A few more Apoxie Sculpt and painting questions

[kaelynn]

Okay custom gurus, I have a couple more questions!   

Do you let all sculpted bits cure the full 24 hours before painting?  or just until hard enough that you won't damage anything while painting?  I read (I think on the Aves website) that apoxie sculpt can be painted wet or dry so that's what got me wondering.

How long do you wait in between coats of paint?  I'll be airbrushing the FBR and major areas and then using a paint brush on smaller areas and dry brushed highlights.  I'm on a bit of a time crunch (long story - custom is for a birthday on Monday that the original gift fell through for) and trying to get all the steps done as quickly as possible without sacrificing durability.  I usually let dry a full day in between coats of paint, but I don't have that option in this case.   

[Alipes]

Usually with Apoxie Sculpt I give it the full 24 hours to cure, but then again I don't paint sculpted bits until I've used primer anyway, just to make sure the paint sticks.  If you're really on a time crunch, I would say you could probably paint it when it feels dry.

As for dry time between coats, I hand paint acrylics (yes, even for fbrs  ) and give it about 15 minutes.  The big thing is to make sure the surface looks dry or you run the risk of smudging (although that may not be as much of an issue with an airbrush, I'm not sure!)  I've used this rule of thumb with great success for both fbr's and eyes/symbols, but I also live in a dry part of Texas, so it may depend on your environment too!

[Griffin]

I've never been in a situation where I couldn't allow Apoxie the full 24 hours so I can't help you there... but they do say it can be painted before it's cured so I guess it's safe.

I handpaint my FBRs, too, and I usually give it half an hour to an hour between coats. In practice it's often more but that's only because I start doing something else in the meanwhile and then forget to get back to painting. With smaller areas like eyes and symbols I usually just wait until it looks and feels dry enough to add the next coat. Then again,  I do a lot of wet on wet painting, too.

I assume with an airbrush the drying time between coats is not as critical, the reason you have to wait with traditional paintbrushes is that the bristles may lift off paint if the previous coats are still wet. However, if possible, I would give the pony one or two days before sealing and rehairing to make sure the paint is fully dry. If you're quick with rehairing, I'm sure you'll be able to finish by Monday.  

[kaelynn]

Thank you so much for the advice!!

I was able to read your responses this weekend but my connection was too slow to post so my apologies for not posting my thanks earlier!

Unfortunately, the person whom the gift was for was present most of the weekend so I was only able to squeeze a bit of time in here and there.  I managed the base coat this weekend, but the majority of my painting is getting done today.   

Just wanted to let you both know that your advice was most helpful!  I'll be posting more WIP pictures in the Moose thread today and should have the final pic up tonight or tomorrow.