So, i used Gunnzo's Vinyl Color Thinner and it works great @ 1:1 ratio, these r the results, my 1st ever V-Color custom, a white T9G rangeas i picked up yesterday from TAG

Hats off to Frank for the Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIK) tip.

My 1st vcolor since the closing of kaiju-taro... gunnzo has made me a happy boy again!

Hey I can't find anything in searches and am still making my way through the thread..but is it possible/fine to use a paintbrush with v color? I would imagine considering what I've read about the danger of the paint I would have to use either throw away brushes or maybe some of the stuff that they make pinstriping brushes with? Seems like one shot would be on the level of v color in terms of hazardous-ness?

I have used vcolor with brushes. it works fine. I mainly use a brush for doing eyes or small details. Then i just clean the brush with thinner.

My brushes are all still alive ..... you just have to paint quick or use retarder to avoid nasty paint chunks (don't know how to say in english) when doing larger areas...... but i'm still learning as well

If you want to paint toys, I would really suggest just grabbing an airbrush, you can get an entry level Iwata set up for probably 200-250 and that will work just fine for toy painting. I've seen guys who just use a brush spend hours trying to get a clean finish and application and do a job that would have taken a few minutes with an airbrush. Just my reco, you save a lot of time and frustration.

Thanks Joe!

I'm actually working on getting an airbrush together, but the biggest thing(why I probably don't take it as serious as I want to) is space. I just don't have it. If it was as simple as an airbrush and compressor I'd be good to go...but after painting with oil paints and the like and all the hospital visit horror stories I hear in classes, I'd rather play it safe. I mean, I don't know how self leveling V-Color is but just using acrylic on this plastic toy the other day I was imagining how easy it would've been to just spray the whole thing..

So, one day...one day.



PS: If anyone in LA has a studio space with a setup and wouldn't mind doing some kind of sharing of space, hit me up! Maybe we can work something out.

heads up, saw a friend post, and figured i'd share the deal. looked up some videos, looks like a bad ass brush and its marked down 86% right now.

http://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush- ... dger+sotar

Looks like a good brush. My only concern is how it will hold up spraying v-color and monster kolor. My first brush was a badger and it worked great with the acrylic paint from michaels. But when I started using monsterkolor it ruined the brush.

What brush blurble? I still use my badger 175 a great deal and I use MK and vcolor... Believe I've had that brush about 3 years now and still works good for me

Not sure what model. It was the run of the mill gravity feed.

I just wanted to say thanks Rich, I'm not using Vcolor yet but this article has helped me out tremendously... Thanks for taking the time and sharing your knowledge.

That looks great, I would love to see some black light pics!

Fresh Meat question, what advantages does V-color have over other paints? Is it specifically formulated to adhere to vinyl? Do acrylics even work on soft vinyl? I feel so silly asking, but I'm so curious.

Thanks to all who've dropped some serious knowledge jewels in this thread (esp. Rich & Frank), now I can ruin my blank toys with the very best of vinyl paints!

A new booth set-up. I had a mr super spray booth, but it was kind of weak, and If i wasn't aiming dead-center it wouldn't pick up the fumes.

This DIY set-up, however, is awesome. I got a 30cm blade explosion-proof rated fan off of YJA for ¥15,000 and some plastic laundry storage tubs, a big yellow bucket and a barbecue grill from the local home centre. Screwed it all together and sealed with duct tape. I was hoping to just reduce the smell of paints, but I seem to have actually reduced the fumes topretty much nothing, or at least the point where a mask just doesn't seem necessary. Totally different spraying experience.

Wow nice setup.... Really need to out together a booth like this in my painting space. I just have no windows

This is beaaaaaaaaaauuuutiful! Mega props!

Any links to this fan ? are they still for sale, Id love to see more.

Ive never had an explosion proof fan, and in the US they are extremely expensive. Your looking at a good grand to get something what so ever.

After all I read, there is a lot that points to explosion proof fans either not being necessary or false. For an explosion to happen, esp with the small amount we spray at a time , the conditions would have to be extremely perfect and the odds of that happening are very slim (but there). Plus explosion proof isnt really explosion proof. The fan if it where to explode would still explode. It would contain the fire inside the engine compartment.

Now, the fan I use houses the motor inside. The front of the fan ( where the fumes enter) is covered. The rear ( where the fumes pass over( is exposed). The air is forced out so fast that it never meets the engine.... in theory. The end of the exhaust would have to back up so fumes couldn't escape for there to be an issue. But my fan is so aggressive that if I'm not getting proper air flow it will cause negative pressure in the room and start reversing the furnace so CO backs up into the room ( MUCH more dangerous).

With all this said, I need to clean it all out soon. Metallic dust will settle inside the tubing / ducting. Its better to have all this out no matter what. And with all I have coming up, my set up could use a good cleaning.

Bottom line, make sure the fan you use is strong enough to suck the fume out as aggressive as possible. Also get as much air flow coming in.

Rich, mine was an old one from a factory. It came with a good coating of grime, but works great.

Here's a link to the specs. http://www.mitsubishielectric.co.jp/ldg/wink/displayProduct.do?ccd=20201810&pid=41976

That rrp of 118,000円 seems to be widely ignored, I seem to remember seeing them new for about half that. Still too much for me, hence YJA.


I was under the impression that explosion proof fans (at least the type I have) totally enclose the motor, and are designed in a way so that sparks aren't produced.

But yeah, I'm sure you'd probably be fine without a sparkless fan. I think it's mainly places that deal with huge quantities of spray, like car painters, that have to worry.... maybe

Sorry if these questions have been asked before but if someone could answer them for me I would really appreciate it

I've noticed some toys using V-Color/Sofvi Color (I'm assuming) have quite a matte and almost sandy/gritty texture to the paint apps.. is this due to not enough thinner? Some Sunguts toys have this effect - but then other toys by them have the more classic smooth glossy finish which doesn't quite make sense to me as I'm sure they would use the same paint for all of their toys. What causes this gritty effect? I would much rather have a smooth/glossy finish with my paint apps when I start using these paints.

As far as I'm aware you need to thin out the paints quite a bit to use them - is it ok to store thinned out excess paint in tiny glass jars? Or will the paint react badly sitting with thinner for a long period of time & is it best to only thin out paint as you use it?

I will start to use proper vinyl paint soon - I have some Cheestroyers with MK paint on them but I was unable to clear coat them due to my clear coat expiring before I had a chance to use it. Is it ok to use V-Color over the top of MK paint?