Questions about painting a pony.....

[ChocolateStarfire]

I use DuraClear sealant versus ModPodge. ModPodge can dry tacky and it's best for small customs.

[lostpony]

Isn't Mod Podge water soluble?  My understanding is that after I use it for glitterpodge to fill in my custom apple symbols (carved out by laser) that I'll have to seal over it.

Do other agree on Duraclear?

I've also heard that some are getting great results using Testors Dullcote.  I remember it was wonderful on polystyrene models after airbrushing them with Testors paints.

In my ignorant quest for a flexible and stable paint, i wonder, what about exterior latex housepaint?  Flexible, UV resistant, waterproof; is it good on pony??  I'm sure if it's Ok that it still requires a good bonding undercoat to last.  If its solvents are no good for PVC, then interior latex paint should still be safe I think but maybe not as UV resistant.  I'm not sure if there is zero-VOC exterior latex but if there is, I will experiment with it at some point, once I know what to use underneath and what the accepted acrylic is to compare them side by side.

Side note, the standard mold-killing interior primer in my region is "Kilz" and i wonder if that would be ok for base coat on ponies, and if so that would probably be good over those ponies with mold problems in particular.

[Baby Sugarberry]

I use indoor/outdoor acrylic enamels. They are tough and don't require sealant (in my experience), have good adhesion. 
That's what those 20+ year old customs are sporting in the picture I posted.

Red/orange can bleed as mentioned (true of all acrylics). Potential downside is that they're generally shiny and thick, don't water down well.  They can take a week to fully cure - they're dry long before that but fully set takes more time.  It's the kind of paint you can apply to glass, ceramic or even metal.

If you want a custom you can shove under your foot, scrape along the carpet and have it come up none the worse for wear, give acrylic enamels a try.

[lostpony]

So...my suspicion that house paint might do the trick hit pretty close to the mark after all...just not latex, but acrylic enamels, which if I recall correctly are sometimes packaged with awful solvents and pre-oxidizer for spray painting rusty patio furniture (but of course we don't want to use that particular formulation).

They are also formulated for spray-painting plastic patio furniture, I'm pretty sure, so this suggests that they are flexible and compatible with plastics and so it's not at all surprising that you would say I would be able to abuse my ponies as described and not ruin them even after painting with this sort of paint, Baby Sugarberry.

So exciting!  I will definitely give them a try.  Do you think I will be able to push them through an airbrush?  If I do have to thin them to use airbrush, can I use whatever is stated for cleanup to do that? 

The shininess does present some issues because for the most part, it's hard to coat over shiny so they sound like a single-coat-only solution.  I've heard that applying Dullcote over the top of compatible glossy paints dulls them though, so maybe that can work.

I'm going to explore these things.  I really appreciate the secret tip Baby Sugarberry!

[Baby Sugarberry]

The enamels I've used are artist grade, water soluble.  They come in a standard squeeze bottle from the craft store.  I wouldn't want to mess around with the nastier stuff in volatile  solvents or latex; not worth the health risk IMO, but your milage may vary.  You do /not/ want Testors enamel, the stuff that's used to paint model cars!  Very different paint.

Acrylic enamels do not thin well in my experience, so airbrush is probably iffy.  Some of them even specifically say do not add water when using them.  Thinned enamels aren't nearly as tough and more likely to flake.  That said consistency and shininess varies brand-to-brand. 

I've never really thought about it as a secret, first time I've run into anyone who wanted customs as toys (like I did in my teens) rather than the tarted up 'fit a whole hank into the tail' kind.

[Griffin]

Thanks for the clarification, lostpony. It may indeed be difficult to find a paint that can stand the sort of rough handling you mentioned. Even factory paint is not foolproof, as witnessed by commonly occurring rubbed symbols and eyes on G1 ponies. I wonder what they would look like after all these years if they were fully painted.

As for undercoats, I prime all my ponies with gesso, which seems to help a lot with the possible chipping and rubbing of paint. That said, the advantage of acrylic paint is precisely the fact that it's flexible. In my experience there are differences between brands however, and between colours. I've rarely had issues with plain white, but typically chipping occurs with colours that have a lot of white mixed in such as pale yellow or peachy skintone. Even then it's an exception rather than a rule and I always get annoyed when it happens, I wish I knew what causes it. The type of bait used must have something to do with it, too.

[lostpony]

Thanks Griffin and Baby Sugarberry!

(by the way yes you don't want to use Testors enamels because of incompatibility with PVC but "Dullcote" is a clear spray that I have heard is not enamel and some have used successfully on ponies)

Wow so even differences in color on the bait makes a difference to the end result then.

Seems using paint at all is a matter of personal experience and whatever is learned doesn't apply to every pony so each project can be a source of surprises.  So there's no "magic bullet" that  will guarantee perfect outcome every time.

I have a big batch of dollar ponies on its way and a few of them are going to be in poor enough condition to maybe explore some of the suggestions.

I hope this has also been informative to the OP, and I wish everyone great results!

[Em_L._Pea_Customs]

Hey there!  I use Vallejo artist acrylics and seal with Testor's Dullcote spray.  The trick is VERY thin coats of paint and a VERY light coat of seal at the end.  I have never done an undercoat unless I had dyed the pony and was trying to prevent bleed-through.  When I started customizing, I painted customs with cheap acrylics and sealed with make-up sponged on Mod Podge Matte (watered down to the consistency of skim milk).  None of those have shown any issues, but I still always used very thin coats. 

I have been customizing for more than 10 years and have never had a problem with the paint on any of the customs I have done.  I think that a lot of the tacky, sticky, failing paint, etc. customs that we see have to do with using the wrong types of paint and sealant combinations, along with hotter/more humid climates that they are being stored or shipped in. 

Good luck!

[Safflower]

Hello! Just wanted to say that some monster high doll repaint artists use a brand called Mr. Super clear, which is an Asian brand specially made for toy customizing. I haven't tried it myself, but since it is for toys, it might work well for ponies. It is expensive though.

[lostpony]

I wonder if Mr. Super Clear is related to Mr. Clean...

I will definitely consult back to the very specific advice in this thread before attempting any pony painting.

I'm glad to hear that even your cheap acrylics topped by Mod Podge have held up OK for over ten years, cookhuman.  Who knows what my green unicorn was exposed to...seems I don't need to be so timid about pony painting after all.

[artful_fox_customs]

I use MSC for a sealant, but I had previously used Testors Dullcote. Both are amazing sealants, but from the amount I have used both, I much prefer the MSC.