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Dry Pigments and Cold Weather

Home Forums Windstone Editions Paint-Your-Own Windstone Dry Pigments and Cold Weather

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  • #835566
    Jennifer
    Keymaster

      I recommend this as well. I have used it extensively on Windstones.

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      #835567
      Elena
      Participant

        Western Canada Here 😛 There are maybe 3months of the year that I can spray outside according to the instructions on a can, so I mostly use brush on clear coats. My current one is a waterbased Varathane in either satin or gloss. I do 2-3thin coats and have never had a problem with streaking, I always seem to get drips/runs when I spray. If I really HAVE to spray something and it’s stupid cold outside I will get everything ready inside and then duck outside, spray and pop back in. I then let it dry in my basement. The only problem is that there is still a smell associated with it but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as if I had sprayed inside.

        For pigments, I have brushed them on (advice from the art store I purchased them at – wear a mask when using the pigment powders) have also used a q-tip to apply them on larger areas or if I want a streaky-swirly effect (did for a night sky effect on black). But generally I cheat and mix them with a couple of drops of the clearcoat I’m going to use and then apply. If i have brushed on the powders, I find I have to to the first clearcoat as a spray so the powder stays where i want it, but then do the remaining coats with the brush on.

        #835568
        kitsunelady
        Participant

          Jennifer wrote:

          I recommend this as well. I have used it extensively on Windstones.

          Ditto. This is all I use anymore, since I found the first few PYOs I did (which I used spray sealer on) had gotten a crackle look to their finish. Never had that problem with the brush-on. I’ve also tried the semi-matte and matte varnishes from Liquitex, they are nice as well, depending on what kind of effect you want. I used the matte on fur and gloss on scales on the same sculpt once. It looked pretty good, if you ask me. e.e

          #835569

          Alright I went out and got some Liquitex Gloss Medium Varnish today and I just have a couple more questions 🙂

          First off, I do like how I feel as though I have more control over how much gloss I put on and I feel a lot better knowing that I am getting the little nooks and crannies where its tougher to get with the spray (especially on a windy day ><). I am wondering though, with all the scales on a dragon it's really easy to start getting bubbles, sometimes a very fine foam, even when I'm brushing very softly and slowly. I know that for the most part these will be gone by the time its dry, but has anyone ever had any bubbles dry into the finish? I've checked the spots that I saw it happening before and it already appears to be gone, but I want to be sure!

          Also, is there “too much” to be allowing into the crevasses of the scales – such as where the antiquing goes? The gloss is a very light, almost cloudy blue in those areas. I know it dries clear, but I don’t know if I should actively try to get most of it out, or if it doesn’t matter terribly much either way?

          Thanks again guys 😀

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          #835570
          Kujacker
          Participant

            You’re getting bubbles in your clear coat? I have never once gotten a bubble from a brush on sealer. :scratch:

            As for pooling, generally I don’t mind it. I always get a smooth coat without trying, but places like in the dragon/keeper’s tail-meets-leg area where it tends to pool, I just let it sit. Only “bother” is it takes longer to dry.

            #835571

            Kujacker wrote:

            You’re getting bubbles in your clear coat? I have never once gotten a bubble from a brush on sealer. :scratch:

            Yep, and as it turned out it marred the look of the piece in certain areas. I had to re-paint over them. Not sure that I like this brush on stuff 🙁

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            #835572
            Elena
            Participant

              Bubbly foam… yep had that. The bubbles/foam will remain in the clearcoat when dry, not as bad, but still there. I find it happens most when I’ve been a little to enthusiastic mixing my clearcoat 😳 or have to go over alot of bumpy areas (which on a PYO is everything). Going slow and steady is the first way to prevent this. Other trick are…
              – Only go in one direction
              – Use a small flat brush
              – Wet your brush and press out the excess water so that it’s just damp
              – Don’t over stroke an area
              If you are getting bubbles, then with a different brush, lightly brush the area in a single direction while it’s still wet to remove the bubbles.
              As for pooling in the creases, it happens and you can either lightly brush it out, with a different brush, or leave it. I generally leave it unless it’s a rather large or deep pool as kujacker said, it just takes longer to dry and in some ways I think it’s great ’cause it fills in some of those nooks that are a pain to dust 😛

