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We are shipping our first Paint Your Own Unicorns that have pewter horns that are “unfinished”. You may leave the horn as it is, or paint it to match your Unicorn. The pewter needs to be primered before painting and we have not yet found a brand of metal primer available to hobbyists that is perfect for the job that we can recommend.
The instruction sheet that comes with our PYO Unicorn reads like this:
“If you are going to paint the silver colored pewter horn, you will need to prepare it first – most likely with a little sanding and a primer designed for metal which should be allowed to dry until hard, for about a day. At this time we haven’t got a particular brand to recommend – please check the Paint Your Own forum on http://www.windstoneeditions.com for discussion of primers, and you may wish to search the internet or consult your local hobby shop for primers for the painting of pewter miniatures. Be sure to follow the directions on the package of the primer you are using to prepare the horn properly.”
I thought I’d begin this discussion so that you can share primer experience with one another. I did a bit of research and find that a Krylon spray primer is recomended by a lot of pewter miniature hobbyists – to spray your unicorn’s horn you could poke it through a large piece of paper or plastic to protect the rest of him from the spray. Please share your experiences!
I don’t have any experience with pewter, so forgive me if these are dumb questions.
If the horns are left as is, should we expect tarnishing or patina? With some of my gold plated horns, there are green patina patches, does this happen to all pewter? And what happens to pewter if you spray it with a sealer like Krylon?
I don’t have any experience with pewter, so forgive me if these are dumb questions.
If the horns are left as is, should we expect tarnishing or patina? With some of my gold plated horns, there are green patina patches, does this happen to all pewter? And what happens to pewter if you spray it with a sealer like Krylon?
I’m curious about sealing the straight pewter horn as well, or if I need to seal it.. I like the pewter finish (from the photo) so mine will likely go unpainted… but I’ve been wondering if I should clear coat the horn or just leave it? If anyone has any thoughts on this, I’m happy to hear them 🙂
Also, Susie… what are the odds of being able to request the horns not glued to the uni ahead of time? I realize a much different glue is used to get the horns in.. ‘n I have stuff that I’ve no doubt would be strong enough to hold the horn (My whole family are project people, so we have all kinds of stuff around that the average household wouldn’t lol!), but I was wonderin in case I see more release in the future and would like to send the horns out to get them gold, or if possible, silver plated.. (I dunno what it’d take to get horns silver plated, but my dad knows someone who can do gold plating for me) and well, hell, it saves the company from needing to do any plating work but I still get the plated look that I love so much, and I actually save the factory a step.. even if it is only on 2 unis XD haha. I would ask about the ones I just ordered, but I’m assuming they’re already done…
I don’t have any experience with pewter, so forgive me if these are dumb questions.
If the horns are left as is, should we expect tarnishing or patina? With some of my gold plated horns, there are green patina patches, does this happen to all pewter? And what happens to pewter if you spray it with a sealer like Krylon?
I cannot answer the other questions because I am wholly unfamiliar with painting pewter, but the gold plated horns with the green suffered from ‘horn rot’, which was a side effect of not being plated properly by the company windsotne used, and is one reason Windstone is having trouble finding someone new to do it! It was not supposed to happen, properly plated pewter that is cared for well should not do that.
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My art: featherdust.comI don’t have any experience with pewter, so forgive me if these are dumb questions.
If the horns are left as is, should we expect tarnishing or patina? With some of my gold plated horns, there are green patina patches, does this happen to all pewter? And what happens to pewter if you spray it with a sealer like Krylon?
I’m curious about sealing the straight pewter horn as well, or if I need to seal it.. I like the pewter finish (from the photo) so mine will likely go unpainted… but I’ve been wondering if I should clear coat the horn or just leave it? If anyone has any thoughts on this, I’m happy to hear them 🙂
Also, Susie… what are the odds of being able to request the horns not glued to the uni ahead of time? I realize a much different glue is used to get the horns in.. ‘n I have stuff that I’ve no doubt would be strong enough to hold the horn (My whole family are project people, so we have all kinds of stuff around that the average household wouldn’t lol!), but I was wonderin in case I see more release in the future and would like to send the horns out to get them gold, or if possible, silver plated.. (I dunno what it’d take to get horns silver plated, but my dad knows someone who can do gold plating for me) and well, hell, it saves the company from needing to do any plating work but I still get the plated look that I love so much, and I actually save the factory a step.. even if it is only on 2 unis XD haha. I would ask about the ones I just ordered, but I’m assuming they’re already done…
Actually, I was wondering the same thing… That horn is really in the way when you paint. I got a slightly damaged uni, which came with the horn out, and boy, was it awesome to paint it!
