restoration help!

[noxluc]

Hey! i have gotten quite good at this whole restoration thing (if i can say so myself) but there is one thing i am struggling pretty hard with, and that is to paint over marker stains and such on the vinyl. i use acrylic paint but cannot for the life of me get a smooth and opaque layer of paint. i have tried sponges, brushes and my finger for dabbing and building but it just gets patchy and textured or streaky 
any tips?

[Safflower]

What I do to avoid this is to do very thin, watery coats. I haven't tried this method on ponies because I haven't had to cover up marker, but it will probably work. Basically, you just water down paint and paint on thin layers allowing each to dry thoroughly. Also, if a layer is too streaky or textured, you can just buff it down. You can also buff/sand down acrylic paint you have already put on ponies if you haven't tried to remove it already. And, if you have one, you could try airbrushing? I've never seen anyone use it for ponies, but I've seen people airbrush a doll to change its body color for customizing. What I would do to airbrush is cover the hair, symbols, and blush and airbrush the affected area.

[noxluc]

thank you so much for tips!
would love to be able to airbrush but i dont have that kind of money hahah
but i will try to water down my paint! thank you

[Pokeyonekenobie]

If you want to sand it down, you can use a fine grain sandpaper.  The higher the number the finer the grade.  I usually buy mine at Walmart.  Depending on how much I need it sanded I'll start with lower numbers and then work my way up to higher ones in order to get a nice smooth finish.  But if I just need to touch up a little bit of texture, I'll just start at the higher numbers.

[Shaiyeh]

I would be very careful both painting and sanding ponies tbh.
Acrylic paint is very different from brand to brand, and for what purpose they were made to begin with, and some cheaper alternatives can potentially stain your pony even more, and in some cases the paint colour can also change over time (as can the pony you painted on!). Craft grade acrylics and/or warhammer acrylics are the best I've found for painting on ponies, but I've only ever done it on custom ponies. Art (as in painting on canvas) acrylics tend to be thicker and more textured, and can dry slightly tacky.


That said, I would again say that painting over marks might not be the best solution for this problem. I'd try sunfading! I've had great success with that in the past

[Baby Sugarberry]

Paint is not a good choice for restoration.  It can make the problem worse over the years.
As suggested by Shaiyeh, look up sunfading.  What pony are you trying to fix?  There's a few that shouldn't go out in the sun.