Last year I was able to acquire a bunch of cast parts (heads and torsos) from a fellow board member.

I have not attempted to paint any of them to date because my painting skills are practically non existent.

I'm looking for some advice on what to do.

I've put a few heads onto a number of LBC bodies, knowing at some point I'd have to paint them.

I'm also concerned about the casted parts having a 'shelf date' and curious if they might start to break down after a certain amount of time.

Most of the parts I have are the black resin type.

For the torsos I know I need to drill a small hole in the torso joining sections so as not to break the resin by forcing a screw into it.

Any advice appreciated.

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The resin that I've used tends to almost "resist" acrylic paint. It goes on, but if you want a smooth finish, it will take many coats and some patience.

If you're painting a head, paint the entire head (hair/berets/etc.) in the flesh tone. I've had good luck by glopping on the paint over the surface, but then hitting it with a very wet brush to even out the paint. This makes for a very smooth surface, but it takes up to 6 coats.

After the head is the color that you want, work on the other details. They have the flesh color as an "undercoat" and will probably move a bit faster.

Good luck.

Do you know if the parts are urethane?

If so, check out Alyosha's tips for prepping those parts for painting:

http://goodtogocustoms.com/forum/index.php?topic=2935.0

I don't really know about a "shelf date" for resin parts... I'm simply assuming that when done properly, they'll have a lifespan similar to other plastics.

My experience with doing my own molding & casting is fairly limited, and I've only used polyester resin (which cures into a hard plastic, like the old ARAH figures), but I was able to take the finished cast, clean off any excess, wash it with soap & water, then give it a coat of primer with no problems.

Good luck.

Anything I cast takes paint right out of the mold- NO problems. I don't wash it, clean it . . .nada.

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I got the castings from Void, so if anybody has dealt with him they might know what type of resin/material they are.

I do have a few parts that are cast in white.

The only real painting I've done is with a spray can and some of the stuff I did 15 years ago hasn't chipped yet (love that OD paint).

If I have any more questions, I'll ask when I finally get around to painting.

Oh, I have a bunch of the small paint bottles from AC Moore (don't know the brand but I think they are acrylic)

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Void does great work and has done many castings for me and all that I've painted came out great. I paint using Testors Model Masters Acrylics and Games Workshop paints.
When painting casted parts or regular production parts, I usually swab over their surface with nail polish remover/acetone on a q-tip then paint 2 coats. After the paint has dried, I spray with clear acrylic matte spray and after that cures, it's good to go. I've had sucess with this method every time...

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None of items I've cast have required anything special to paint them. The only items that has had trouble are the ones that I got my mix ratio wrong on. All paint that I put on it went on like enamel on the wrong type of plastic.That's normal for parts that are messed up though and you really shouldn't even try and use those parts.

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