# Who knows their paint?



## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Okay, my first mache piece nears the painting stage and I have a few questions regarding said medium. I've read about the merits of exterior latex, craft paints, spray paints, acrylic, etc., but the question is, what do I use on my props? I think exterior latex is out for me because frankly, the trim on my house needs painting again, and I'm not sold on the longevity of house paint. So aside from cost, are the small craft paints from the craft store better suited for this type of work than say an artist's acrylic from an art supply store? I'm liking the idea of acrylic from an art store, because it is basically plastic once it dries and I know what to expect from experience with traditional painting on canvas and boards. Any experience out there to weigh one against the other when painting on an outdoor prop?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

The difference between use of exterior latex paint on an outdoor prop and outdoor trim on your house is, the prop will not be left out exposed to the elements 24 hours a day all year - at least that's what I'm assuming Under those circumstances, the paint on the prop should hold up very well for a good long time.

We have a couple of tombstones cut from real stone that I handpainted names and dates on a couple years ago, using exterior latex paint. Those do stay outside in our garden year round, and I've yet to see any fading or flaking of the paint.

I typically use acrylic paint (from Michaels) on all my mache props, but I don't leave them outside longer than the day of Halloween - and protect them from weather if Mother Nature is so rude as to send rain our way on that day


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

Right, what Roxy said.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Roxy also uses a sealer over the acrylic paint to make them a little more weather proof.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

I hear you about the exterior latex, but I've already ruled out house paint just because that's what it is - house paint! I've tried it on other (non halloween) projects and just don't like how it performs during application. So I guess my question is probably more about the aesthetics of painting with craft paints vs. acrylics from a tube on large-scale projects than it is about their durability. Do you find painting with bottled craft paints enjoyable or a pain in the tail? Do they lay on smooth? How is drying time? Are the colors clean? And most importantly, when compared to artist acrylics, which type will behave best on my project (mache props)? And what brands of craft paint do you like as well? I've scoped out the _Plaid_ brand of paints recently, but have never used them.

I know it all sounds a bit particular, but there it is! I like to do my research.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

The brand of acrylic/craft paint I've used for mache props is Apple Barrel, which comes in small bottles and is part of the Plaid family you mention. They are a little thinner than the artist version of acrylic paint that comes in tubes (a few of which I have also and bought years ago). No matter what version I use, I thin the paint with water. Either version goes on smoothly (probably related to thinning with water), dries quickly, and seems to be durable.

Here are examples of how the colors look on some of my "children":

The little guy on the corpse's shoulder was meant to look this bright:










Death Drone, colors meant to imitate that of a praying mantis:










Graveyard Goblin, more subdued:










Bluckenstein, also more subdued:


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

And here are a couple more really bright ones:

Baby demon tombstone peeper we made for Scareme:










Spider makeover, mix of bright and not so bright:










I like the ease of cleanup with acrylic paints - as with latex paint, soap and water does the trick nicely. The Apple Barrel paints at Michaels are occasionally on sale (half off is not unusual) and we stock up when they are, or when we have a Michaels discount coupon. And, since I thin them a bit, a little paint goes a long way.

We do tend to use exterior gray latex paint as the base coat for our tombstones since they are larger and that's the most cost-effective way to paint them. That's what you see on the peeper's stone above - the lettering and texturing were done with acrylics. We can often pick up cans of latex paint dirt cheap in the "oops paint" section at Lowe's or Home Depot.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks for the info and all the beautiful prop pics! This helps immensely. Love the bright colors too!


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## Dixie (Feb 18, 2009)

I like Oops paint for $5 a gallon - this can include anything from ceiling paint, to interior latex, exterior latex, etc. I do all of my base coats on large pieces in Oops paint so that I'm not wasting as much acrylic. For details and everything else I use acrylic over the latex, and then typically Thompsons water seal over that. 

On a side note, I have been a crafter for upwards of 20 years now, on a Non-Halloween scale, and have done a lot of Garden Art pieces - cement, terra cotta, wood, etc. I have found that when left in the sunlight, acrylic actually fades and loses its color FASTER than latex - by a lot, actually. But it is just as Roxy said - these are 30 day props at most, and will not suffer the same repetitive abuse that your house does.


