Painting resin heads

[Afaninfull]

Hi everyone,

I could really use some expert advice. I just got some great costumes from Brian L. and some unpainted resin heads. Some people recommended Games Workshop paint and so I thought I would try my hand at painting. Here is my question as I have never done this before...

Can I begin painting directly on a resin head or do I need to paint a primer coat first?

Many thanks for any advice you can give me.

[ussapache]

Hey Mate

I paint alot of resin heads and I just give them a wash in warm soapy water to get rid of the residue. Once their washed they should be good to go if not just spray them with matt white.

As for paints I use Reaper paints for my flesh tones and they work a treat on any scale.

Ron

[Afaninfull]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for your advice. I'm hoping to get out tomorrow and get some paint and brushes and get started. Of course, that's if the wife will let me...

Tim

[Megospidey]

As long as the heads are clean, you don't need a primer. It will take several coats of paint though, depending upon which brand you use.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Yeah, a wash with dishsoap'll take any mold release off. I prime mine first; not everyone does, but it gives a good uniform colour to start with. (I like automotive primer myself; just use thin coats.) As for paint; any water soluable acrylic'll work. Games Workshop, Reaper, Formula P3.... any of the gaming mini paints will work. (They're all pretty much the same.) Testors acrylic Model Master paint is good too, but it's thin so you might need more than one coat. (It's sort of a half brush/half airbrush mix.) Make sure you varnish it afterwards. Testors spray coat is good; gloss gives better protection, but matt has no sheen and won't make your piece all shiny. (You CAN spray matt over gloss once it dries. It tones down the shine, but it's still there.)

Don C.

[Afaninfull]

Thanks Megospidey and ctc for taking time to respond.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Jerry68]

I prime mine as well. I find that it gives the paint something to grip to, and helps even out the cast.

[emeraldknight47]

I'm glad this subject came up! I've just started painting some resin heads for MIB41 and I primed my with black acrylic gesso to start with and it seems to work really well as it dries to kind of a "chalky" finish and allow the other paint something to hang on to.....

[The Bat]

I never prime. With good quality paint it's just not necessary. However, there are 3 colors I don't use Games Workshop for though....I buy either Delta or Folk Art opaque white, yellow, and red. It goes on nice and thick.

[bjack99]

I always user primer. The brand I use is Tamiya and I use the Citadel paints. 2 light coats of primer is all I use.

[Bizarro Amy]

If I use SmoothOn white resin, I don't usually prime, and I've never had a problem. I used some clear resin a while back, because it's all I had on-hand, and that needed to be primed, because the paint just didn't want to stick.

[ctc]

>brand I use is Tamiya

The Tamiya stuff is nice, but expensive. Primer has a measure of "bite" to it: the ability to grip to whatever it's applied to. That's why it's great for some types of materials.... like metal, or them weird clear polyesther resins.... things that "softer" paints like acrylics won't adhere to so good. Thing is, that "bite" can damage weaker materials. For a resin head (which is probably some kind of polyurethane) it's not normally a problem. The plastic's strong enough not to melt. The Tamiya stuff is designed for softer plastics.... like some styrenes.... and won't damage them. I use automotive primer, which is cheap and readily available, AND adheres to durned near anything.... but it's got severe bite and you gotta be careful using it on stuff like model kits. (Which are styrene plastic and can melt or warp.)

Don C.

[boss]

Primer? What's that? :-)

[BlackKnight]

Primer? What's that? :-)

I was thinking the Same thing ..., but you wrote it better than I could have.