Automotive Paint For Vinyl Question - Head Repaint

[artskull]

I've seen a lot of mention of automotive spray paint for vinyl to repaint old/original Mego heads. My question is IF I use white auto paint for vinyl as a primer can I then use acrylic for detail work? Any advice is appreciated.

[shellhead]

If your just repainting a vinyl head, you can use acrylic paint directly on the head and it will stick fine.

[ctc]

>IF I use white auto paint for vinyl as a primer can I then use acrylic for detail work?

It kinda doesn’t work like that.... but you might be able to use it. The vinyl stuff soaks right into the plastic, and will eat through other paints. It’s made with some pretty harsh solvents. But you COULD use it to lighten/bleach/remove/cover paint on a vinyl head so’s to facilitate acrylics. Acrylics set on top of the head, so lightening the head prior to using them would help give truer colour. (It won’t help binding though, like primer usually does.)

I’ve used the white vinyl stuff on a Zaius head to whiten the hair for my Dr Gori custom, and it worked quite well.

Don C.

[artskull]

Thanks everyone! I found that acrylics painted directly on top of original head haven't dried properly. That's why I was wondering if there was a "primer" that might help the painting process. I'll continue the trial & error…

[EMCE Hammer]

I have run into that too. There is a line of paint called Poly Paints that has a slightly different formula and works really well on vinyl. Downside is I've only seen it at hobby stores, and the color palette is limited. The paint is a little thinner, but my experience is that it always dries.

[Fire Marshal Bill]

If acrylic paint has already been applied to a Mego head and it has that "never get dry" tacky feeling to it.... is there something that can be sprayed or brushed on at this point to help the situation?

[mikeoz]

If acrylic paint has already been applied to a Mego head and it has that "never get dry" tacky feeling to it.... is there something that can be sprayed or brushed on at this point to help the situation?

I had this problem on a couple of heads I painted with acrylics.
I painted a thin coat of Mod Podge over the head and it seemed to work pretty well getting rid of the tacky feel.

[artskull]

That tacky / never dry issue is the problem I've had. All this info might help us find an end around to fix this problem when painting or touching-up original heads.

[ctc]

>That tacky / never dry issue is the problem I've had.

It happens when the paint reacts to the plastic of the head; in essence the paint never dries. Sometimes a hit of mat varnish will fix it. If not, you'll ahve to wash the old stuff off and try another kind of paint.

Don C.

[artskull]

Who knew just repainting a plastic head would be such a science experiment! It's back to the lab for more trial & error… Thanks everyone for your help!