Best Paint and Techniques for detailing work?

[rbngdfllw]

I have researched a number of places for answers, but great answers (I mostly know silicone/latex masks and makeup). For silicone and TPE is doing tattooing and related shading with colorant pigments a good technique for those darker areas of the body? What's the best top coat or fixative for paints- plus add depth and transparency? Or do you treat it like makeup and add a finishing powder over your work? Cheers!

[f4ijunkie]

Bump for I have the same question. Just got my first doll and looking forward to customizing her with some custom skin details. As a 3D artist I obsess over skin details so I plan on going over the whole body in time with micro detailing. Looking forward to getting some good information here on adding my own moles, freckles, veins and what have you. I know most people will not have the patience for such a process but that's the biggest appeal to me, make her totally custom.

Ordered a piercing kit, going to give her some body jewelry as the first step!

[Wheezer]

I guess the first question is the target doll silicone or TPE ?

For silicone, lots of stuff out there in the wild wild web about special effects folks doing silicone coloring. Also looking at reborn babies is a good start.
If it's TPE, then that is a different solution set.

Tattoos already have multiple solutions available, depending on doll type.

So, what is the target doll type?

Cheers!
... W ...

[averbeck70]

I'll jump on this bandwagon and ask for some solutions for TPE.

Edit: I found these threads if they help anyone else:
How do I repaint my doll lips or make them last longer?
Dyeing Nipples with new colors DIY Mod - video
Permanent Nipple Color?

I ordered body painting (they called it "live meridian", veins, freckles, etc.) and most of it came off with her first oil bath. I'd like to at least restore the veins, maybe even have them penetrate a bit deeper so they last longer. A few unique beauty marks (moles) could make her extra special.

Cheers!

[Wheezer]

Those threads are a good overview of various TPE options.

Permanent TPE coloring is a bit interesting. About the only way to permanently color TPE is to color it and cast it in that color.
Everything else is just almost permanent.

Traditional paint (color agent, carrier and binder) does not work well on TPE since either it does not bind tot he surface (due to the TPE oils) or is not flexable.
Human makeup does not last since it it designed not to be permanent and our TPE dolls lack human pores. OK for a while but comes off easily.
About the only thing that colors TPE and is a pain to get off is clothing stains.

So if you want a color that lasts on TPE, you have to stain, not paint.

One solution that is used a lot is CHARTPAK MARKERS. These have a coloring dye in a xylene carrier. Some folks have colored nipples using them and they have retained their colors for years.
One drawback is they are a no mistake method. What gets colored by the marker stays colored, so be VERY careful. Slips up are not allowed.
Another challenge (to me) is the colors available and that you can only apply them as markers.
However if they have the nipple color you want and you have a steady hand, then they are a good choice.

The method I prefer is to use ARTIST GRADE OIL PAINTS and then HEAT SET IT to actually bond the color into the TPE. You are sort of doing surface level color casting.
You can apply a small amount with paint brush, rolled on lightly with a Q-tip (ear bud) or thin it and airbrush it on. You only need a small amount since you a staining, not caking on colors.
Before heat setting you can remove mistakes with mineral oil or tone colors down by using iso propyl alcohol.
When satisfied, then apply hot air to the target area until the TPE glistens. At that point the TPE was surface molten and your color is now bonded into the TPE.
Once cool you can apply another thin color layer if needed.

A good multiple layer example is breast veins.
Paint a few veins with blue on the breast then roll a Q-TIP over them to cut down the color.
Heat set the blue veins and flash set the TPE with a mist of iso propyl alcohol.
Once dry use a Q-TIP to roll a light amount of transparent white over the blue vein lines.
Heat set the paint, mist with iso to flash set the TPE, and final powder.
The result is a blue vein UNDER the translucent white giving a nice illusion on the doll.

Hand realism and breast shadows and highlights can easily be done.
Apply a small amount, work in until you are satisfied then heat set.

Shadow and small detail items can be done in a similar manner.
First apply highlight to the area and heat set. Then dilute a small amount of dark oil in iso to a make a thin wash.
Apply this wash to the depressions and heat set. The results can be quite nice.

Misting or spattering with an airbrush can easily give you wider dispersion freckles or body details.

There is a lot more, but that should give you some idea of how to use it on TPE and what you can do.

As for silicone painting and detailing, I will leave that to the multitudes of videos out there from Fx artists and real doll baby painters.
If you are into silicone painting or want some good ideas of color layering, those are good sources.

Cheers!
... W ...

[f4ijunkie]

@wheezer That was a great post and funny enough I already have artist grade paints from 20 years ago studying old master paintings and a heat gun from my various automotive hobbies. Funny how all hobbies come full circle. I think I'm going to start with the head since those are cheaper and easier to replace. I really want to resculpt certain parts of mine's face to get it to match my 3D model of the girl I'm trying to recreate in real life. Mainly the nose bridge and nostrils but I think this is a run before you can even crawl scenario, so I should learn to crawl before that extreme of a make over! Thanks again for that information, very helpful. I'll start a thread soon to document my journey.

[averbeck70]

Heat gun or hair dryer? What temperature should we be aiming for? Close to the ~230Celsius that TPE melts at?

My daughter paints... sometimes... so I got her a set of both oils and acrylics last year for Christmas which she hasn't used... and I've got an embossing gun if that'll work. I use it for heat shrink tubing for my R/C projects.

