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Dry Pigments and Cold Weather

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  • #835552

    Alright, so the title might be slightly misleading – I’m not asking about using dry pigments in cold weather, but I am asking two separate questions and I didn’t want the title to read “How do you apply dry pigments, and by the way, how do you guys deal with spraying your sculpts with clear topcoat when the weather outside is frightful?” .. I think you can probably see why I shortened it.

    SO. Question 1 – How do you apply dry pigments?

    Assuming you use any of course. I have been looking through the gallery recently to get more inspiration for the dragons that I’m getting soon and I noticed that some people mention using powdered pigments on their PYOs, with gorgeous results. I did a little bit of research and I noticed that Jennifer’s supplier is a secret but Pearl Ex seemed to be next on the list. However, I have no idea what to do with them once I have them! Do you need to add any medium to it to make it work, or do you just rub it on?

    Question 2 – For people who live where the weather gets cold, how do you deal with spraying on clear topcoat when it’s very cold out?

    I live in New Hampshire, and the weather here gets quite cold in the wintertime. Naturally since it’s December I’m beginning to worry about how I will deal with applying the topcoat to my PYOs. I’m curious, since the can says not to use it in temperatures below 70 degrees (*snort* – I’ve been using it in 40 degree weather for a month now and haven’t had an issue – my father thinks it’s mostly a recommendation to STORE it at that temperature), how low can you go with the temperature before it’s a serious issue to try spraying it? I should explain that I HAVE to do it outside because the stuff smells horrible and of course I don’t want to get it all over my things. It’s a possibility that during the winter I could do it in the garage, but honestly it’s not going to be any warmer in there, just less with the weather problems.

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    #835553
    Pegasi1978
    Participant

      Never have used dry pigments myself, but I’d wager that you might use them by brushing the dry pigment on then sealing before moving to the next layer or color (like the way some people use pastels). 😕 Don’t quote me on that though.

      For the second question, I got tried of having problems with spray on topcoats in general so I moved to a brush on sealant. Now I don’t have to worry about temperature too much.

      #835554
      Diana L
      Participant

        I’m glad you asked that question because it’s the same one I have. I just used Pearl Ex on a muse and mixed it with an acrylic medium and painted it on as usual. Really bright colors and beautiful. I know there are several people here who dry brush it on with sealer to hold it in place for layering. It’s different to say the least.

        I just got to the point where I need to spray my muse and you asked the very question I was going to post. It’s 40 degrees here during the day and 20 at night so how does one seal it in the cold other than paint on sealer? I thought about just running outside with both, spraying and running back inside with the sculpt *snicker* but there must be an easier way…..anyone….???????

        #835555
        Skeeterdeee
        Participant

          dragoncastle wrote:

          I just got to the point where I need to spray my muse and you asked the very question I was going to post. It’s 40 degrees here during the day and 20 at night so how does one seal it in the cold other than paint on sealer? I thought about just running outside with both, spraying and running back inside with the sculpt *snicker* but there must be an easier way…..anyone….???????

          I tried that, it made the house smell horrible :puke: My house had that spray paint kinda smell for a week! I too would like to hear some advice on this!

          #835556
          Jennifer
          Keymaster

            When the weather drops below 50 (most sprays say not to use them below this temperature) here.. which is most of the year (at least from sept-may) I have to go to my parents house and use their large earthen basement to spray things. You really need to find a way to do it in airspace different than your living airspace! I know how troublesome this can be.

            Your other option is to use a brush-on type that is odorless.

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            #835557
            Rachel
            Participant

              dragoncastle wrote:

              I’m glad you asked that question because it’s the same one I have. I just used Pearl Ex on a muse and mixed it with an acrylic medium and painted it on as usual. Really bright colors and beautiful. I know there are several people here who dry brush it on with sealer to hold it in place for layering. It’s different to say the least.

              I used Pearl Ex on a muse, too. I tried it both the way dragoncastle did and dry and the effects are quite different. Mixed with acrylic medium is easier to use, but for me anyway, tends to be subtler. Of course, it’s also easier to control the density of the stuff that way, too, and the color can be adjusted by mixing more or less of the powder in the medium and/or using more or less coats. Doing it dry (just brushing it on an area) looked really nice, especially on areas with lots of texture. But, if you’re not careful, it can be rubbed off before you seal it. I also used a brush on sealer, and for the most part, it didn’t come off when I sealed it, but it did redistribute. So a spray on sealer might be best if you use it completely dry. I think I remember that someone suggested making the surface tacky before applying Pearl Ex. Maybe brush some acrylic medium on there and allow it to partially dry before brushing the Pearl Ex on? One of the problems I can think of with that is that it might be hard to control how much of the powder sticks…like too much sticks.

              As for the question on the sealer, as Jennifer suggested, brush on sealer doesn’t have the problem with odor that the spray on does. There are limitations, but it worked beautifully for me, with the only problem being that I had to remember where I coated because I had to hold it to get to areas that were hard to reach when it was just sitting on the table. After setting it down to let it dry and coming back…uh oh…where did I hold it before? Hehe. It’s clear and if you’re not using glossy, it can be hard to differentiate between coated and uncoated areas.

              #835558
              Bodine
              Participant

                I use the powders as a dry brush on.I love it.I brush it on the base coloring before it is “hard”dried and it goes on quite well.I hold it mostly by the horns when I use the powders.I apply a light spray of clear coat after every couple of colors or those that are blended so I won’t mess it up by touching it.It works well for me. Most of mine in the Gallery are done this way. 🙂
                I use a very good make-up brush as my paint brush for the dry powders,perfect.

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                #835559
                Diana L
                Participant

                  Make-up brush, good idea, thanks

                  #835560
                  Kujacker
                  Participant

                    Brush on sealer. I find the results better than the spray on, and it doesn’t have any odor.
                    I also have a garage, so in the event I need to use the canned sealer, that’s where I do it.

                    As for pigments, it’s been said. Dry or mixed with a medium. I simply skimmed the replies so if this was said I’m sorry. But be sure to use an old brush you don’t like when applying them dry (or I new brush you never use). It will ruin your brush.
                    Some people, including myself, have done entire pyos with only pigments. That’s a whole ‘nother story lol.

                    #835561

                    Awesome, thanks for all the replies guys!

                    It sounds like I may have to get some brush-on topcoat for the winter weather then. The only thing I worried about with that is that I wondered if it may come out streaky. I know when I used to paint a lot more and I’d apply a topcoat it would sometimes show brush strokes, but that was when I was much younger and probably applied too much 😆 Any recommended brands?

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                    #835562
                    Pegasi1978
                    Participant
                      #835563

                      Thank you Pegasi!!

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                      #835564
                      Kujacker
                      Participant

                        It’s different on pyos. You have to worry about dripping, not streaking. It will drip if you apply globs at a time. You can always add more coats (by the time I’m done, some of my pyos have 3 or 4 coats of clearcoat). I use Duraclear.

                        #835565

                        Alright, I’ll be sure to be patient with it then 😀 Thanks for all the tips!

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