Foxy Lady - #37

testing two gold tones of Pébèo Studio Acrylics

The Pébèo customer services answered my email, asking for further details and, after I asked them for the same gold paint in other formats, they redirected me to the Studio Acrylics range on their website. But they don't ship outside of France, so I was stuck again. I have to say, this is the best customer service I've dealt with so far, and they said they'll be sending me a new Deco Spray can... But I'm traumatised, no more sprays! After looking for official Pébèo vendors in Portugal online, to poor results, I called Imaginação das Cores (also not much updated info on their website), the shop where I bought the Deco Spray, and they had the Studio Acrylics in gold. So, yesterday I bought the two gold tones available, Rich Gold and Iridescent Gold, not sure which would be the best match. After making a quick test on a popsicle stick, including a 50/50 mix of both, the Iridescent Gold was a match!

I grabbed a thin brush, and started doing something I wanted to since I started painting these ears, painting the meandering cutout sides. One thing I like about acrylic paints, is their glossy, almost rubbery finish, which is awesome to fill in small scratches and gaps. After a few hours, I made a mock padding ball by tieing a bit of upholstery foam around itself into a ball, to wad paint the ears. Usually, padding balls are made from a piece of cotton cloth wrapped around a cotton wad, and used to apply shellac on wood. Now I'm applying thin coats with it, and, after one very thin first coat I already can see some better results. This way, I can get a smooth homogenous finish, without the need of a spray (although I'm sure it can be thinned down to be used with an airbrush).

Meanwhile, I noticed that the middle front and back joints were cracking again, so I reinforced them with some wood glue. Now I'll be applying one coat every day, letting it dry overnight, painting the other side the next day, and so on, until I have at least two full coats. They'll be surely finished by next week, and I can go ahead with the shoe embellishments.

+ The Studio Acrylics Irisdescent Gold is a perfect match to the Deco Spray Gold, so I'm very happy. I like to paint with acrylics and I know how to leave a proper smooth finish. Tomorrow I'll make a test with glossy polish, to see if it dulls or enhances the metallic finish. If it enhances it, I'll add a final sealing coat with it.

- In order to have a smooth finish it will take time, by adding one coat per day, but I like to take things slowly.

THE CUNNING PLAN

Finish the ears, sculpt the shoe/leg embellishments, test the lathe with scrap wood. Maybe make a 1:6th scale baseball bat for the Blythes.