painting hair, air brush or hand brush?

[JJCap1]

I usually outline with a brush, then mask and airbrush. A little dry brush and a few brushed highlights to finish.

[s_paulik87]

Thank you! So now I have some testors enamel model paints. Bright green, gloss white, and thinner. Do I need to strip/prime/sand etc... morrigans hair or can I just paint right over? Don't want to damage any other part of the statue's paint

[dark_spidey]

I'd recommend lightly sanding the hair. It will remove the sealer that they used and will allow the paint to adhere to the hair.

Use a fine grit sandpaper. 600 should work fine

[Astounding]

Agreed, light sanding is a good idea. Even if the sealer is not an issue, it's a good way to remove dirt and finger oils from handling. This should give you a better bond. Primer should not be necessary as the surface is already prepped and painted.

[s_paulik87]

Thanks guys!

I practiced with enamel and with acrylic paint last night on a random home decor Buddha statue and the enamel looked better with hand brushing for me. Should I be mixing enamel with thinner or is the thinner just to clean off the brushes after using them?

I also need some aves to repair her hair correctly since I'm painting I might as well do it right. Doesn't seem like any stores carry it though. Is there an easily obtained comparable item or should I just go the online route?

[SONICobra]

i get mine off of amazon, make sure you pick up a bottle of safety solvent as well. you use that to work the aves similar to how you use water to work clay. also helps clean your fingers when youre done, aves can be sticky.

you shouldn't need to mix the paint with thinner unless youre using a really old bottle of paint and you need to dilute it a little bit. but if youre using a new bottle, use it to clean your brush

[dechirico7]

Originally Posted by JJCap1

I usually outline with a brush, then mask and airbrush. A little dry brush and a few brushed highlights to finish.

That is what I would do too. For the base color, airbrush it. Then I would dry brush some highlights. You could even take some chalk and darken the low-lights and shadow areas to really make the piece pop.