Air dry user here, so no horse in the race. And for that reason, please forgive me if any of my questions or thoughts on this are dumb.
But were Q-tips loaded in thinner wiped across the pieces? They looked dry to me.
The sponge that was wiped did lift paint, which means the paint definitely is defective. I’ve had genesis babies which were not sealed and nothing was taking that paint off.
The solution to the above was to apply matte varnish…which most people hate the texture of from what I’ve seen on the boards. Then I’m imagining myself as an artist attempting to paint over a textured surface. Not even accounting for the fact that I may not apply it perfectly, I wouldn’t be a fan of this as I’m certain that the perfectionist in me would not be pleased with the results.
I think we can rule out user error here, as there are many very experienced artists who have suddenly had issues simultaneously, only after purchasing new jars of paint.
We can rule out these paints not being cured at the proper temperature because, once again, if an experienced artist does not know how to cure a doll part by now, I wish them all the best in life. Lol Heck, even I know how to do that. These same artists have done temperature checks with thermometers and Nuwave has benefitted from a sudden surge in sales.
We can also rule out the vinyl since many of the artists here are professional kit hoarders. This is happening with kits, new and old. BB, Spanish, and German vinyl.
Actual Genesis users feel free to pile on in and correct me where I’m wrong. Just my $0.02 for whatever its worth. I really feel frustrated for all of you.
I agree. I’ve been using Genesis exclusively since I quit air dry paint almost 8 years ago. I hate pre-sealing a kit with matte, as I don’t like painting over that texture (have tried it twice and decided to never do it again). I have never had an issue with the paint coming off like it’s not cured after baking in the way these others artists have been experiencing, but my paints are pre-COVID. As for pre-sealing kits, I have seen where a few artists who did this, and did everything right, had that seal coat of varnish start to crack after applying layers of Genesis, which ruined the doll because when that first sealing layer comes off, so does the paint, or most of it. All the bending the vinyl can go through with some customers could cause eventual cracking of that first base matte layer, and then a ruined baby. Of course, this could happen with the final sealing coat of matte, too, but at least that won’t hopefully remove all the paint the way a pre-seal coat could.
I agree, the paint needs to be tested with the various thinners on the Q-Tips.
In my experience, the only thing that has lifted at least some paint, and one time several spots down to the bare vinyl, was when a kit was too oily and when applying matte to seal the baby when finished. A Lane kit I painted years ago had three small spots on his chin that just wiped off down to the vinyl even though each layer had been baked properly. Then I’ve had multiple kits, both LE and BB, that will have very light paint-lift when applying matte varnish at the end of painting. Color comes off on my sponge. Not enough to be noticeable on the doll but enough to bother me because I know that I cured each layer correctly, proper temp and time. Then there have been times when no paint lifted at all when sealing at the end with matte varnish. So, I wonder if there is something going on with the GHSPs at times.
I rarely ever use Genesis any more but I still have a few colors and mediums and will sometimes. I have said this many times before but for some reason people seem to be very anti priming. Prime your kits with an air dry primer that can handle being heat set (I DO find RebornFX brand to be the best out there). Let the primer dry over night and then paint with you Genesis paints to see if they will stick and cure much better on these newer softer vinyls.
Might I suggest to you all who are having issues with your blue or other colors to try this? There are a lot of factors at play in the world of production due to COVID and we may have to accept that things won’t ever be the same on some levels. This may be true of some of the paints. Regardless of why this is happening with your paint, a very good test would be to prime the vinyl with a non-genesis primer to eliminate any question of the vinyl issue and then try the paint again. I would be really curious to know how that would turn out.
I’ve read from others on here and other places where even though they sealed their vinyl before painting, the paint still was able to absorb into the vinyl or not cure fully. Not sure what the best solution is for all of this. Maybe those who have had the problem with paint that isn’t curing could try what you suggest with a non-Genesis primer and see if it changes the outcome.
Would one of the Soft Touch varnishes work as a primer? And do the non-Genesis primers leave any texture? I hate painting over texture and can’t do it unless there is a primer that is truly smooth like the vinyl, or at least very close to being that smooth.
I use authentic reborn brand sealer sometimes before I paint a kit. It didn’t make a difference. If genesis is becoming this unstable that it depends on a specific sealer to make it set, that is defeating the purpose and ease of genesis. And if I believed it would help, I would try all the sealer brands. The kits I have been painting when issues arose were Rosalie A., Madison, Mia K., Cayle, and Macie, but all of them were able to set once I cleaned them off and switched back to an older paint jar that would cure. That’s why I know it’s not the vinyl. I am pretty much done sharing my experience though. I will move on and wait on the big time artists to start having problems.
I so agree! I believe you, Aly, and thank you for sharing your experiences with this problem. I will definitely be looking at quality air dry paints again if this problem continues. I’ve been painting with the newer, softer vinyls for about 6 years. They tend to absorb more paint sometimes and may take longer to show color and details, but they have never failed to totally cure like yours and others’ GHSPs have been doing more recently. I don’t believe at all that it’s the vinyl. It’s the newer Genesis paints.
I have seen too many experienced artists mention it for there to be nothing different with the paint. I need some GHSP colors, but I am going to wait awhile. I will paint with what I have or use air dry, which is what I did on my Kodi Bear anyway since I don’t have two extender rings. I look forward to seeing your air dry work.
There is hope for all of you to succeed with Air dry. There have been prototype artists who use it. It’s the talent of the painter, not the paint… once you get used to making air dry behave. Reborn specific paints do put up less of a fight. I went from those to Golden and there was a steep learning curve for me even there.
If we knew how to paint even one layer with air dry why bother to switch back and forth? Why not paint the whole kit with air dry? I know absolutely nothing about air dry. So it flat out wouldn’t work for me to use it for one color. Besides, these ladies are having trouble with multiple colors. And doesn’t air dry have to be primed or am I wrong? I just don’t see how it would work to use both kinds of paint back and forth on a kit.
I agree and it bothers me that @MacPhersonCrafts seems to indicate that the “artist” needs to adjust to the apparent failing of the Genesis paints. Super happy that I am stocked with “old” paints!
And if I believed it would help, I would try all the sealer brands. The kits I have been painting when issues arose were Rosalie A., Madison, Mia K., Cayle, and Macie, but all of them were able to set once I cleaned them off and switched back to an older paint jar that would cure. That’s why I know it’s not the vinyl. I am pretty much done sharing my experience though. I will move on and wait on the big time artists to start having problems.
I hope you don’t have to run into this problem and genesis eventually fixes it.