              #835573
              PurpleTurtle
              Participant

                I will occasionally get bubbles when applying brush-on clear coat. I don’t use it on my pyos, but I have used on some of my sculpts and boxes. You have to be careful not to stir-up the medium and apply in thin-ish coats to get a feel for what your using. When you see bubbles forming, work them out with your brush. I also find rinsing the bush you are using several times during the process helps. But make sure the brush doesn’t have a lot of water in it, because this can cause the ‘foaming’ effect you mentioned.
                As for antiquing, I usually do it before I put on the clear coat. I know that most people here will antique after applying sealer, and I understand why. It’s tricky because you can wipe of that lovely paint you spent so much time to apply – and I do. But it’s the way I have always done it. The advantage to using spray sealer is that you can get a thin coat easier so you still have those nice nooks and crannies to catch the antiquing medium. You can also get this with the brush on, but you need apply in thin coats.

                #835574

                Got it, thanks guys! After going back over my touched up areas I still saw bubbles, no matter how soft or slowly I was applying the topcoat, but I was able to rinse my brush and just gently pull at the areas that had bubbles to get them out. I know that I am super critical of my own work as well, so I’m sure that a lot of the areas that bothered me others wouldnt have even been able to pick out.

                I may have to try using a flatter brush as well – I’ve been using my small filbert thinking that it would get into the smaller areas better, but it may be part of the reason the bubbles are forming. Thanks again 😀

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                #835575
                Elena
                Participant

                  Yeral wrote:

                  Kujacker wrote:

                  You’re getting bubbles in your clear coat? I have never once gotten a bubble from a brush on sealer. :scratch:

                  Yep, and as it turned out it marred the look of the piece in certain areas. I had to re-paint over them. Not sure that I like this brush on stuff 🙁

                  Paitience. Like everything it takes practice to get it just right 🙂 Also, make sure you SLOWLY STIR your clearcoat to mix it. Not sure what the instructions say on the jar, but even if it says shake, shaking causes bubbles. and for practice, squiggles of hot glue, paint or regular glue (to get the raised bits) on cardboard works great.

                  #835576

                  Thanks for the tip Bodine! I still haven’t gotten any pigments to play with but I’ve not forgotten about them either – I just need some extra money and I’ll be trying them 🙂

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                  #835577
                  Jennifer
                  Keymaster

                    Split to keep on track. 🙂

                    Volunteer mod- I'm here to help! Email me for the best response: nambroth at gmail.com
                    My art: featherdust.com

                    #835578
                    KoishiiKitty
                    Participant

                      I have been using powdered pigments for a while now…and if you are smart, you can find a LOT of them. now pigments can be tricky because you can cover your pyo and loose detail in both color depth and sculpt. Powders can clump together on a brush. If your brush is too soft, powder goes every where. Good if you are looking for a random pattern that you don’t have to think about and can be done in as little as 10 minutes.(really this can be fun) But if you are working in a specific color pattern, want to control the amount of powder and use different layerd colors, you will want to try other brushes. Looking at your art Yeral, you are pretty detailed and your color scheems are very thought out.
                      I use a veriety of art brushes, a soft stiff brush, stiff bristle brush, and soft bristle. Flat square and round. The soft stiff bristle is my fave, and there are veriouse techniques to apply with paint, dry, and with clear GAC polymer. One of my favorites is to do a black base, use metalic paint cry brushed, and then powders in thin layers over that.

                      #835579

                      Do you think it would be possible to do a quick 10-minute brushing of powders in a random pattern, then seal it and do detail on top of that? You’re totally right, I do love working in detail! 😆

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                      #835580
                      KoishiiKitty
                      Participant

                        absolutely! the sealant can be painted over, but make sure your paint is not too watery, it will have a hard time adhering to the sealant. You can also do the pigments then do th details over them, if you use a GAC polymer then it will prevent the powder from coming off too. Ether way can be done and I would play with both to find what fits your style of painting.

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