Let's talk about painting BB silicone kits

Nice repair work!

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Thank you! It was indeed a learning experience!

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Yes thank

I just wanted to come back here and say I have started painting my baby. I have applied 2 mottle layers thus far yesterday. I let my paints air dry, no heating. So it takes me a little longer but I know the paints won’t peel this way. Anyways, my baby is taking the paints beautifully! I prepped it after I was done with my modifications the same way I do my other kits. Hot bath in water with dish soap, rinse, rinse rinse with a vegetable sprayer to remove ALL soap residue, then wiped all pieces down well with Novocs on a wedge. I put them in a covered tub til I was ready to paint the next day. My kit was sticky when I prepped it and removed all the powder residue but I know this creates the best surface for a good paint bond. The next day I wiped all pieces down lightly again with Novocs then started painting. My paint mixes contain Psycho paints, Silc Pigments and Novocs. I only use Novocs to thin my paints because I believe it will help bite into the silicone causing the best paint adhesion. To me this is very important considering most all the kits we get are not freshly poured as in 2-3 days old like all the recommendations for painting. So far so good on this baby. SO my lesser expensive silicone baby kit experimentation is going well.

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I honestly love the BB silicone. It’s not too soft, not too firm, great base color, and I haven’t had any issues with them not curing or taking paint. The quality is a lot better than a lot of silicone out there for sure. And the detailing is just to die for. I’ve painted several and have a few planned to paint for DOTWE.

Now if they’d just release Jade as a partial silicone kit :eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes::eyes:

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I’m not sure I’ve ever heard fast curing causes peeling? I learned from Susan Gibbs, and she teaches all her students to fast cure their silicone. Peeling, in my limited amount of knowledge, comes from cure inhibition, such as not getting all of the mold release off of the kit, or using items that contain latex, such as wedges or gloves. Carolyn Doughty cures her babies in an oven. If you aren’t careful in how you fast cure, you could burn the silicone, so it’s important to keep your heat gun at least 12-18" away from your kit, and to be constantly moving the gun at all times. Your only trying to increase the temperature around the baby/pieces to start the curing process.

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And Ruby!

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Aaaah, ladies, all those conversations makes me so nervous even to take a class with Laurie Duncan at DOTWE.
You are all so brave. I would probably never paint silicon without supervision :frowning:

Isnt Ruby out now?

Oh just prototypes are…

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Yes, this is the concern and I just rather not take the risk. I do heat up up the fingers and toes before painting on tips so it sticks better. I also do on the lips sometimes. But I just let everything else air dry. It is fine for me.

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I haven’t seen her out yet!

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Oh yes I’m very excited for her for sure!!!

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Does anyone besides me have a hard time photographing unmatted silicone? It doesn’t help that I stink at photography overall! My Jameson that I opened the mouth on and installed wire armatures in the limbs is painted now. I have to apply the sealer layer next and then the matting process begins after that cures. I think I may have him/her done in time for the DOTW show. (I did get the fuzz spot off the cheek after I took this photo and noticed it.)

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It’s difficult to get a good pic with all the shine. I usually do a light dusting of matting powder first, then take a pic. It always helps as you can see the actual colors and it helps me decide if I need to add more color.

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Matting is rinsed off. Will check it in a couple days to see if any sheen emerges to be fixed. Night time here so hard to get good pics. This is not my best coloring in silicone to date but it has been an experiment overall. Mouth repair went well and he/she can take a Preemie Jolly Pop Paci very well.

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She looks perfect! Love the skin tone! :heart_eyes:

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Very nice!!!

I did a little talking video this morning about painting the kit. It was live on FB but I had a glitch in internet connection for a few secs in the middle. I have reposted it to Youtube so those not on FB can see it.

One thing of note since painting him that I did not mention in the video is this: He does seem to be leeching a bit more oil once painted than other silicones I have done. Some of you may or may not have noticed, but once you paint a silicone if you wrap it or lay it on tissue paper or paper towels and leave it you can often come back and find an oily residue where the weight of it was touching. This is because silicone tends to leech oils even once painted. It should get better as the silicone pores close up but I think the softer the silicone is to begin with, the more it is apt to continue to leech over time. This is why I think silicone babies just laying in the bed can develop shiny spots even when not handled. The matting powders do help to absorb and control these oils but if left unattended for a long while it can show through as sheen. At least that has been my experience. I suspect the amount of slackers in the silicone affects this? Not sure but it is my theory. So having said that, my baby parts is leaving noticeable oily spots on the tissue paper in the tub right now. Some of it I am sure is from the flanges that are only dry matted but I am also seeing it from where the back of the head lays and it is fully wet matted and not shiny. I really do hope this gets better as the baby cures.

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Ok this makes sense. I painted Felicity and she keeps getting greasy, if I wipe it she’s still matte, it’s not actually changing her finish. I painted Jameson too and he doesn’t seem to be leaking like she is. I thought it must have been something it did.

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Oh yes and I wrapped Jaxton’s (not BB) head in Saran while rooting as I normally would and it did make shiny spots so I rematted it. I figured I just couldn’t use Saran Wrap with silicone once it’s finished. No clue what to wrap hair in for shipping if I can’t use it. :woman_shrugging:

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