent-based paint like Mad Ape? / Can you mix Mr. Color with Mad Ape? If anyone has any recommendations or hookups and wants to share please feel free to DM. Thanks!
Hi guys, a quick question on airbrushing with vcolour. I’ve used it on several occasions and added the right amount of thinner, sometimes even more, but I find it clogs up the airbrush nozzle pretty fast. So I’ve been getting really watery output cos of the additional thinner, that or it just spurts. Does nozzle size play a part? I’m thinking maybe cos of ‘larger’ pigments in vcolour or something? Have tried it over 2 airbrush and both gave me same issues. Any suggestions on what to do?
Whenever that happens to me I just add a lot more thinner til it sprays nicely. Hopefully someone with a lot more experience can chime in on this issue.
I don't see any on their website? Also, I can confirm that o-rings need replacing regularly when spraying vinyl paint. So, @Shellshox maybe that's part of your issue?
if youre in ca theres a shop coast airbrush that has the thinner resistant rings. but if you havent rebuilt your airbrush yet. take it apart in a shoe box so parts dont fly out too crazy
I always take my airbrush apart on a spread-out hand towel. Parts can't roll away and stay put in the order I take them apart.
Hey sorry I didn’t see this earlier. You can mix CS vinyl thinner to Mr. Color and it will then properly cure to soft vinyl. If you use the regular mr. color thinner it’s not very successful. Apparently some toy companies will do this to expand their pallet. I’ve had good success with it although I don’t do it too much.
Works amazing from testing on random vinyl flash , it’s super durable and I dug in really deep with a finger nail and also a bbq skewer and no scratching occurred
Do you have like a ratio by how much you dilute it with CS vinyl thinner or is it more a "diluted to your liking" sorta thing?
Yeah a "to your liking" is the way. When I actually brush it on I dip my paint brush in the Mr. Color then dip the brush into the CS thinner haha. When airbrushing it seems to vary a little bit depending on which Mr Color you are using. Maybe a 1 to 1 seems the most common. It also seems to take a little bit longer to cure than airbrushed V Color/Mad Ape Ninja- for example I did the scratch test on a test piece like 10 minutes after airbrushing the Mr. Color/CS mix on and although it was dry to the touch, it wasn't as durable. But waiting an hour or more made it way more scratch resistant. Edit: of course I'm only talking about the Mr. Color lacquers, NOT the Mr. Color Aqueous line which is a water based acrylic.
Moisture / Humidity Concerns Does anyone else get moisture in their compressor line almost every day? Before I connect my airbrush, I always turn on the air for a bit and clear the line, there's always a bit of moisture to get out...sometimes so much that it will drip out several drops of water or even spray a little bit! I'll push my finger over the end of the line and kind of flick it and watch the mist spray out. There is a moisture trap on the compressor so I'm assuming it's condensation in the line itself? I paint in the garage and live in the Northeast US. Even when there's very low humidity this happens. Should I be concerned?
I have seen people suggest that having a trap too close to the compressor is inefficient as hot air retains moisture. Adding a secondary trap—or even a third—farther down the line may help. You could get a hose with a trap built-in and/or add one between the hose and your bush like this one.
@Patrickg2k Make sure you open the plug under the tank, tilt it and drain any water in there occasionally (dunno what compressor youre using?) Then I would also get yourself an iwata pistol grip moisture trap. I havent had any moisture make it to my airbrush since I started using them. and you could also get an inline moisture trap inbetween if youre still having problems. edit: whoops, hbcoffin beat me to it!