Hey guys, i was wondering if anyone could recomend any paint that does not give off the heavy vapors that v-color does, but will still work on plastic? i will be painting my resin figures with it. I droped by an art store the other day and the only paint they had was Createx paint and suggested trying a hobby shop. i was wondering if anyone could help me out.

tamiya

(i havent used it, but i know they make airbrushes and model paints and all that)

Tamiya doesn't have the bad fumes that V-Color or the other vinyl paints have. (though I'd still try to vent the fumes) It won't doesn't bond well to soft vinyl, but I'm not sure about resin. The main problem with the soft vinyl is that it chips because it doesn't dry flexible, this wouldn't be a problem for the resin though I don't think.
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/archive.htm
At the bottom of the page it has the different paints they sell.
The common one you find in hobby shops says this:
"Tamiya Acrylic Paints are made from water-soluble acrylic resins and are excellent for either brush or spray painting. These paints can be used on styrol resins, styrofoam, wood, plus all of the common model plastics. The paint covers well, flows smoothly with no blushing or fading, and can be blended easily."

We use Golden Fluid Acrylics mixed with the golden airbrush medium with good results. Nice thing about the golden is that they have some interesting iridescent and interference colors that spray well. Downside- expense. They don't have nearly as bad a vapor as an enamel or v-color, but I wouldn't huff it. Just crack a window and put a fan next to it and you should be fine.

A bit off topic, does V-Color work on resin?
The description on KT says:
"It cannot be used for styrene resin and ABS resin."

i recognize the Tamiya logo from hobby shops so i will defiantly check that out. has anyone used Createx? i have a friend who does special effects work and said that they sometimes use it on the models and such that they do and it works nicely

I have used v-color on resin that had a base coat and it seemed fine.

Thanks for the reply.
But what was the base coat?

There are different types of resin. Styrene (polystyrene or ps - recycle code 6) is what's used for plastic model kits, and you atm and credit cards. V-color's thinner will eat that up. If you really want to get into it, there's also different grades of styrene from your credit cards to styrofoam cups, they are basically the same (styrofoam also carries recycle code 6)
If you use Tamiya, you should clear coat after as well. Tamiya's clear coat will thin the paint a bit after it has been applied so if you have areas where there is a fade in color, be sure your paint is thick enough. Test it out on other resin figures so you see how much of the paint thins out. You might also have to use primer. The best thing about Tamiya...the range of colors.
There are also enamel based paints but if you're trying to cut down on toxins, you might as well stay away from them. Testors is enamel based...and so is nail-polish. You can actually thin Tamiya with water but I don't think it will stick to plastics as well.
Any paint you use will have fumes so you should still paint in a well ventilated area.

cel vinyl paint, used by MANY of the best. Its water based and VERY opaque. I havent used it in an AB but I think if you thin it enough you can, and I bet it will stay stay very opaque.

Cartooncolor.com

I was under the impression that resin needed to be primed before painted, otherwise really no paint is going to adhere permenently and will start to come off. But I think once it's primed many paints will work, including just the regular hobby store testors or other model paints. But I've never tried, this is just what I recall hearing from different folks.

Does Kryolan just flake off on a flexible vinyl surface? Of course a spray can tip doesnt give you the same control, but Im just looking into all the potential options.

Just played around with VColor on resin.
It came out fine.