Presented By Rio Rondo |
Resin Prep |
To Products Main Page
Resin castings need to be properly prepared for painting to ensure the best possible quality in the finish job as well durability over the long term.
Typically, to prep, prime and basecoat a resin can take from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending upon the size, seam locations, detail level and overall quality of the casting. Poorer quality castings or those with a lot of intensive fine detail may require a notable amount of additional time.
The following outline is just a basic overview of the process of prepping a resin for painting. For more details, please consult Resin Prep Work and Clearing Silicone from a Resin Model
The first step in preparing a resin is to clean off the seams and any other flash or excess material remaining from the casting process. Seams can be removed by several means, including:
There are several materials that are commonly used to fill in imperfections along seam lines, as well as repair casting anomalies
To make sure all dirt, oils and any mold-release residue from the casting is removed, and to add some "tooth" to the surface to hold primer paint better, scrubbing the model with Bar Keeper's Friend and a toothbrush is the fastest, most effective way.
For full details, please refer to Clearing Silicone from a Resin Model.
When the piece has been thoroughly scrubbed, the model is rinsed and set it aside to dry.
Sandable Primer is then applied to the dry model, to both allow the artist to better see any remaining imperfections, as well as establish a quality surface to paint upon.
Once the first layer of primer is dry, the model is checked, and any remaining imperfections are sanded and patched. Then the model is re-washed, alllowed to dry, and then primed again.
The process of sanding and priming is repeated as necessary until a quality surface for painting has been achieved.
Some artists like to paint directly on top of the primer. Some artists add color with pastels. Some artists prefer to basecoat the piece with gesso or acrylic colors to build the type of surface they like to paint on best. Basecoats might be applied with hand-brushing or sponge methods, or with an airbrush.
Each artist has their own preferences for the painting surface they prefer: smooth or textured, white gesso or colored basecoats, flat or shaded...
if you are an artist new to this type of three-dimensional painting, plan on experimenting to find out what works best for you.
Once a basecoat has been applied, the resin sculpture is now ready to be officially painted its actual finished color, in oils, acrylics; by handbrushing or airbrushing, or even pastels.
Many resin horse bodies are produced by artists with the intent that others will finish and complete the pieces by painting them (or possibly adding sculpted or haired manes and tails to them if they were designed as such). Since the original sculpting artist retains the copyrights to the sculpture form itself, they also have the option to set policies regarding what they do or do not wish to have done to the sculpture work.
While many artists feel customers should feel free to modify the sculpture and have fun, others may prefer that the sculpture itself is not modified. Yes, it is common courtesy to adhere to the artist's wishes in this respect, but also federal law indicates that in some cases, the artist may choose to allow or disallow modifications to their work. The law that governs this is referred to as "VARA" (Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990)
Where there may be any doubt, the best policy is to simply ask the artist if they have any objections to modifications of the sculpture. Some artists may post their policies in their sales information, or on a web site, or include them along with the piece.
