Painting question

[sumrsnow]

I’m wondering if you can use primer on a PYO before you paint it?
I’ve been painting model horses made of acetate plastic and resin for quite a while and I always prime them first. I know the Windstones are made of a different type of material that is apparently fairly porous.
I’m wondering if a primer would work as a sealer to even out the porosity or if it would work at all.
Has anyone ever tried it? If so, what happened?
I’ve ordered my first 2 PYO’s so I’m excited to start painting them when they get here. But I’m trying to do some research before I start so that I don’t mess them up.

[sumrsnow]

[Mmloda]

I prime my PYO’s with acrylic white paint before I paint them..but I think you could use any color to prime them with depending on how you wanna paint them… 😀

Marzena

[sumrsnow]

Hi mmloda,
Thanks for your reply. 🙂
I’m referring to an actual primer that is put on before the paint. It has some extra “tooth” or roughness to it so that the paint sticks better to the sculpture.
I’m just curious as to how it would work with the Windstone material.
Primer comes in white,gray, rust & black. Gray is the most common color.
Have you had any problems with peeling or paint lifting later, when you’ve used the white paint as a base coat?

[Lokie]

It’s late, so hopefully this reply makes sense, but yes, I’ve used an aerosol primer on several of my PYOs. However, when I didn’t use primer, I’d still “basecoat” by airbrushing some layers of acrylic paint all over the piece. Both methods reduced the amount of absorption of the first coat painted on the statue. And, although I tend to feel more secure painting on the primer, I’ve noticed no significant difference between how the paint sticks on the primer versus how the paint sticks on the acrylic basecoat. And as of now, the paint hasn’t lifted or peeled on any of my pieces painted without primer (that I’m aware of).

I’ll probably continue to use a primer because its a habit carried over from using it on other things I paint that require it, and I do feel safer using it, but I’m not sure it’s a necessity on the PYOs.

Many members basecoat their PYOs in just regular acrylic paint instead of using primer, and, as far as I’m aware, with no problems. If I remember correctly, Nambroth (Jennifer), who paints for Windstone, basecoats with an airbrush using regular acrylic paint. You might want to ask her because I’m not sure if that’s accurate info anymore now that she uses powered pigments. I don’t know if Windstone primes their production pieces.

Also, if you haven’t read these threads, you might find some helpful info inside:

http://www.windstoneeditions.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=363

http://www.windstoneeditions.com/Paint%20your%20own%20tutorial.pdf

[Heather]

The PYOs are quite absorptive and the first coat or three of paint will always tend to go on a little blotchy because of that. There are several methods that folks here use, but the one that I like best has been to follow Koishii’s painting tutorial (not sure where that thread is hiding :/). You’ll note that her approach is to first stain the PYO with a dark color so that the details of the carving stand out. From there, she puts on thin basecoats of the colors she wants in each area, repeats the coats until the color is strong enough, then does repeated thin layers over those using metallics and interference. The effect of all of those thin layers is just spectacular.

For myself, I actually like the effect of the blotching because it adds a degree of depth to the paint job. Putting on the colors will hide some of the blotching but not all of it, so it persists as vague shadows under the paint. I’m still working on my technique, though. I’m not very experienced with PYOs yet, and I’m a very slow painter–bad combo! 😛

I’ve never used primer on my PYOs. The surface of the piece has plenty of tooth in all but a few places (some of the side scales on the dragon; the claws on the griffin) and holds several layers of paint very well. Basecoating, on the other hand, I do use, and it can be hard to get a perfectly even layer of color. But if you’re going to be layering other colors over that basecoat (i.e. transparent hues or metallics or interference), then it doesn’t matter if the basecoat isn’t perfect. And little variances in the color can end up creating an “organic” look, which I like but might drive other painters bananas. 😉 Since you’ve already got experience as a painter, I’m sure you’ll quickly find an approach that works for you. Have fun! 🙂

[Kristen]

I just use an aerosol clear basecoat (basically the same stuff I use as a topcoat) and it’s worked well so far. I also tried painting a basecoat on, and… well… the statue REALLY absorbs the paint and dries faster then I can put it on. The aerosol basecoat goes on fairly evenly and then you don’t get gunky spots…

From my experience… Never used primer, the paint sticks quite well to the statue on it’s own…

[Shawna]

Interesting that some folks have had blotching issues, I never have…though I do tend to basecoat too, but not always. I’ve found that a light coat of paint in any color you choose works just fine.

My $.02 about primer, the more paint you layer on a PYO, the more details you lose, so I would primer it in a color you plan to build on, so you don’t end up with too many layers of paint.

An example would be the kirin I just finished for KitsuneLady, she was base coated in the soft ivory color that is her main color.

Kyrin

[sumrsnow]

Thanks for all of the great replies! It looks like the Windstones do well with any kind of basecoat, which is great!
This will be a lot of fun for me….I’ll get to do something in beautiful flowery colors which is a big change from “horse” colors. 😀
I’ll definitely be out of my box. LOL!
Does anyone use PearlEx powders?

[Heather]

Okay, I found the thread with Koishii’s tutorial. It’s here:

http://www.windstoneeditions.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4852&highlight=tutorial

Just so you can see the steps that she uses. 🙂

[sumrsnow]

Well, that is REALLY cool! Thanks!

[Heather]

You’re welcome! 🙂 I found it helpful myself.

[sumrsnow]

Another question….. 😉
I really like the antiquing that you guys do on the dragons. It looks so cool and really makes the details pop. I’ve read about the antiquing and using the gel, or an acrylic paint wash. But do you seal the piece before you antique it?
I haven’t antiqued anything before so I’m kinda nervous about putting a coating over my paintwork at the end and not being able to get it off where I need to.
I’ve already visualized being satisfied with my dragon’s colors and then turning it into a muddy mess at the end. LOL!
I figure at least if it’s sealed first, I’d be able to clean off the antiquing if I messed up.
I’m planning on painting by airbrush first, so antiquing first, like Koishii, wouldn’t work. I may try hand brushing another one, but it’s been years since I totally hand brushed anything and there’s no telling how it would turn out. 😯

[Lokie]

sumrsnow wrote:

Another question….. 😉
I really like the antiquing that you guys do on the dragons. It looks so cool and really makes the details pop. I’ve read about the antiquing and using the gel, or an acrylic paint wash. But do you seal the piece before you antique it?

I think some members do and some don’t. I know this has been discussed in several different threads previously, but I can’t seem to find them. >.< When several members where having a problem or hesitant about antiquing, the sealer first method was suggested. As well, Nam's mentioned that Melody has sealed first and then antiqued PYOs before.

I don’t usually seal before I antique, but I have a few times, sort of. After I finished a piece, sealed it, and then noticed the antiquing could use some touching up. Then resealed after.

I know that paint doesn’t like to behave as well on glossy services, so I’m not sure how easy it is to antique on a PYO that was sealed with a gloss finish. Maybe members who have more experience sealing before antiquing will chime in.

[Jasmine]

I do. But that’s cause I’m totally messy. I seal it first with a coat of Krylon Sealer just incase I screw up. I really like the gel, it takes longer to dry…I’ve tried just the acrylic to antique but find it dries way too fast for me to keep up.

[Author]

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