Is it possible to paint flippers (bi fins)?

[Merman Andrew]

So I tried a bit of an experiment yesterday which failed dismally. I wanted to paint my rubber bi fins rather than the bright orange colour which they are. It was also to cover up some ugly mould stains which I've been unable to scrub out but they don't affect the performance at all so not enough to warrant throwing them out and buying another pair.

I used outdoor paint like what you buy at a hardware store, and whilst the paint dried on nicely after painting, when I took them for a swim in the pool the paint simply peeled off, probably due to the vigorous motion of the fins in the water.

So, is there any way at all to paint rubber fins successfully and have it stay on? I did try roughing up the surface a bit before hand but it didn't seem to help much. Maybe i need to use a different kind of paint? Thanks in advance.

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[PearlieMae]

Not much is going to stick to that kind of rubber without irreparably damaging the rubber...that's why it's pigmented before manufacture. You can 'stain' it, though. The mold stains prove that. Maybe draw some designs in it with permanent markers, like Sharpies. Experiment until you find something that really stains it. You might still have a lot of orange, but stripes and swirls and dots could be really interesting! Clean the fins with rubbing alcohol before starting. Alcohol will remove permanent marker from lots of surfaces, so if you draw on it and wipe it off with alcohol, and the stain remains, you've found your coloring solution!

[The Nerdmaid]

Not much is going to stick to that kind of rubber without irreparably damaging the rubber...that's why it's pigmented before manufacture. You can 'stain' it, though. The mold stains prove that. Maybe draw some designs in it with permanent markers, like Sharpies. Experiment until you find something that really stains it. You might still have a lot of orange, but stripes and swirls and dots could be really interesting! Clean the fins with rubbing alcohol before starting. Alcohol will remove permanent marker from lots of surfaces, so if you draw on it and wipe it off with alcohol, and the stain remains, you've found your coloring solution!
Sharpies are a good idea, and some kinds of paint markers would also work well. Look for something that has a liquid inside that needs to be shaken up. They'll be more opaque than sharpies, and while they don't last forever they can have a pretty good run if you don't scuff them too much.

You can also dye certain kinds of rubber and plastic, like in this tutorial:

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.instructables.com/id/How-to-dye-your-longboard-wheels-and-bushings/%3famp_page=true

But that's a bit more intensive and with orange your colours would be pretty limited. You could get a range of reds, browns and black and that's about it. But hey, black with metallic designs done in paint markers would be pretty cool.


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[The Harlem Mermaid]

Hi i too want to paint my new fantasea rubber fin was told that pigmentation would be good and stay on during swimming. I love my fin but want to paint it gold to match my fabric golden orange tails. Any suggestion would be appreciated. I figure he has several different colors ones so he used specific coloring spray of sorts so it must exist and its out there :)

[The Harlem Mermaid]

Merman Andrew (https://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?6590-Merman-Andrew) thanks for posting this thread and question i too want to paint my rubber flippers ;) lets hope we can find an answer and product that will work and is water resistant. I was going to buy spray pigament spray but held off till i get more info. fins crossed

[The Harlem Mermaid]

I found this on uTube looks like it could work on rubber fins what do you think Merman Andrew (https://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?6590-Merman-Andrew) https://youtu.be/29QgZVEhETo PearlieMae (https://mernetwork.com/index/member.php?2579-PearlieMae) your a genius when it comes to creativity and tails could this be a possibility to use on my fantasea fin?

[The Harlem Mermaid]

https://youtu.be/29QgZVEhETo