Best paints and brushes to use on heads

[Jshack]

Please forgive me if this has been answered before. I want to repaint an original mego head for a custom. What would the best paint and brushes to use be and is there anything I should do to prep the head first. it is an old beater robin head with much of the paint gone anyway.

Thanks in advance for any and all help you can provide.

[phil]

Dave McCormick had a Tutorial that was very helpful. Is it still here on the site? The first piece of advice I can give you is not to use cheap brushes. It's worth spending the money on better brushes and you will notice the difference with the results. Use Acrylic paints since they can be easily removed with water and soap. This is all just off the top of my head. I would have to check on the brand names for brushes and paints. I hope this is of some use and I am certain someone here has a lot more information to share.

[batjimi]

Im with Phil on this one, buy good brushes heck michaels and ac moore have 40% coupons every week in the paper and you can get them on line too just bring some friends it will keep costs down

[Random Axe]

Quick suggestions:

Brushes - Prepare to buy the good stuff. Five to ten dollars a brush is not unusual for quality. Good, sable brushes will last and give you results.

Paint - I mix and custom make all of my paints and rarely use anything out of the bottle. Most of your colors can be purchased at a craft store. However, primary colors like red and yellow will unlikely work from them. Buy Citadel paints for those for maximum pigmentation and the fewest coats needed.

And, after your painting session wash your brushes with liquid dial soap. It will extend it's life.

[Jshack]

Thank you all for the information and insight. There is a Micheal's right up the street from me and a Hobby Lobby as well. Might need a long lunch tomorrow...smile.

[johnmiic]

Of course you could air-brush your heads. Tho I don't think anyone here does that.

[jwyblejr]

Dave McCormick had a Tutorial that was very helpful. Is it still here on the site? The first piece of advice I can give you is not to use cheap brushes. It's worth spending the money on better brushes and you will notice the difference with the results. Use Acrylic paints since they can be easily removed with water and soap. This is all just off the top of my head. I would have to check on the brand names for brushes and paints. I hope this is of some use and I am certain someone here has a lot more information to share.

I believe that's the one that said to use Taklon Synthetic brushes,correct?

[actjac01]

Another reason to use acrylic paint on vinyl heads: it doesn't react to it the way enamels do. Enamels (oil based) paint never dries completely, and you end up with a soft gooey mess. This is also true with the newer reproduction bodies (like Doc. Mego's.) I got a custom figure from someone who painted the newer soft vinyl 'hands' with enamel paint and the paint was sticky. You can use acrylic (water base) paints on pretty much anything original Mego or repro.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Acrylics are your best bet. The stuff used for gaming minis (Citadel, Formula P3, Reaper color, etc) are really good. They're fragile though, so you'll have to seal them after. Testors mat varnish is good if they're not gonna get handled so much. Original heads are tricky to paint. I use vinyl paint on mine; it works better than the original paint, but it doesn't come in many colours and it's tricky to use.

Brushes are tricky too. You can get good ones at most hobby or craft shops. You can trim the bristles down too. I've had a lot of luck with cheapo brushes too; but they tend not to last so long.

Don C.