Paint for Silicone

[HBMermaid_Angela]

Hi mer-folks,

So, in about 2 weeks my husband's special effects friend is going to be making me my custom made tail. I'm sure he already knows this info, but I'm trying to do as much research as possible to help the process along.

I want my tail to be made of silicone and wanted to know when it is time to have the tail painted, what are the best kinds of paint for this? I'm thinking of having a blue/green color with purple shading and possibly silver flecking throughout to create a fish shimmer effect under the water. I don't know much about arts and crafts so any recommendations about this would be awesome! Thank You!!

[courtneymermaid]

I wish I could help you out with this, but I don't know much about silicone... This is pretty exciting though and I just wanted to wish you luck!! :)

[CoralMoonMermaid]

what kind of silicone....It really and seriously depends on which silicone your talking about...

[HBMermaid_Angela]

OH! I have no idea...yikes! Like I said, I'm sure the effects artist would know...I was just trying to get ideas

[Mermaid Star]

Perhaps pigments mixed in will do the trick. I know Raven and a few other tail makers use pigments rather than paint from time to time

[merpirate]

What ever you do please pass it on so others can learn more too please

[Spindrift]

Silicone can't be painted unless the paint is also silicone based. Some silicone-based caulk may be painted but that is because it is actually mixed with either acrylic or latex (most likely both). Special effects artists usually pigment their silicone to colour their work or use paints like Psycho Paint.