Read my books! Volume 1 and 2 of A Dragon Medley are available now.
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I host the feedback lists, which are maintained by drag0nfeathers.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htmI don’t have any experience with pewter, so forgive me if these are dumb questions.
If the horns are left as is, should we expect tarnishing or patina? With some of my gold plated horns, there are green patina patches, does this happen to all pewter? And what happens to pewter if you spray it with a sealer like Krylon?
I cannot answer the other questions because I am wholly unfamiliar with painting pewter, but the gold plated horns with the green suffered from ‘horn rot’, which was a side effect of not being plated properly by the company windsotne used, and is one reason Windstone is having trouble finding someone new to do it! It was not supposed to happen, properly plated pewter that is cared for well should not do that.
I don’t know what happens SUPER long term, but I’ve never had any issues with unpainted pewter or just clear coated pewter discoloring. It might if you handled it a bunch and got oil on it, but it seems to hold up just fine for display purposes. If it does discolor (I have pewter serving ware that tarnishes a bit after a trip through the dish washer), careful buffing will usually clean it right up.
So, bottom line, I think you’ll be okay! I’ve painted pewter miniatures for years without any troubles.
I will leave mine in it’s natural form.I have a few pewter pieces and they age well without any coating.They do however turn dark,black in the cracks given a little time.
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Male Hearth....one day🤞Dream on.I didn’t paint mine at all with my one from the last batch, it got some of the rest of the sculpt’s clear coat though….
4 things I'm looking for:
1. Mother Meerkat
2. production color Sitting Young Oriental dragons to be made in more colors besides VF, Brimstone would be awesome!
3. Female Griffin – Siamese with White
4. September Raffle Prize 2022 AHD Male GriffinIf you do want to paint the horn in silver or gold, what is best to paint it with? Can you use a metallic acrylic paint in gold or silver or is there something more real looking to paint them with?
Also I have a baby unicorn with the gold worn off the tip of its horn so is there anything I could use to touch up the tip that would match the gold plating? Also I have a horn on a unicorn that is loose so what glue would be best to secure it with so it doesn’t come off?
Looking for rainbow or pink & teal grab bags!
Kyrlon’s 18k gold leafing pen is about as close to the horn’s plating as you’re going to get. I don’t know how when it would work on the horn, on it’s own or as a touch up, as I’ve only used it for accents. They also make silver and copper leafing pens as well. And since kylon’s pens are leafing pens instead of paint pens the finished look is a plated one.
I used to paint miniatures. Most comic/gaming stores that sell miniatures also sell the painting supplies. I primed them with a brand named Citadel. The primer I have is black, but I think they also make white. They may also carry other brands as well. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a “nerd store”, it may be worth a visit. 🙂
…and I’ve also used my Citadel primer to prime some of my PYOs, too! :bigsmile:
And on the topic of Eyes for the PYO Unicorn: You may have received a pair of eyes that are 2mm too large for his little eye sockets! I’ve been happily sending the wrong size eyes!!! Ack! If you have the wrong eyes, please let me know at susie@windstoneeditions.com, include your order number and/or name and address where you’d like the eyes sent, and I’ll send you the right ones. You may change your eye color at this point if you’d like. :~
I used to paint miniatures. Most comic/gaming stores that sell miniatures also sell the painting supplies. I primed them with a brand named Citadel. The primer I have is black, but I think they also make white. They may also carry other brands as well. If you are lucky enough to live in an area with a “nerd store”, it may be worth a visit. 🙂
Oh man! Aren’t those Citadel paints amazing? I use those alot too since Shaun has got me into Warhammer! Wanna know a super secret amazing technique to fill in cracks and seams in repaired Windstones so they sand out like brand new? – Citadel Green Stuff
OMG that stuff is AMAZING!
Got a busted Windstone?
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Dreamscape, Orion, Poison Dart, Fireberry, Spangler + Tigerberry DragonsI used Excel exterior clear finish for metal and wood surfaces. It gives it a nice, smooth and glossy finish which I think will give me the option to keep as is depending on the color scheme.
The challenge came from the fact that it came in a spray can – I never use spray when I paint. So, how to spray the horn without touching the rest of the sculpt?
After much swearing at the lack of adhesion of gypsum when using Saran wrap, here’s my solution:
The protection was very efficient and that way, aliens won’t able to take over their brains…
Read my books! Volume 1 and 2 of A Dragon Medley are available now.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/mybooks.htm
I host the feedback lists, which are maintained by drag0nfeathers.
http://www.sarahjestin.com/feedbacklists.htm
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