Art Finishing Techniques

Silicone Paints

There are three to four elements in silicone paints:

Solvent. The solvent is called Naptha various types of Naptha include: Panel Wipe, Lighter Fluid, Pure Naptha or Low Odour White Spirit.
Silicone. The silcone can be silicone sealer or part A+B of silicone. A silicone sealer that can be used is Evo Sticks 1 Hour Shower which sets in one hour therefore making it quick.
Pigment. Silicone pigments can be bought from various suppliers a couple include Technovent and Factor Two. It is also an option to buy dry pigments and add silicone oil as they come in various forms. It is a cheaper option to use oil paints also however they do lift off prosthetics after a year so if they are kept long term silicone pigments are a better option,
Silicone Oil. This can be used if pigment isn't blending into the silicone.

Method

Mix the naptha and silicone together as a small amount of silicone to a large amount of naptha until the consistency is that of a thin syrup.
There is a much longer working time with the silicone because it has been thinned with naptha.
It is possible to put paint base in a freezer to control the reaction time to keep it for longer.
Once the paint base has been made the pigment can then be added.
Only a very small amount of pigment should be added because they need to be really translucent especially for skin tones.
Do not add black and white for skin tone as the skin has no black and white pigments in it.
Silicone is the only thing that can be used to stick to the piece.

Painting

If the silicone is incapsulated it does not need to be cleaned however if it is not it can be cleaned with IPA, it must not be cleaned with naptha as this will swell the silicone.
Reference is key when painting the skin tone.
Blue was used first to colour the piece to the right, the blue was used to create the shadows. This is built up very gradually so that it does not appear painted or false.
Blue is used for the deepest shadows, green is used for the secondary shadows.
If the colour is painted on and the surface is wiped the colour just falls into the dips which is helpful when applying the deepest shadows in the wrinkles.
Between layers of paint powder cannot be used to dull down the paint however cabosil can.
Powder can only be used after the paint has completely dried and finished.
Do not use a latex sponge as latex stops silicone from curing.
Reds are used on flush areas/blood areas in a stippling motion rather than painting.
Fine silk thread can be put into the silicone paint base to create broken capillaries shown in the picture to the right.

Hair Punching

Yak or human hair can be used for this process yak has been used on the prosthetic shown in the picture. Yak hair is much coarser than human hair and can often be used for old characters instead of fine human hair.
A hair puncher or pin vice is used to punch the hairs, for a cheaper alternative a knotting hook holder can be used with a cut down sewing needle.
The direction the hair is punched in is the direction it will lay, similar to knotting hair therefore attention must be taken when punching that the hair is being attached in the way it would naturally grow,
The hair is placed between the two sides of the needle and pushed into the silicone.
Care must be taken to make sure the hair is not punched through to the other side of the prosthetic as this will cause irritation once applied to the actor or actress that would be wearing the piece.
The aim is to punch in the hair so that the barb (small end being punched in) is in the prosthetic but not through the other side.
The hair is easily pulled out of the piece so care should be taken when handling.

Pre Painting Prosthetics

Flocking

Flocking is created with a flocking gun shown in the far picture to the right. The flocking gun creates a static field that passes through the glue that has been applied to the piece and allows the flocking to only stick to the glued areas.
Silicone adhesive can be used as the glue and is a mixture of silicone sealer thinned slightly with naptha.
A crocodile clip is attached to the area with glue on, the flocking spreads over a vast area however only sticks to the glue. The excess can be brushed off to leave the flocking on specific areas.
The flocking gun can be restricted to a small more precise size by applying tape over the front.