So many times has this question been asked here on skullbrain. I think anyone who wants to paint should be able to. Here are some basic steps to get you off and going. Technique is the one thing you will have figure out for yourself

V-Color is a pretty harsh paint which is not even sold in the USA do to certain regulations. So if you want to use this paint you should take all the steps to protect your health as best as possible.

Fist your gonna want to get a good respirator. A good organic rated respirator from any Home Depot will do.

But if you want to get a better version, here is a great respirator I have found :

Moldex Half Face Respirator

Its rated for all the harshest fumes you can find.

And now the next step in respirators !!

TOTAL FRESH AIR 100%

And a little more info from the US EPA

Info

This will be my next purchase so details to come on just how well it works.

Next your gonna want a good spray booth to help remove the fumes from your immediate work area. As of now I use an Paasche but there are many that range from 200-10,000.

Here is my Passche :

Passche hoby spray booth

I have used it for awhile and plan on upgrading soon. But for a beginner its reasonable and efficient.

Your also gonna need a good airbrush and compressor. There are many different kinds of booth and its gonna have to be a choice you gonna have to make for your self.

Personally I use a Iwata HP-C Plus :

HP-C Plus

Like I mentioned there are plenty of brand and prices. After enough research this was my choice. Please, for yourself do the same and make a choice on what you can afford and prefer.

Now with your airbrush your gonna need a compressor. I never liked the loud buzz and noise of compressors so I went with a quiet version. Its a bit more but very pleasant to work with.

Billion Air

Like I said its pricey but well worth it. Now you can find a compressor for 1/4 of that price, I like badger so here is a link for cheaper compressors:

Badger compressors

Also latex gloves, gloves will help keep your hands clean from paint and touching chemicals. It will make clean up quicker as well.

Take your pick !

Latex gloves

Now you have you bases covered. Its time to get prepared for painting.

To use V-Color your gonna have to thin it. And if you where to do this every time you painted you would go nuts. So your gonna want to premix all your paint. A great way to premix and have a great clean dispenser are small dropper bottles.

I was turned onto boston round glass bottles with droppers. Use clear so you can actually see your paint inside.

Dropper bottles

There are all sizes but 2 oz will fit an entire bottle of V-Color properly thinned.

Again make sure you get the dropper option !!

Now the fun part, the paint !!!!

There are 2 places to get V-Color. But honestly Kaiju Taro is by far the best and fastest place, not to mention you can pick up some toys while your at it (but always check S7 first !! )!

V-Color as well as painting supplies

Make sure you order thinner with your paint. Alone it wont be thin enough. For each bottle your gonna need the exact same amount in thinner just to get proper consistency. Your best bet is to always get the 400cc can. Your gonna need it for clean up as well. Although you can substitute for other chemicals for clean up which I will discuss later.

Now we have our respirator, spray booth, A/B, compressor, gloves, mixing bottles , and paint.

Lets get painting !!

When you get your V-Color its will have thinner in it but from the factory its not enough so your gonna have to thin it. For V-Color your gonna have to thin it at least 50%.

The easiest way to gauge this is to pour the entire bottle of paint into the 2oz bottle. Then with the empty V-Color bottle fill it back up with thinner. Cap it and shake it up . The thinner will get any remaining paint out. Now pour that thinner into the 2oz bottle which you already poured the V-Color into. This will get you your 50/50 mix and waste no paint.

50% thinner is the average. For gold, silver and neons your gonna need a tad bit more. But your gonna have to get a feel for it. Most paint will be a milky like texture. Some will be a bit more watery.

Once you begin spraying you may get what is called spider webs. Don't worry, just add more thinner to your mix. The webs means your paint isn't thin enough.

V-Color itself chemically binds to vinyl so you will need NO priming. For many this is very hard to grasp. Its not like regular spray paint. Its made for vinyl ONLY. So although you can layer colors to get effects you will never NEED to prime first. Just spray what color you want.

It will take some time to get a feel for painting with V-Color but its very rewarding. There is no other paint on this planet that I know of yet that will get results V-Color does. There is a reason why the Japanese use this. Its the best for vinyl hands down.

