Painting the polished white, strong and flexible nylon plastic 3D printed models is a challenge needing a very fine brush and a suitable primer, paint and varnish. It is good to be an experienced artist to tackle the job.
You start by using a white primer (PlastiKote Primer) as a thin layer. I have test painted the Nudibranchs with three types of paint so far. The first was a water mixable oil paint (Winsor & Newton Artisan). It takes longer to dry, is a thicker paint and has a slight smell to it. I then used miniature model paint (Games Workshop Citadel) that is a nice thin consistency which I found is better. It dries fast and has a base option for white and black and a layer option for the colours. They only had premixed colours from the games they are meant for though. It is therefore hard to get all the colours without having cyan, magenta and yellow.
I then tried a fluid thin consistency acrylic paint that has your standard cyan, magenta and yellow paints to mix your colours with which I prefer (Golden Fluid Acrylics). It comes with a thin or thick paint for the white and black (more or less transparent) that is good depending on what you need to paint. It dries fast as well. It is best to not paint too many layers or else you might get peeling. I am now using this paint full time. I finish it off with a clear varnish in the same brand (Golden Varnish), adding a second thin layer once the first dries.
It is good to mix your colours first and do a test colour chart. Then you have to plan your colours and decide which to paint first for best results. It is best to work in multiple thin layers, waiting for it to dry rather than a thick layer of paint. You can draw on the model with a watercolour pencil beforehand if you like to make the markings of the design you want to paint. It is best to keep products in a cool place out of the sun since the varnish can age and the paint could fade.
To read detailed information on painting tips, please see my nudibranch blog on the drop down menu about “Painting Yana”.
If you would like to order my 3D printed models and paint them, follow this link:
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/marulacreative
Examples of my own painted nudibranch models are for sale here:
