I've done a couple different methods before. The first being to take your coated paint brush, wipe it off a bit so it's not totally saturated then run your finger through the bristles towards yourself. The second method is to hit your paint brush on another object like a screw driver or a wood block so that it flings the paint onto the object or canvas.
Maybe a weird suggestion, but check out miniature (Warhammer) painting videos. There's a boatload of techniques for different effects, some of which, like paint splatter should translate to most types of painting.
Paint splatter follow-up I've tried both techniques that @MisterYuck mentioned in the past and I think they both have promise. For the flinging of paint from running your finger along a brush, I've actually found a toothbrush works better than a paintbrush. Tapping a paintbrush on another object works but I found I never had the control I wanted. I think both methods just require a lot of practice to get consistent results (like with anything I suppose). I did also check out a few videos. The only new thing I tried was using an airbrush to blow air onto a loaded paintbrush from a few inches away. I think I like this method the best. If you hold the airbrush close to the paintbrush you get more fine splatter, further away big splatter. Definitely requires practice. I think my only real finding, other than each different method requires practice, is that using vinyl paint for splatter is probably a bad idea. I'm sure some people do it successfully...but if it is too thinned, it will eat away at your existing paint job and look bad. It's way safer to use acrylic paint. Since your primary paint app is probably done before adding splatter, acrylic makes the most sense.
Try a denture brush BTW - it's like a big cartoon toothbrush on one side and a smaller detail one on the other side usually, they are very useful cleaning / splatter tools. Plus they almost always have them at dollar stores.
I know this is a V-Color thread, but god damn I just broke open my Vinyl Wonder paints for the first time this afternoon and it made me almost weep from bliss. I didn't see a Vinyl Wonder paint thread but there friggin needs to be one because this viscous chemical needs to become a household staple.
Anyone know how often Gunnzo gets restocks of Mad Ape Ninja, at this point in time? There are a couple of colors I would love to grab, but they have been marked Sold Out on the site for some time now. I tried calling them to inquire and did not get much info...
if you can get in touch w/ the owner, she would probably know. I talked to her in the past before the last restock. but that was years ago. I definitely hope they get more made.
So I have an interest in custom painting vinyl toys. I build models and have painted vinyl kits before. And I did do one custom Bandai figure a few years ago. But with vinyl model kits (and the Bandai figure) I always fully primed the vinyl with water based acrylic primer before painting. I used to use cheap acrylic paints from Hobby Lobby or Walmart, but have since upgraded to higher quality paints like Tamiya, Vallejo, and AK. But these are all hobbyist paints that are still acrylic (I know Tamiya is solvent based as opposed to water based, but still…) Paints on the models have held up fine over the years, and the Bandai figure (primed with Vallejo primer and painted with an assortment of Tamiya and Vallejo) seems to be doing well a couple years in. But I might like to dabble in more Bandai customs and possibly some sofubi customs. And in some instances I would not want to prime the whole thing but use the base vinyl as the starting point and just add some colors to accentuate the bare vinyl. I’ve read this whole thread (and done lots of googling an YouTube watching) but still have questions/more to learn. One of my most pressing questions currently is about the specific nature of paints that chemically bond with vinyl. I’ve read that some paints do this, and that some brands (like V-color or Vinyl Wonder) are specifically formulated for this purpose. But my question is, what specifically are they? In the model building world there are generally three categories of paint: acrylic, lacquer, and enamel. Each has specific properties and their own pros & cons. There’s also some overlap like Tamiya acrylic is technically an “acrylic lacquer” since it is solvent based (alcohol in this case), but not to be confused with Tamiya lacquer paints which are a different product. Are these vinyl specific paints one of these three or something else? I’ve got many more thoughts and questions, but I think this is a big enough wall of text to start with, lol.
they are basically pigment in a solution that dissolves vinyl to a degree, to put it in the simple dumb person terms i myself understand. the thinner is real nasty, build a decent spray booth or do it outside. use good ppe.
