Alex Plus paint tinting ratio. What should the mix be?

[Jinx]

Ok. So from what I have gathered Alex Plus can be tinted fine with paint. My question is what is the best ratio of paint/ alexplus/ water/ lighter fluid mix?

I have seen stuff from equal parts water and alex and paint, to using zippo fluid to thin the alex.

What is the best has anyone got a science to doing this yet?

I am to the point where its time to tint my Alex Plus and then I will be almost done so I am overly excited to do this.

HELP!!!

[Winged Mermaid]

Sorry, I've not a clue. If it were me I'd just mix the paint in until it's the shade you're looking for. I would be very wary on adding anything like water or lighter fluid. You don't want to mess up the latex to latex bond, otherwise it won't stick. Otherwise, my advice would be to dig through some threads.

[Jinx]

digging threads is where i heard those things. i mixed paint with white alex and it took well but i didn't get a hance to see how it cured. i found a few threads that said it should be fine to mix paint with alex but it was createx. i prefer not to have to buy that when i have hundreds of pints worth of paint already. on th emain reference thread zippo fluid is listed as a thinner for alex for when you want to use alex to airbrush half water. neither on those made sense to me so i decided to ask.

[Arella]

Ask Lira I think she did something with the ALEX and lighter fluid.

[AniaR]

didnt capt nemo do a whole thread about it somewhere that got imported? I dont have time to look atm

[ShyMer]

This one? (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?553-Archive-quot-Using-ALEX-for-Tails-quot) It shows briefly some swatches with some paint ideas. I get the impression that you put a very small amount of paint in the alex in hopes that it will still bond with itself. You'd have to layer it to make it show the color you want.
At least that's the impression I get.

[Jinx]

yeah that helps when it comes to airbrushing. i want to brush it on or "sculpt " it almost. i have to find lira and ask her i think.

[Capt Nemo]

For Airbrushing with ALEX, use a 50/50 mix of ALEX and water. I used around 25 drops of Createx airbrush paint per ounce. (1/2 oz water / 1/2 oz ALEX + 25 drops) The color is very thin at this amount, and multiple coats are needed for a solid color. You could cut some of the water and add more pigment for a more solid color. You may also mix the pigment directly as it will thin the ALEX somewhat, but that would be too thick for an airbrush, but could be brushed.

Naptha or lighter fluid should not be used to thin ALEX!!! That stuff can absorb thru the skin, and also creates a flash fire hazard if airbrushed!!!
I've had my fingers go numb from short exposure (10 min) to naptha. It may also damage the neoprene/nylon bonding of wetsuits. (Won't harm the neoprene, I don't think)

You can mix acrylic paint like Delta Ceramcoat with ALEX and a little goes a long way.

When coating nylon faced neoprene, make sure that the first coat is worked well into the nylon! This prevents water from getting between the ALEX and the neoprene and turning things white. When worked in, pressing the neoprene should leave a white ring where your finger was. Thinning the ALEX a little bit, so it's still somewhat creamy would help here. Once dry, the surface should be shiny with just a hint of nylon texture, and the color should be that of when the neoprene is wet. After this coat, I add a thin smooth coat which may be pigmented and airbrushed. This is the base coat and will show at the low spots in the scale coat. Next is the scale coat which may be pigmented, and after that, an airbrush coat if you so choose. After this I spray a diving grade silicone lubricant over the tail to help waterproof the ALEX. Every few swims, and the tail should be resprayed with the silicone.

Some on this site will say OMG ALEX will kill you, but the amounts of somewhat toxic chemicals are quite small (<5%), compared to the main ingredients. Unless you are sensitive to one of those, you should not have problems. If you are allergic to acrylic latex house paint, do not use this product (65% acrylic latex and 5% silicone).

[Jinx]

I ended up hand painting the tail. I don't have an airbrush anymore so... I used Lira's suggestion from her special fx friends of mixing the lighter fluid and latex paint with the Alex. it worked quite well and sped up the drying process. heat setting is not a good option it stayed wet with heat so I used the cold shot on my professional blow dryer. plus a fan it dried in 30 minutes so I gave it a few coats a clear and glitter coat. I used diamond dust which I don't recommend it is sharp and Rocky so sanding is needed. and a thick clear coat on top of it. I am happy with it. I tried the silicone spray capt nemo suggested but a half a can of it barely did anything so I ended up dusting it with baby powder and its lovely. I took it off my mold wrapped it in sheets carefully folded it up and tied it so it will travel fine. we are in the car on our way to Niagra falls as I type this. when we get home next week I will post pics as camping = no computer to resize photos to fit on here. :-D
Jinx

[Capt Nemo]

Sometimes that silicone spray creates more overspray than hits the target, and gets silicone everywhere. Might try putting the tail in a plastic bag/s and then spray, that way the cloud will settle on the tail.

[Jinx]

the spray didn't seem to get anywhere else. maybe i just got a bumb batch. the dive shop near here doesn't seem like it gets shoppers often. so maybe it was old or something.

[Capt Nemo]

????? Hmmm.... That sounds weird, because every can I had always had a very fine spray mist that makes incredible clouds and gets everywhere. It always seems that I put more on everything else than I put on the item being sprayed.

What brand?