Anti-Shine Additive on vinyl?

[ossilix]

I repaint Barbie and other vinyl dolls, primarily with Liquitex soft body acrylic paints. I've been having trouble with the paint drying too glossy on the face. I bought two different brands of matte medium (Liquitex and Golden) and neither one works - in fact, they seem to make the paint dry glossier than without them. (Especially the Liquitex.)

 

I saw that Reaper makes an Anti-Shine Additive. Can it be used with Liquitex paint? And, for those who have used it - do you think it will help? Has anyone ever tried using it on vinyl? In general, how does it compare to non-Reaper matte media that you've tried?

 

These frakkin' "glassy", shiny eyebrows are driving me crazy!!

Edited August 5, 2013 by ossilix

[smokingwreckage]

Liquitex matte medium isn't really a matting agent at all! If Golden is anything like it, think of it as an acrylic medium that, amongst other things, doesn't dry to a high shine. Adding it to something won't make the something more matte. I don't know why this is.

 

I have not tried Reaper anti-shine additive but it is a matting agent - an additive whose only purpose is to make the stuff you put it in much, much more matte. As such you need to go carefully to avoid frosting and other problems: test carefully at different rates until you get roughly what you want, and take notes!

 

In miniatures circles the aerosol Testor's Dullcote is justly famous as a final coat to matte the finish, have you tried it? Carefully, on a small area first?

[smokingwreckage]

Also, Reaper's matte varnish, especially thinned with water, comes up very matte, and might be more suitable than Testor's Dullcote. Have you tried it?

[ossilix]

Liquitex matte medium isn't really a matting agent at all! If Golden is anything like it, think of it as an acrylic medium that, amongst other things, doesn't dry to a high shine. Adding it to something won't make the something more matte. I don't know why this is.

 

I have not tried Reaper anti-shine additive but it is a matting agent - an additive whose only purpose is to make the stuff you put it in much, much more matte. As such you need to go carefully to avoid frosting and other problems: test carefully at different rates until you get roughly what you want, and take notes!

 

In miniatures circles the aerosol Testor's Dullcote is justly famous as a final coat to matte the finish, have you tried it? Carefully, on a small area first?

 

Actually Liquitex and Golden matte mediums do have matting agents in them just like Reaper's Anti-Shine Additive, but in smaller proportions, and I don't know what else they put in there along with it....

 

I didn't mention this, but I tested them on a piece of metal. The Liquitex matte medium didn't work. And it actually made the paint dry "rough", causing it to look "sparkly" because the light reflects in different directions off of the rough "facets". (This might be because of bubbles in the medium after the shaking it, but in any event, it didn't change the glossiness at all.) As the years go by, I'm trusting Liquitex less and less....

 

However, Golden Matte Medium totally worked. The paint is dead matte, which is exactly the finish that I'm trying to acheieve. However, for some reason it doesn't work that way on vinyl. The paint starts out dead matte, but after sitting over night it turns "shiny" and glassy. I'm beginning to think this might be caused by the paint leaching plasticizer out of the vinyl. (Not good.)

 

I'd prefer to use an additive rather a sealer or varnish because I want the paint to be relatively easy to remove in case I wanted to re-do it later. Also, because I'm not painting the entire surface, I don't want to coat the whole thing, and it's very hard to get the varnish/sealer to cover things like eyelashes without it going "outside the lines" and ruining the way it looks.

Edited August 6, 2013 by ossilix

[Sanael]

Both Reaper and Testors make a brush-on varnish; you don't have to paint it beyond the edges of your color, so any stripping agent could still work its way under the paint if you needed to restart a piece.

 

I've used satin and gloss brush on varnishes this way (because my minis all get an overall dull coat), so I'm sure the brush-on matte varnish would work as well.

[smokingwreckage]

Sorry, my experience with Liquitex matte medium was that it wouldn't make miniature paints more matte, which is what I meant by what I said.

[ultrasquid]

Are you adding any sort of solvent or extender to your paint, like alcohol or drying retarder or flow improver? I wouldn't expect any of those to interact with the vinyl, but if you are using something like that, try eliminating them from your mixes and see if the results are any different.

 

Those squishy doll heads must have a buttload of plasticizer in them.

 

Drop Golden a note detailing your problem. They might have a solution for you.

[Flow]

I actually love brush on varnish. I think Tester's Dullcoat is probably fine and would do the job well; I just like being able to control the amount of varnish and doing it with a brush seems to allow me to do that (so I tell myself).

 

I think this is definitely something a matte varnish of some sort would work.

[smokingwreckage]

Dullcote comes in brush-on form if you want to try that.

[Pingo]

When NPR asked various toy manufacturers what they were using to substitute for the banned phthalate plasticizers in their toys, Mattel, the manufacturer of Barbie dolls, was one of only two which were willing to say.

 

Mattel, as of 2009, had replaced phthalate plasticizers with "citrate-based plasticizers" and a largely unknown chemical called DINCH made by BASF in Germany. The US passed a law banning phthalates in 2009, but a requirement that companies replace phthalates with safer alternatives was removed "after fierce lobbying from Exxon Mobil".

 

Those squashy heads are loaded up with plasticizers which have a tendency to migrate. I'm afraid they will remain problematic to paint.

[smokingwreckage]

but a requirement that companies replace phthalates with safer alternatives was removed "after fierce lobbying from Exxon Mobil".

 

Here's a quandary. Companies tend to lobby in their own self-interest... and governments tend to legislate in ignorance. Which of the two irresistible forces do I bet on? Greed or stupidity???

[kay13]

 

but a requirement that companies replace phthalates with safer alternatives was removed "after fierce lobbying from Exxon Mobil".

 

Here's a quandary. Companies tend to lobby in their own self-interest... and governments tend to legislate in ignorance. Which of the two irresistible forces do I bet on? Greed or stupidity???

 

 

 

but a requirement that companies replace phthalates with safer alternatives was removed "after fierce lobbying from Exxon Mobil".

 

Here's a quandary. Companies tend to lobby in their own self-interest... and governments tend to legislate in ignorance. Which of the two irresistible forces do I bet on? Greed or stupidity???

 

 

Stupid greed... that way they both get what they want