I'm familiar with those techniques from other hobbies and was surprised that they transferred here... cool!

Thanks so much Wheezer!

Cheers!

[Wheezer]

Good high quality artist oil paints should work well.

However, DO NOT USE AN AUTOMITIVE HEAT GUN ON TPE !
Really, please don't do it.

The tem "Heat Gun" I use and is commonly read on TDF refers to an adjustable temperature, adjustable airflow heat gun commonly used for electronics work.
Other ones tend to be way too hot or blow so much air that they literally destroy the doll. Especially a fairly delicate head.

For a sad story which ended up with too much heat, too much air and a real mess check HERE (viewtopic.php?t=163981).
It shows how an overpowered heat gun can tear up TPE.

Good luck.
.. W ...

[Wheezer]

OK ... heat guns.
My post above described what is best to use on a doll.
However the TPE Doll Repair Police will not kick in your door if you use the wrong one.

So just TEST what you have to see if it works for you.
Having an inexpensive non contact heat sensor gun also comes in handy for testing.

Take your gun or special tool (not THAT special tool) heat it up and test it on your doll.
Best is a hidden place. Say the neck stump.
Oil the area well and wave the gun at if from a distance.
Poke the TPE with a blunt oiled something to see if it is getting soft and melty.
If nothing then either get closer or up the heat a bit.
Keep waving and do not just air jet it until you know a bit more.

Eventually you will know what settings on your tool and what distance works.
Let the area cool completely and do it again to make sure you remember it correctly.

Use extra care for small areas or thin areas like a face, nose etc.
Many posts here on TDF about using hot air on TPE, make sure to check those out.

Normally I go into specific temperatures, airflow and detail stuff.
However here I am not sure what exact tool you have or the TPE blend of you doll.

So test, try and see if your tool works.
If not, apply more baby oil and try again.

Cheers!
... W ...

[averbeck70]

Hahaha! I know "there's nothing tougher than wang leather", but I didn't think you'd mean THAT special tool.

I think I'll play it safe and buy some TPE. Maybe from the seller if I can so it's the same formulation. Test the heck out of it and if my embossing gun is going to work, try it somewhere not easy to see on Madison. If not... my soldering station could use a refresh so maybe Santa Claus will bring me a new one with an air reflow gun.

Winter is coming and my project list is a bit sparse, so now I'll have something more to do.

You're a real treasure Wheezer. Thank you!

[Wheezer]

Good call on getting something to test on.

Heat work is nice but you can go from "Oh Nice" to "Oh Shit" quickly when you are first playing with it.
When Santa looks for an air gun, consider some of the units with small stand alone control boxes.
The air handles are all pretty much the same, only the base box seems to change.
You can see one unit and some heat gun notes HERE (viewtopic.php?p=2392010#p2392010)

Small control box units work well since you can bring the box to the doll, rather than the doll to the bench.
You can also easily reposition it to hit different areas.
Handy since the air gun control wires are not really too long.

Cheers!
... W ..

[f4ijunkie]

Good high quality artist oil paints should work well.

However, DO NOT USE AN AUTOMITIVE HEAT GUN ON TPE !
Really, please don't do it.

The tem "Heat Gun" I use and is commonly read on TDF refers to an adjustable temperature, adjustable airflow heat gun commonly used for electronics work.
Other ones tend to be way too hot or blow so much air that they literally destroy the doll. Especially a fairly delicate head.

For a sad story which ended up with too much heat, too much air and a real mess check HERE (viewtopic.php?t=163981).
It shows how an overpowered heat gun can tear up TPE.

Good luck.
.. W ...

That's good to know. Mine isn't very powerful just some cheap one I got from Harbor Freight tools long time ago, keeping it at a distance for now. But I'm holding off any mods as there is an issue with the doll I ordered.

I ordered body painting (they called it "live meridian", veins, freckles, etc.) and most of it came off with her first oil bath. I'd like to at least restore the veins, maybe even have them penetrate a bit deeper so they last longer. A few unique beauty marks (moles) could make her extra special.

Could you share the brand? That seems like a very basic detail to get right especially since there is a way to 'bake' it into the skin as @wheezer has pointed out.

[Wheezer]

That's good to know. Mine isn't very powerful just some cheap one I got from Harbor Freight tools long time ago, keeping it at a distance for now. But I'm holding off any mods as there is an issue with the doll I ordered.

I ordered body painting (they called it "live meridian", veins, freckles, etc.) and most of it came off with her first oil bath. I'd like to at least restore the veins, maybe even have them penetrate a bit deeper so they last longer. A few unique beauty marks (moles) could make her extra special.

Could you share the brand? That seems like a very basic detail to get right especially since there is a way to 'bake' it into the skin as @wheezer has pointed out.

Good call on the Harbor Freight heat gun.
Go slow, watch the results and adjust accordingly and you should be fine.
Just think and use your big head.

As for body paint coming off, that is typical of almost all dolls.
No manufacturer that I know of currently uses heat setting for their TPE paint or makeup.
It's something that I came up with.
Right now the OEMs simply put in on and it just wears off.

However they do warn folks that it will wear off if you do anything other than just look at it.
Such as clothing the doll, cleaning the doll, moving its limbs, etc.
It will stay on for a bit, but not forever.

Cheers!
... W ...