Yeah, the pigment in solution/solvent is true of basically all paint. I guess my question is more what is the solvent? Do these paints fall into one of the three major categories I mentioned or are they something else entirely? My modeling experience and research has generally turned up these painting tips when dealing with vinyl: acrylics are generally safe on vinyl, but don’t bond. Lacquers are usually safe on top of an acrylic base coat and may be safe directly in the vinyl in some cases but testing is recommended. Enamels are generally unsafe and react with the plasticizers in the vinyl causing the paint to never fully cure or dry or even outright melting the vinyl. But finding clear info about paints chemically bonding with vinyl and how they do it (and what types of paint do this) has been incredibly elusive in my experience. There was an excellent panel at G-fest in 2023 about customizing vinyl figures. It was primarily geared towards customizing things like modern Bandai toys but they started out with a quick history of vinyl toys and then delved into the chemical makeup and properties of vinyl. They went on to discuss how you could use these properties when customizing, including painting. But even to the extent of physically shrinking or expanding the vinyl (to limited degrees) by soaking it in the right chemical baths for the right amount of time. The presenter was very knowledgeable and had some absolutely fascinating info about all this and did a great job explaining how each technique worked with the science behind it. Unfortunately I had my two young and very squirmy kids with me that prevented me from being able to pay full attention to the panel and ultimately had to leave well before it was over. They weren’t being bad but it was already late in the day, everyone was tired, and sitting through a boring (to them) technical discussion about the science and chemistry of vinyl was just beyond a 7 year old’s capability. lol. I wish I could figure out who that panel host was and pick their brain. Ultimately I want to customize some more Bandai MMS figures and perhaps someday do some custom painting of blank sofubi (some of the unpainted modern Marusan kaiju really catch my imagination). But I want to gather as much info and knowledge about customizing and painting vinyl as I can before going too far.
I don’t think any reasonable company would give out its proprietary information on the materials used to make the paint. If you want to use vinyl paint, read this 15 page thread, buy some VW and practice.
Sure they’re not gonna share the whole formula. But knowing what the primary base of the paint is isn’t asking a whole lot. It’s kinda crucial in fact in knowing what products you can or can’t use with it and in what ways. As an example from my modeling background, it’s no secret that Tamiya acrylic is alcohol based and Vallejo is water based. And this info allows you to know what you can layer underneath each paint, what you can layer over the top, what you can or can’t mix with the paint, how you can cleanup the paint, what you need to strip the paint, etc. I thought it would be nice to know the basic makeup of the vinyl paint as it will answer a lot of those basic questions on how to work with it while avoiding wasting expensive paint or ruining figures. But if the info isn’t out there then I guess experimentation is the only way to learn.
Maybe you could message or email Wonder Goblin (Vinyl Wonder Paint) since he hired a chemist to basically reverse engineer Vinyl paint and create his own. He might be able to give you the answers to the basic make up of the paint.
That is, in fact, a really good idea! Lol, I feel kinda dumb for not thinking of it. Is Wonder Goblin a member here? A search failed to turn anything up. Maybe I spelled it wrong? Now, ignoring vinyl-specific paint for a moment, I have another question that maybe someone has some experience with? As mentioned above I am interested in customizing more modern Bandai vinyl figures. Like, stuff in the Movie Monster Series from the last couple of years. They’re cheap, easy to find, and usually have great sculpts but are often pretty lacking in paint. I found it really fun custom painting the one figure I’ve done and think this would be a great starting point for learning more about painting figures (vs model kits) without breaking the bank or ruining something rare or unique. But, in a number of cases I’d want to strip the factory paint off and start with the bare vinyl. Examples would include the recent Megalon MMS has a really nice chocolate brown base vinyl that I’d want to keep, or the new Chainsaw Gigan which has a grayish blue vinyl with tiny flecks of glitter. So does anyone have experience stripping paint off modern Bandai vinyls? Any tips on what works well vs what to avoid?
Vinyl wonder thinner will strip it if it is vinyl paint, which I would think it would always be on a Bandai.
You would think it’d be vinyl paint on them, but I seriously wonder. I’ve watched the scratch test videos for Vinyl Wonder (where they scrape the cured paint with a toothpick with no ill effects to the paint). No way you could do that to Bandai factory paint without scratching it.
I was not sure where to post this, so feel free to delete. Joann Fabrics stores are going out of business. Last day open is today. I noticed that Iwata airbrushes and compressors are ~40-50% off in stores right now. I checked my local store and they still had a Ninja Jet and Smart Jet compressor in stock. Just a heads up on a good deal if you may be looking for something. https://www.joann.com/search?q=iwata