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## GhoulishCop (Sep 25, 2009)

I use oops paint as well, which by and large is almost exclusively interior latex paint. Whenever I go into the Home Depot, I take a swing through the paint department and check out what paints have been mixed and set aside. It's surprising the number of people who've ordered black paint, or various shades of gray, and opted not to take them. Can't argue with $5.

My first layer of protection is a coat of spar varnish followed by a coat of latex primer. Then I put 1 or 2 coats of paint over that, sometimes 3 as I did with my gravedigger prop head. It then gets 2 coats of Thompsons Water Seal as well. I use Thompsons because it is the cheapest I could find (I've also used it on a fence on my property to keep it a natural color and after two years so far it's worked quite well). I also give the props an extra coat of water repellant each year when I take them out from storage.

My props sit out the entire month of October and I haven't run into issues of fading, cracking, peeling, or flaking.

Rich


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

I am a profesional miniature painter (I paint fantasy and war game figures).
I use the paint from my miniatures for my props.The paint comes from games workshop.Now this is used mainly for smaller detail type stuff (faces or heads or hands and such).The paint range gives many different colors and inks and washes to use for a great look and ease of shading and hi-lights.For big stuff, I also use outdoor house paint.In either case all of my stuff is sealed in spray matte finish, and a couple big pieces are sealed with spar varnish. I have had no problem with paint flaking off at all so far and it's been quite a few years.


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## Bascombe (May 18, 2010)

I dislike latex paint and much prefer acrylic. Ever had a bubble on a latex wall and pick at it and have a big piece of paint come off? I have. It's because latex binds to itself better than it does to the surface. I've never had that problem with acrylic.

I had a paint store guy try to tell me that latex and acrylic were the same thing. I've been paintin professionally in the theatre for twenty years and I didn't appreciate this young 21 year old punk trying to tell me my business, so I finally told him to mix whatever he wanted, but if the label said latex I wouldn't pay for it.


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## Sawtooth Jack (Apr 9, 2011)

Thanks for the advice everyone, I can't tell you how helpful you have all been!

Bascombe, I have experience painting with gouache, acrylics and oils, just not on paper mache, and certainly not for lengthy outdoor exposure. So it is good to hear of your experience with latex paint. I too have experienced the "latex peel" when refurbishing the walls of my fist home (previous owners had painted latex over oil-based), and will try to avoid using latex as much as I can. Heck, given the advice I've received so far, it looks like I'll be investing in a slew of craft paints and supplimenting with my acrylics.

Kprimm, as the artist in the family, I was the go-to miniature painter for all of my cousins and friends who gamed while growing up. Man I miss that sometimes. I plan on using that experience to help with prop painting, only on a much larger scale, so it is good to hear from you.

Thanks all!


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## trentsketch (Jul 27, 2009)

I'll say I use flat exterior house paint as a primer, but it's actually labeled 100% acrylic paint. It's the cheap America's Finest paint at Home Depot. I left a bunch of props I painted with it outside all winter and--barring the horrible warping on an 1/8" thick substrate silhouette--there is no damage to any of them.

For longevity, I seal the papier mache prop before I even paint it. Prime with exterior house paint (that happens to be 100% acrylic), then use tube acrylic (not craft acrylic) to get the basic colors going. Sometimes I'll hook up the airbrush and use watered down craft acrylic because it blends so easily and doesn't take as much additive to thin down for airbrushing as tube acrylic. When I'm satisfied with the paint job, I seal it again, then once more for good measure.

None of my props that were based with flat exterior acrylic house paint have peeled away.


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## Corn Stalker (Apr 23, 2011)

Lots of opinions here, but here is my experience: I did paper mache pumpkins and painted them with craft acrylic paints. They looked good and didn't loose any color, but with moist weather they started to feel sticky. (I have a haunt for 3 weekends). I ended up drying them out thoroughly and coating them with matte finish clear spray paint. Now no problems!


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