Using Ecoflex as Paint Base

Jordan Brade

Hi everyone! I've been loving the videos so far - getting this subscription has been a dream come true, and I'm so excited to learn more! Just to give a little background about myself: I make custom action figures and I've had a few of my figures shown at Gallery 1988 in LA! My next project is a custom figure of Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Returns, and I'll basically be approaching it as if I were making a stop-motion puppet. I have the metal armature and I'm going to use silicone to cast my sculpt over it. While I'm familiar with silicone, casting resin, painting procedures for the most part, casting and painting silicone is actually pretty new to me. The part that gives me the most anxiety is the painting part!

Anyways, to try and keep things short(ish) - I don't want to buy six different products (Ecoflex, Psycho Paint, Sil Poxy, and whatever else Reynold's wants to throw at me) to cast the body and paint it. Would I just be able to thin the Ecoflex that I'll be using for the cast with NOVOCS and shoot it through my airbrush? It seems like that's more than possible, but I haven't seen anyone mention this exact procedure.

Thank you!

Chris Ellerby

Hi Jordan,

Glad you've been enjoying the videos!  I need to get over to Gallery 1988 at some point.  I'm on their mailing list and love all the stuff they do.

That should work,  though your results will vary based on which Ecoflex formula you use.  I'd do a small test on a scrap piece of silicone to see how it works for you with different levels of NOVOCS, pigments, etc.

/Chris

Jordan Brade

Thank you, Chris! I'll definitely do a test, but it's good to know that it should work in theory!

Also, you should definitely check out some of the shows at Gallery 1988! It's an awesome place!