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So, I accidentally ended up with a pair of ‘flint’ eyes last time I ordered from Tohickon in a size I didn’t know what to do with. (Incidentally, I didn’t know what I was going to do with the flint eyes in PYO sizes either, but still)
I figured though: if they don’t fit anything, might as well experiment! So the fun little discovery is this:
Nail polish works flawlessly as paint for clear flint eyes! They look super professional, it comes in every color imaginable (including special effect and metallic colors of course!) and the best part: if you don’t like the color when you try it on, you can just clean it off again with nail polish remover! I just pressed them into an old kneaded eraser (clay would work too, I surmise) and painted over them a few coats and voila!
I’m probably not the only one to have discovered this, but still–I was pretty excited, so had to share. Anyone else?
Are you talking about painting the backs of the eyes? The only problem is, over time, unless the paint is fired on, the possibility of the glue pulling the paint away from the glass eye would make them look a bit… weird and almost fish eyed in time. This is what happened with some of the first windstones before eyes where the paint was fired on was used.
Yes, this method will work but as mentioned above, is not archival and may separate from the eye over time. Just so you know 20 or 30 years down the road the eyes might look funny. Maybe less time depending on the conditions and nail polish.
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My art: featherdust.comYeah, lacquer paint doesn’t adhere permanently to the glass eyes if the glue is placed directly onto the painted backs, but if you put glue carefully around the edges of the eyes so it doesn’t pull on the paint, they should hold up ok.
I’ve tried mixing metallic powdered pigment with crystal-clear epoxy glue and painted it onto the backs of clear flint eyes. They look beautiful, and so far ( its been about 6 years) the epoxy hasn’t come off of the backs of the eyes. It isn’t guaranteed to be archival, but that might be something you guys might want to experiment with.
I also epoxied some colored foil candy wrappers to the back of eyes. That makes them look really bright!
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