Help - Painting First Mask A Disaster!

[Darth Veach ●]

Well, I was painting my Madman 78 blank which is now an utter failure because the eyes didn\'t come out right at all. But what I wanted to know is, when I flex the mask why do I notice little micro cracks all over it? Even though my mixture is 1/2 latex to 1/2 paint, it didn\'t seem to dry flexible at all. Plus it is very dull matte looking and has no sheen like my Psycho. If I ever dare try another one, what should I do differently next time?

Also, what is the trick to cutting eyes nice and smooth? I tried using cuticle scissors, but they don\'t cut worth a crap!

[IeatherfaceIX ●]

Im assuming your cutting out the eyes to install glass eyes? or to wear? either way, when I install my glass eyes I use an exacto. Its real hard to start cause the latex wants to flex. so I make short hard saw like strokes and it cuts nice and smooth like butter. Sorry I cant help you with the paint. wish I could.

Michael

[Jluck ●]

Cut down the paint to latex ratio. The cracks are from too much paint in the mix. You only need about 30-35% paint in the mix. Add paint little by little, test out the mix by dabbing some on something scrap wise then dry in with a hair dryer, as long as it dries white and not clear-ish yellow/translucent you have enough paint in the mix. You can also use createx brand acrylics as an extra saftey measure until you get the hand of the ratios. It\'s a flexible acrylic as they were made for airbrushing T-shirts. You need to invest in some good cutile scissors. But if the latex it too thick for nice even trimming, rough trim the eyes then smooth out with a cotton wheel on a dremmel or rotary tool.
~Jonny

[Darth Veach ●]

Thanks guys. Here is what it looked like before I stripped the paint off. I wasn\'t happy with the eye cuts, so I just went crazy with the weathering to see what I could get.

[IbDaToNeGuY ●]

That paint looks really nice . If you\'re still not sure if you think you could get the mixture right , there\'s always liquitex paint which already has the latex and paint mixed in . But yeah I think that even the tinyest of cracks will show up no matter who painted your mask as i\'ve had some masks from really good artists that I won\'t name and those have had very tiny cracks in the mask is bent slightly . I never got the hang of airbrushing so I just paint by hand so my ways might be different than most of the guys on here .

[mybankey ●]

I was told by a pro, that all masks will crack a bit if you bend them. I have pulled and bent mine and most do show very fine cracks when i do that.
As for cutting, i use surgical scissors...they are very sharp and have a very pointed tip.
Dont bend your mask,lol
Tom

[Darth Veach ●]

I was told by a pro, that all masks will crack a bit if you bend them. I have pulled and bent mine and most do show very fine cracks when i do that.
As for cutting, i use surgical scissors...they are very sharp and have a very pointed tip.
Dont bend your mask,lol
Tom

YES!! Now that\'s more like it. Where can I find those? I assume they won\'t have anything good like that at walmart.

[mybankey ●]

PM sent

[Michael_Myers H20 ●]

That paint doesn\'t look that bad.

-Sean

[Darth Veach ●]

That paint doesn\'t look that bad.

-Sean

Thanks man! I have already stripped it off, so hopefully when I repaint it it will be even better. This was done in one sitting and extremely rushed, so I plan to take more time when I redo!