Tinting or coloring putty

[theBaron]

Hi, all,

I have to make some replacement Pelze for some Ziethen-Husaren, and I'll be using Aves Apoxie Sculpt. I'd like to tint it when I mix it, to make painting easier when the pieces are in place.

My thought is to mix in some of the craft store acrylic paint that I have, when I blend the putty and catalyst. But before I tried it, I thought I'd ask the community if anyone has ever done this, and if there might not be a better way to color the putty.

Also, could Sculpey be tinted in the same way?

I could see that the paint might interfere with the reactions between the catalyst and the putty, and inhibit a good cure.

Thanks in advance for any replies, prosit!
Brad

 

[Tubby-Nuts2]

I am not sure of the putty make, .. as I do not sculpt! ... However, if like, 'Milliput', or any putty, that can be softened by water, why not look towards 'Inks', .. ? Just a thought from the clueless!

Regards,

Mark.

 

[valiant]

Brad,
you could try mixing a small amount of powderpaint with the putty. It is a dry paint pigment which can be mixed with water, PVA, or any other medium and can be obtained at good artists stores - just a thought!

Steve

 

[Manfred]

Actually AVES does several different colours in their smallest pot size. Maybe they already have what you are looking for?

Slightly related.
I tried mixing green oxide pigment into Magic Sculp many years ago and it worked in a way but I had green fingers, tools and workbench afterwards. I tried this for better visibility as I had problems judging my detail work then. A while later I read on the allmighty internet that you can mix green stuff with it. Voila!
Nowadays I mostly use white AVES and add green stuff in varying amounts if needed.

 

[Ray]

Brad,
A small amount of modeling clay can be added to two part putties when mixing. This is the cheap stuff kids use to play with, the colors will not be as vibrant in the putty mix as original but there will be color. Green Stuff as Manfred says is also a good alternative but it will change the consistency and texture of the other epoxy putties, which can be good or bad depending on your technique. You can even use only the yellow half of GS when adding to MS or Aves, some will advise that the two different putties be mixed separately before blending together however, I have not trouble with curing mixing all three or four components together at one time.

I have not idea if it is possible to tint Sculpey or other brands.


Ray

 

[theBaron]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I think I'll step into Mr Wizard's laboratory and test these out, and see which work for me.

@Steve (Valiant), that was the next thing that came to mind, after mixing actual paint into the putty. I haven't worked with powdered paint in many years, but I remember it from art class in school.

@Manfred, I've never worked with Green Stuff before, but I'll try it.

And Mark, ink--that's a great idea, I would never have thought of it.

I will post back with my results.

The puzzle I face is that I'm replacing the leopard-skin Pelze on a couple of the figures, because it's missing. Stadden castings, bought second-hand. I can sculpt the leopard skin easily enough, and apply it to the figure and shape it. But once in place, I anticipate having some areas on the inside that I won't be able to reach with the brush, without getting paint on the figures' dolmans. So I want to tint the putty brown, and see if that helps with the areas that can't be reached.

This will be a fun exercise! It's always fun to experiment and see what comes out.

Thanks again, everyone, for your replies, prosit!
Brad

 

[helder agostinho]

You can tint with acrilic vallejo or Andreia. It work's.

Regards
Hélder Agostinho

 

[Diegoff]

I used to tint the Magic Sculpt adding a bit of plasticine with no effects in the MS properties.

 

[martin tabony]

I just add a bit of ink to milliput. It helps my old eyes to distinguish the seperate layers!

 

[theBaron]

Hi, everyone,

With the summer cycling season wound down, I'm getting back to the bench, and I ran a first test last night. For this one, I used the craft store acrylic paint, a burnt siena, mixed into the Aves. Basically I took my equal amounts of A and B, made little flat rounds out of them, put a dab of the paint on one, then sandwiched the A and B and started kneading. Messy, to be sure, but the immediate effect looks like this:



I took this snap at the bench, so the color is a little off, but you can see that the normally off-white Aves has a brown color to it, though not too deep and not consistent at the time I took the picture. As I worked with the putty, though, and kneaded it more thoroughly, gradually the color became consistent, so it works relatively well. But I think it'll take a little more of the paint, maybe another dab of the same size, to get a deeper and richer color.

I'll continue experimenting, to see what works best, testing your other suggestions. I'm curious to see how paint powder will work.

Thanks for the tips, and thanks for looking!

Prost!
Brad

 

[Ray]

As you're still experimenting you might like to try the modeling clay thing. I'm sure you'll find it less messy than paint or ink, still resulting in consistent coloration. Black and brown give very good results if you're still after a dark color.
An assortment like this will provide a lifetime worth of clay for tinting;
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Modeling-Assorted-24-Pack/dp/B000BNB1AY

Good luck and

Ray

 

[sippog]

As you're still experimenting you might like to try the modeling clay thing. I'm sure you'll find it less messy than paint or ink, still resulting in consistent coloration. Black and brown give very good results if you're still after a dark color. An assortment like this will provide a lifetime worth of clay for tinting;
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Modeling-Assorted-24-Pack/dp/B000BNB1AY
Ray

Is this the same as plasticine?

 

[Ray]

Sippog,
Yes, same stuff.

 

[Anders Heintz]

Simply add any acrylic color to the putty and mix it until its the same color throughout the blob of putty. I've used Reaper, Andrea and Vallejo without any issues.

 

[theBaron]

As you're still experimenting you might like to try the modeling clay thing. I'm sure you'll find it less messy than paint or ink, still resulting in consistent coloration. Black and brown give very good results if you're still after a dark color.
An assortment like this will provide a lifetime worth of clay for tinting;
http://www.amazon.com/Alex-Toys-Modeling-Assorted-24-Pack/dp/B000BNB1AY

Good luck and

Ray

Thanks, Ray, it's on my shopping list for my next stop at Michael's arts & crafts store. That's where I get my Sculpey, too. Maybe that will be the next set of experiments--tinting Sculpey...

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Simply add any acrylic color to the putty and mix it until its the same color throughout the blob of putty. I've used Reaper, Andrea and Vallejo without any issues.

Thanks, Anders! That's pretty much this first experiment, except it was the cheap craft store acrylic that I used. It definitely worked, just that I think I needed to use more paint, to get a deeper color. I'll test it again with my Vallejo or Andrea, and see how good they are, especially if a smaller amount goes farther than the cheap craft store brands.

I'm hitting Dick Blick tomorrow at lunch for some materials for more tests.

Prost!
Brad