Grave mistake

[CatwalkCat]

I need your help guys.

I recently purchased a fiberglass mannequin and I received her last week. She's gorgeous and I love her but I made a mistake. I bought her a pair of very nice stay up stockings, put them on her but let them on for a few days before removing them and noticing that the damn silicone stay up band left grey marks on her skin! It doesn't look like the paint chipped because I found no residue on the stockings. It looks like a stain. I tried water with hand soap, water with Mr Clean, vinegar (which is supposed to be great for silicone), an eraser but nothing worked. Any suggestions? If these don't come off, I'll have to have her wear stockings permanently... which is not necessarily a bad thing but... anyway. I'm waiting for your advices.

[samara78]

You may have to do repaint on those parts.
Contact member manniquin fan he may be able to help. He would surely know what kind of paint to use and how to do it.

[MannequinFan]

Hi Cat,

You could also try some isopropyl alcohol or mineral spirits if it's an oil based stain.
Just be careful and test it on an inconspicuous area first, like the bottom of the feet.
Acetone will remove the paint so you don't want to use that.

If you need to repaint the area, most paint stores can scan and match a paint color if you can bring a small part to the store, like the hand for instance.
I use the Behr Premium Plus Ultra paint for my mannequin work that I get at the local Home Depot here in U.S. They have small 8oz sample jars you can get for about $4 any custom mix you want. If you have a Home Depot near you in Canada that would be a good place to get the paint.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[CatwalkCat]

Thanks guys.

I tested pretty much everything. The only thing that worked so far is sanding with a 400 grain and some hand lotion but its not ideal. I guess I'll have to repaint.

[DollAfficionado]

I wonder if there is something he could use to treat the surfaces of the mannequin in order to prevent future similar incidents?

[CatwalkCat]

Another quick question: if I go for a repaint job, will I make a mess if I don't have an air brush? I'm used to painting miniatures for gaming with brushes and I'm pretty good at it. More than often, I use a dry brush technique and it works great. But I never thought of painting a lifesized "miniature" one day. Any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance.

[MannequinFan]

Not sure if you can get these where you are, but I use these Quickie sponges for my mannequin projects.
They are 4" x 3" and come in a 2 pack at the grocery store. They are a fine cell sponge almost like the foam paint brushes. What's nice is they are really cheap and I can cut them into any size/shape I need - cut in half for a 3" x 2" applicator.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Quickie-Origi ... 6/48608725


Dampen the sponge (damp not wet), put some paint on one end of the sponge and use a patting motion (stipple) and work the paint to a feather so it blends into the original paint color around the stain.
The stipple method won't leave brush marks, just a fine dimple texture if any.
I also add Floetrol to the paint 1:4 to reduce texture and keep the paint from drying too fast.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_41589-71-FLD6-0 ... Id=3376244

[CatwalkCat]

Great suggestion, MannequinFan. Thanks a lot. These sponges will be ideal. I'm familiar with them and use them all the time for washing dishes. I don't know the Floetrol product but I'll try to locate it in hardware stores in my city.

Thanks again.

[Krule World]

I don't have an air brush.

my suggestion is if you can get one, do it. if you can't, consider spray cans. spraying goes on a lot smoother than brushes. brush strokes are a lot more noticeable at 1:1 scale compared to miniatures. I doubt you'll be repainting the face, and it was hard to find, but here was my face repaint tutorial http://www.dollforum.com/forum/viewtopi ... =7&t=46500