I Couldn't Wait To Share This!

The RebornFX painted baby I have been working on had a good bit of sheen due to my using a lot of medium in with my paint.  I am still having to tweek my mixes with this system to find what works best for me.  MacPherson's had told me to try using the matting fluid in with my paints if I added a lot of medium and said I could also paint a layer of matting fluid over my parts to make them matte again.
 
I just got my parcel with the matting fluid in it an hour ago and painted a layer over my baby.  Now she is not shiny!

I may have a bit more light exposure in these pics than the ones I took the other day because the other day it was raining and gloomy here when I took the shiny pic but this is the before and after of my belly plate in progress with just skin tones and no creases or final details.

  Here is the belly plate with sheen.

And here is the belly plate after applying the matting liquid.

RebornFX paints

https://www.macphersoncrafts.com/en/online-store/rebornfx

I have received permission from Macpherson's to say now that I have just begun using these paints. I am liking them so far and have a few comments.

The product line is being made very specific to work well with vinyl and they do include more binders in them for successful adhesion and permanence. Do not assume that just because a certain medium may look and function similar to artist grade mediums we have experimented with before that they are exactly the same. I highly encourage you all to purchase the mediums meant to go with these paints to give them a good try before you make any judgments about how you like the paints. They are also trying to get the products out to us as quickly as they can rather than waiting till everything in the line is in production. So be patient. I suspect there will be some tweaking of things along the way.

I have a baby in progress with the paints that I have been working on and still am not to a place that I am ready to share her with you but that is coming soon.

Some things I can say already is I really do like their primer! It is easy to apply, not gritty and not sticky when applied correctly. To apply, I used a damp brush to brush a light layer on and a damp (not wet but squeezed out well) wedge to pounce over it. I let my pieces sit for 30 mins and then started painting. I was told if I planned to use the Open Time Medium in with my paint to extend drying time to let my primer cure for either 1 hour in front of a fan or 2 hours if just air drying. Since I did not get any Open Time Medium in my first order I did not use it and was able to paint just fine after 30 mins dry time. I do have some Open Time Medium on the way to try though. I am not one to need a lot of working time for most things but others of you might so do get it.

To this I would add that the pigments seem very good in strength and are holding their color well for me. They are different from the BabyFX brand I have been using in they are thinner but they do state they did not put any thickeners in the paints. They seem to be very pure to me.

They are working on more vidoes to upload to the site showing how to use the paints.

The premixed paints can be used right out of the bottle as is but they are intense in pigment. Therefore to lighten their intensity you would use the Emulsion Fluid and the Diluent to do so. You can add up to 50% of the Diluent to your paint to thin it down and then a drop or two of water if needed. The Diluent also contains binders. The Emulsion Fluid is literally the paint with no pigment in it. You can add as much of that as you want to. It is heavy in binders so as with all products that are, you can get some sheen with using it but that can be remedied by either adding some of the matting fluid to the mix or just applying a thin layer of straight matting fluid over your vinyl (like paint) and letting it dry if it begins to take on too much sheen for you. Then your piece will be totally matte again and you can continue to paint.

You do not want to use lots of water in any air dry paints in every layer just because water does reduce binders with all air dry paints.  If you do wish to apply a watered down water color layer or two you may do so as long as you then follow up with a regular not watered down layer to sandwich it in with binders. This is the key to successfull air dry painting with no fading that many people have not yet embraced and that is do not thin all layers with just water. If you find you need more working time you can add Open Time Fluid to your mix as well but be aware you will need more cure time and may need to use a hair dryer while painting to surface dry the paints quicker.   RebornFX Open Time fluid is not a retarder. It does have binders in it as well and retarders do not.

Lastly, if you have other brands of air dry paints you want to use with these you may do so. As long as you prime the vinyl first, then mix the Emulsion in with your other brand of air dry paint you can then layer brands on top of each other or mix them together to create your own colors. This is a way to continue to use your other brands of paints as well as to strengthen the adhesion of your other brands. To strengthen the pigment of your other brands you can add in some of the pure pigment to your other brand along with the Emulsion Fluid or even just add some Premixed RebornFX in along with the Emulsion fluid. There are so many ways to use this paint and incorporate your other brands in as well. This is what I like best about them!

Baby James is going home on Monday

I am officially done with baby James. He is a baldy. I think he needs hair but with the upcoming wedding of my daughter next month I did not want to take that on right now. I offered him for sale bald as a budget baby so he could be rooted by someone else. The lady who bought him says she likes bald babies so it was good for her. 

Overall I find the Miracle Blend paints to be an okay air dry paint system.  They are very thinned right out of the bottle and so it is best to use minimal water and a binding agent to thin them in my opinion to preserve the stability of the pigments.   I used Golden Fluid Matte Medium in with the paints and some distilled water. I final sealed the baby with Genesis heat set mediums. It all worked together very well.

Baby James is finished being painted and sealed

This is the test baby I have been working on with Miracle Blend paint. I have included photos of him without and with a flash.  The flash washes out some of the coloring but enhances the eyes and yellow tones so you can see their color better.    After sitting for 5 days, I sealed the Miracle Blend paints with a mixture of Genesis heat set matte varnish and satin varnish, mixed with a bit of Genesis Flesh 08.  The paints held up very well being heated.  I will be selling him as a bald budget baby, because I do not have time to root his hair. Y

Baby James, the Miracle Blend test baby

This is a James kit by Jorja Pigott that I have been trying out Miracle Blend paints on . Although these photos are not the greatest, I am posting to show this is how he is looking so far.

I have to say the coloring I have done on this baby looks good in person. Going to let him sit a week and see how he looks. The Golden Fluid Matte Medium that I used in with the paints to make them stick to him better works well but it does leave some sheen behind. At least that is what I think is doing it. Having not used the paints before I can not say for sure how matte they would be alone had I not used this product in with them. However, these paints are very thinned down right out of the bottle and I was concerned about the level of binders in them once thinned with water. I wanted to be sure to add some binding agent back to the paints so I added the Golden Fluid Matte Medium. I did not use any slow dry just that and some water and paint. Due to the fact that the Golden Fluid Matte Medium is heavy with binders that act like a "glue" for the paints, it does leave the vinyl slightly tacky while painting. I have noticed this with other similar products such as Golden Glazing Liquid Matte. This means that while painting the paint can attract fuzz/dust so a clean work area is a must. The tacky feel mostly subsides when the pieces are cured and once final sealers are applied to the vinyl this eliminates it all together.

I cannot say that I do or do not like the paints at this point. I can tell you from using the paints that they are not as concentrated as Baby FX and I definitely like my BabyFX paints much better. The lower pigment concentration was most noticeable to me when I discovered it takes more paint layers to build veins with this paint than I am used to. That could be good for those to tend to over vein their babies but for me, I prefer knowing I will get a good stain up front. I may have him a bit too mottled for a baby his age but I have had some to tell me the reds in this paint line do settle in a bit after curing so I will decide when I revisit him later.

Here are some quick photos. They are not the best for clarity and color but I will share them anyways. As always, I am so photography challenged!