Is it possible to airbrush/fade-paint neoprene?

[Marriih]

Hi mers, I was wondering about that. I want to make a black neoprene tail, I'm still thinking about exactly how, but my main concern right now is how I'm going to make it look slightly more realistic than a plain black piece of fabric. It doesn't need scales, I'm all for a more mammalian look anyway, but a nice fading in the fin, on the front, and (if possible) between my skin and the tail would be awesome.

Yes I've definitely checked out the threads about how to paint neoprene. I can't find anything about the fading thing though.
Do you think tie-dye would even work on neoprene? (I mean on the upper part where I want to make it fade into my skin.)

Excuse me if this is in the wrong section or an already answered question, I've tried my best to find other threads about this, so if this is still not okay, please let me know kindly and refer to another thread. I am new here.

[Nyx]

I don't have experience tie-dyeing or airbrushing neoprene, but I CAN tell you that neoprene has this annoying habit of sucking up the first few layers of paint you put on it. It takes a lot of paint and a lot of layering for colors to show well and vibrantly.
One of my friends did dye spots and patterns into his neoprene tail, and from whatvI remember, he said the dye bled a lot and was a little difficult to control. (This was like 3 years ago though, so my memory is a little blurry).
It might be a challenge, but it's worth experimenting!!

[Marriih]

Thank you for your reply. :) I am not planning on painting the whole thing, I'd like to just add some lighting to it. Do you remember if the neoprene where the paint got "sucked up" looked darker and less clear than when painted again several times? Because then that could be used to my advantage, actually.

I might as well experiment with it, but if it doesn't work... there goes my money.

[Nyx]

No problem!
Well not exactly?? I paint lighter colors onto a dark neoprene base, so the fabric covering the rubber is usually the darkest part of my design. Whenever paint is added on (especially very liquid paint) the fabric acts like a sponge, after the paint sets in and dries you almost can't see the color.
If your neoprene is lighter than your paint, the paint will probably look less vibrant and lighter than what it's supposed to.
If your neoprene is darker, then the paint will blend in to the fabric color until you almost can't tell the difference.

Experimenting wise, usually factories sell swatches so you can see the color of the neoprene in person. If you're concerned about spending too much money on something that might not work, you can always get some of those swatches and the smallest amount of paint sold, in order to experiment.

[Marriih]

I don't think I can buy directly from a factory. That would've been a good idea though.

But if the paint blends in so much that I almost can't tell the difference... If only I could test this... I would paint the darkest lighting first, then again paint the part that needs to be slightly lighter, then even lighter etc. maybe that would make a bit of a fade. That was my idea. The paint would be more visible where I went over it again and again, and hardly visible where done only once or so. It would be awesome if I could try that. But I can't really.
I hope I get more replies. But I'm unsure of how many have actually tried to paint neoprene.

[Marriih]

Seriously, just acrylics with some fabric medium? This guy makes painting neoprene seem very easy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgZyTO2kI_s
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgZyTO2kI_s)If that works I might just as well try to mix different shades and see if I can make them blend a bit on the neoprene. No idea how I'll make it match my skin tone though. Just keep mixing paint until it's good I suppose. xD
I'll look for a good online fabric store within my country first.

[Marriih]

Is this neoprene? I keep running into supposed neoprene turning out to be neoprin... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Waterproof-NEOPRENE-fabric-two-sides-double-coated-lycra-fabric-5-colour-/282112515804?var=&hash=item41af375edc:m:mSfyZ5EPCR4n-5VL4s8xcDA

[Mermaid Wesley]

Yes that does appear to be neoprene :)


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