But like all things there are variables, so try different paints. Layer or try different brands along with V-Color. Just NEVER mix it with other brands. Its made to be used with V-Color product and V-Color products only !

So now you have painted and are ready for clean up. Like mentioned you can just use more V-color thinner or you use pure acetone to clean out your airbrush. Make sure you clean out the airbrush when your finished every time and once a month take it apart completely and give it a total cleaning. Remember this is your tool, respect it or you will regret it when you have to buy another.

Any other questions please feel free to post them here

No go paint and enjoy your toys !

Add on list of supplies !!!

Doll eyes :

CR Craft
Schoepher

This should be a sticky

Thanks for the guide.
I have been wanting to try painting but had no idea where to begin.
Guess it's time to save for equipment.

It will be as this has already been approved by the powers that be.

When I ordered my paint, Canada customs seized the bottle of thinner I also ordered. They also held the package for about 1month which was a bigger problem!

I've been thinning the paint using the paint retarder. Is this a good substitute. It stopped the spider webbing.
Is there a suitable substitute for thinning the paint that can be purchased domestically, or should I just take my chances on ordering another bottle of thinner?

Thanks for posting this.

Well there is nothing that can substitute V-Color thinner 100% but the only other alternative would be pure acetone.

But like I said NOTHING is like the thinner.

Which kind of retarder are you using ??

Something from a local art store ?

When you spray how long does it take to dry??

this is great Rich...

Now tell us your real secrets....

very nice. i'v been thinking about buying some vcolor to play with. i'm glad i waited for this because i would have royally jacked it up.

Lash, this is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to share this.

Thanks for all the tips , Lash. This will save a lot of threads asking the same questions (hopefully).

Thank you sooo much LASH!! I know I've been bugging you with a lot of questions lately and now I don't have to ask any more. I truly appreciate this post and will continue to read it over and over as I practice!!

Expert tips !! Thanks

I was using the v-color retarder: http://www.kaiju-taro.com/index.php?ac= ... =&type=grp

I use about a 30% retarder mix and that seems to thin out the paint OK. It still dries faster than Tamaya paints, but not instantly like strait v-color does.

Where would I purchase pure Acetone? A hobby shop?

Again, Thanks for your help.

buy pure acetone at a beauty supply store. it's cheap there

Thanks for all of the helpful tips LASH.

I've been wondering if applying a different type paint over v-color would be o.k. or have adverse results.

I've had bad luck in the past with spray paint and different brands not playing well together.

you can pick up pure acetone at home depot as well. if you know youre going to use a lot of it then i would recommend buying it there. its really cheap for a lot of acetone

Cool thanks for the tips!

I've been reading this thread over and over and just wanted to thank you again lash!

Also, I ordered the 2oz. dropper bottles on Sunday and they haven't showed up yet and their website says it can't find tracking for my order. I was just wondering how long they usually take to ship? I'm hoping I get them soon so I can start painting!

Don't remember but I also have to order. They where good every time I ordered so I'm sure they will work it out.

Also just wanted to say I got my supplied air setup this weekend and its the best purchase yet for painting.

Today I painted for 3 hours straight and as of right now I feel like I never even touched paint. Usually after an hour I start to get fatigue. So 3 hours is a new bench mark for me and I'm VERY happy.

If you can afford the supplied air I recommend I would strongly suggest buying one.

What about clearcoat? Is it needed with v-color? And how much paint do you get per color? I'm guessing its less than 2oz if you can thin it out and fill the dropper bottle. How far will that thinned paint get you, in terms of say you were painting a 6" figure a solid color- would one bottle be enough, or more than enough? Sorry about all the questions LASH- I appreciate your answers.


-phil!

No

Thanks Lash, I edited my message while you were replying- I have other questions!

phil

To many questions... buy it try it and have fun.

Some of us had to spend mucho dollars to get this kind of info, your gonna have to pay some dues buddy

One bottle of V-Color thinned out 50/50 ratio gets you quite a bit of paint. You could paint several figures with it.