Tips and Tricks

Tip #1

What is the best way to apply an air dry varnish onto vinyl dolls?

A soft bristle brush or solid dense cosmetic sponge are the best tools to use to apply the varnish.
A hard bristle brush may cause brush lines and a soft sponge with holes will cause bubbles to form during application. Do not "work " the varnish to much , just apply and leave it alone. Brushing or pouncing back over the same wet surface can cause streaks, bubbles and smear lines to appear.  Apply 2 or 3 very light coats of varnish instead of one thick coat. Ensure you stir the varnish(not shake) before applying. Leave to air dry to allow the self leveling agents to level = helping to get rid of brush or sponge lines before drying . Ensure your paint is fully dried or cured before applying the varnishes. If your paint or previous medium used is not fully dry, then moisture will get trapped in-between the layers causing the varnish to fog or appear waxy. Sometimes these foggy spots will disappear if low heat from hair dryer is applied to the area.

Tip#2

How to clean out paint bottle caps to allow paint to flow out better.

With frequent use, eventually paint bottle dispenser caps will need to be cleaned out when working with any air dry paint system. Here is a brief cleaning demo on how to do that.......

 

Tip#3

 

What type of brush should be use with Acrylic paints?

 

Most  recommend to use synthetic brushes for acrylic paints and animal hair brushes for oil paints. Why? Animal hair brushes absorb the moisture in the paints. If acrylics are used with animal hair brushes the animal hairs are known to dry out and break easier. The animal hair brush is best used in oil type paints that can keep the hair moist with oils. Synthetic brushes are usually made from nylon and/or polyester and are better suited for acrylic air dry paints. A newer fiber called Taklon is made from polyester substances and is used in many brushes today. The advantages to using synthetic hair brushes with acrylics are: 1) it provides easier brush cleaning  2) The synthetic hairs are stronger and less prone to breakage. 3) Synthetic hair brushes are more economical to buy.

Note: Try and buy the best quality brushes you can afford. It will make a difference in painting results and the brush will last longer. Cheap brushes usually have inferior glues used to hold the hairs in resulting in hair loss during painting or cleaning. Some use cheap metals that easily rust or wood that easily breaks or splinters. Choose a variety of soft and firm bristled hair brushes to use with your acrylic paints. There are many different shaped brushes to explore with but the common ones used are flats, filberts, mops and liners available in various sizes.

Do not use old brushes that have been used with oil , Genesis or heat set paints. Those brushes will have oil residue left in the bristles that are not compatible with acrylic paints.

 

Tip#4

 

Can  the RebornFX air dry paints be used with Heat Set paints?

 

Yes they can. Ensure the heat set paints have been heat set first then the RebornFX paints can be applied on top. You can not mix the two paints together in their wet form. Each must be dried/set before applying/layering.  The heat set mediums and varnishes such as Satin, Glazing, Dewyskin etc. can also be applied on top of the RebornFX paints.  The RebornFX paints do not change color and are safe to heat set at the 265 to 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 12 minutes when used with the heat set paints and mediums.  

 

Tip#5  

 

ReBornFX Correction Fluid can also be used as a stain remover on your cloths!  

 

I happened to find this out by accidently dropping a paint loaded brush onto my lap. Looking for something to quickly stop it from drying/staining my cloths I grabbed the ReBornFX Correction Fluid and applied some on. As I rubbed it in with a wet towel, I noticed the paint was instantly coming off my cloths. My cloths were a cotton blend material and the fluid did not stain or leave any residue on after rinsing in cold water.   

 

Tip#6

Recommend you do not wear "fuzzy" cloths during painting.

The fuzz or lint can easily get into your wet paint or on your hands. It then travels onto your doll that you are painting and becomes frustrating to remove.  If this happens, try removing the lint/fuzz with a clean damp liner brush while the paint is still wet.

 

Tip#7

Prevent brush hairs from getting into your paint.

Some brushes and mops will lose brush hairs when you are painting. To avoid this from happening, take some "sticky tack" "poster putty" "reusable adhesive" putty , knead the putty in your hand until soft, then gently pounce your dry brush hairs onto the putty.  The putty's natural tackiness will grab onto any loose brush hairs and remove them from your brush so they don't end up in your painting.