Has anyone used Luminaire paints?

Hi everybody
Just wondering if anyone has used the air dry Luminaire paints on their reborns . I am a Genesis lover, but hate the smell of the heated vinyl. I would love to be able to skip the oven heating , and just air dry my babies . I am curious if any of you use the Luminaire products .Would love to hear your experiences , tips and see photos of your Luminaire painted babies .
Thanks
Jean @ Reborn Baby Boutique

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I’ve used the Luminaire paints and I would not recommend them. It took a long time to cure compared to the other air dry paints that I have used. I also take a tooth pick and scrap it across the top of the head when it is cured to check the durability of the paint. With Luminaires the paint came completely off down to the bare vinyl. I tried it again several weeks later with a different kit and had the same results.

I had a similar experience with Luminaire. I did a Tibby toddler kit. After letting it cure for 3 weeks I started rooting and most of her face came off.
I e-mailed Luminaire three times to find out why this might have happened and never got a response. I threw mine away and will never use them again. I definitely would not recommend them.

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I’ve heard really good things about the Che’air Dry paints. They’re supposed to work more like Genesis does.

http://cheairdrypaint.webs.com/

I have used them but was not impressed. The finish was okay but it took forever to dry. Same with Water Borne, plus those sour quickly and smell nasty. I recommend BABY FX. Use them all the time and LOVE them.

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I think you’d be better off with some of the newer air dry paints. Baby FX, Special Care Nursery, and Waterbourne paints all have good reviews.

Thanks everybody ! Did any of you prep your kit with sealers first before painting with the Luminaire paints ? Maybe that’s why the paint came off ! I read some where that you have to seal the vinyl first before starting your layers . It is supposed to help the paint stick better . Amy thanks for the link above , I will check them out too !!

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I sealed mine and followed the instructions to the letter. The paint still came off and the fact that the company refused to communicate with me made me not want to do business with them. If you’ve already bought them, I’d try to return them.

Yikes , I just placed a big order . . . .I hope I won’t be disappointed !!!

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I havent really notices that my luminaire babies havent cured. I do add some matte medium to my paints with water and seal every couple layers though. Perhaps this makes a difference? I do know that the color doesnt get as “rich” as they did when i used to use the heat paint. So far, though, I am for the most part pleased. There is a learning curve, though. Here’s a couple of my lumibaire babies.

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Thank you for sharing your info … . I had heard from another reborner, that if you start by applying the heat set Genesis Matte before applying your coats of air dry , that it worked beautifully . Perhaps that is why you have had better luck between layers by applying some coats of Matte Sealer . Are you heat setting the Matte sealer , or just applying the coats over it ? Thanks for sharing your babies . . . Very sweet !!

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Thank you :wink: i dont use heat set anything anymore. I use the folkart outdoor matte sealer first and let it set about 24hrs before i begin painting. The medium i mix in is liquitext matte medium. I use the folkart to seal after major things I’ve done. I hope this helps. As a side note, I am considering,trying the fx paints to see if they have richer color results. Also, i have not darkened peach vinyl to ethnic tones. Hope this helps you out!:slight_smile:

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Thanks so much :hatched_chick: . . . There are so many ways of using these paints , that all the little tips I get the better . Thanks for sharing your techniques . Let me know how you like the FX paints if you try them . :smile:

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Im using the luminaire paints and i noticed that one of you said you seal it a couple times between layers. I think im going to try that.

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I use the Luinaire paints , suppose i must be the cheese standing alone lol there has been no problems for me and I have used it for a long time now…
I do put sealer on it before painting but have only done so for the last year and I didn’t switch to do it because of paint not sticking but because of the vinyls being so different.
So if you feel you need to use sealer it may be of help to you , sometimes you just have to go with what works best for you .
Here are some of my babies and they still look fine

I used them on many dolls but then had problems on a few dolls with the paint lifting off when I applied a new layer. I had left the doll for a few days between layers even. At the time, I attributed it to getting a new batch and thought they had changed the formula. I ended up switching to Genesis.

To be honest, I haven’t made as many dolls since I switched. Mainly because it is so much more time consuming and also so much more energy consuming to use Genesis. Planning to try more air dry starting with the next baby. Not sure if I will just use the bits and pieces I have here of artist quality paints and some authentic reborn colors or order more paints. So tempted to try luminaries again but scared to try after having those bad experiences.

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I am sure if my experience with them had been bad my options would be limited as I cannot use the heat set paints due to household health conditions.
So far I am a happy camper only thing that has happened with me is an oil slick forming on the inside of a head after applying E6000 glue however after swabbing it out no problem.

I am hoping that I can try them again and have a great experience. Mixing artist acrylics is time consuming because I am not an artist! Getting the right coverage and right shades at the same time is too frustrating. I love that the luminaires are concentrated especially compared to the other brands of air dry paints. They last forever.

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I, unfortunately, did not have a good experience with Luminaire. I used them on a toddler doll. I followed the instructions to the letter. After letting the paint cure for a month, I started rooting and half the paint on her face came off. I had to strip her and start over. She was the size of an 18 month old baby so it was a lot of work down the tubes. I could not get a response from customer service after multiple tries. I threw those paints away. I now use Liquitex Soft Body Paints and I love them.

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I use them and here are some of my dolls.

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