Painting Neoprene

[MermaidNadia]

I recently finished sewing a tail for my daughter out of black nylon-coated neoprene. I read every thread and discussion on the Internet about painting neoprene and after the extensive research decided to use a good-quality fabric paint combined with Jaquard Airfix to paint the tail. The first coat got soaked up so I applied a second coat and VOILA! I thought the job was done, so I let it dry next to my woodstove for several days...
This morning we decided to go to the pool, but as a precaution I soaked the tail in the bathtub to avoid an embarrassing situation at the pool. The Paint started to bubble up and get flaky as soon as the neoprene soaked up the water. Does anyone have any secret tips for painting neoprene? How is everyone so successful with their neoprene tails? Can the paint be set with heat, even though neoprene is heat-sensitive? I appreciate any advice in advance...

[teeth4u]

The paint looks really good! I'm sad to hear it bubbled up. I've never painted neoprene before but I've heard people have had success using acrylic paint mixed with some fabric medium. I hope you figure it out! I know you're not the only one with this problem.

[Firemaid]

I have only ever used spray paint.
Works great!

[MermaidNadia]

wow, that pink tail on your picture looks fantastic! Is it made of silicone? What do you paint that with?
thanks for the tip about the spray paint. I'll do some tests on scraps of neoprene....

[*Celine*]

I used a regular fabric paint and it never came off off my neoprene tail, I also think that maybe you applied the paint to thick. I don't know for sure but it might be one the reasons yours came loose. I don't know if you can buy the brand I used where you live but you can check my tutorial on how I did my tail, maybe you'll find some useful info there :-) Another "How I made my neoprene tail" thread (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2487-Another-quot-How-I-made-my-neoprene-tail-quot-thread). Hope this helps :-)

[MermaidNadia]

Hi Celine,
I looked at your tutorial and saw that you did not paint the whole surface of the tail, just the scale outline. I'm going to try that method next, for my other daughter. I just don't want the tail to have a black backround, that's why I painted the entire thing with a thick coat. The first coat got soaked up too much and did not cover the black. How many coats did you apply? Any clues where to order good neoprene in other colors here in Europe?
by the way, I used some fabric paints of a similar quality to yours (I am familiar with Marabu colors).
It's a shame it didn't work actually, because with the thick coat it looks rubbery, like latex. Would have been stylish.

[*Celine*]

that's true, I forgot about that tiny detail. Yes I didn't paint the whole tail and I can understand that you don't want a black tail, at first I wanted a different color too but the site I ordered from only has black and grey :-s. I have to say that for the top part, which is flesh colored, I had to apply 4 coats before the fabric stopped soaking up the color. I found one site I think is reliable but I haven't ordered from them yet, you could try this: http://www.ewetsuits.com/acatalog/Neoprene-Sheets.html

I hope this helps a bit :-)

[MermaidNadia]

How is the flesh-colored area holding out in water? Has it bubbled up? Maybe the problem is the Jaquard Airfix. Did you heat-set the Marabu paint?
Thanks for the link- looks good! The pink colored neoprene is tempting..

[Mermaid Fenicia]

Yes, you need to heat-set Marabu-fabricpaint or it will come off when wet. I use that kind of paint on cosplay that I make and cosplay need to be washed to, so all the paint is heat-set. It stays even better on the fabric that printed items on fabric.;)

[*Celine*]

How is the flesh-colored area holding out in water? Has it bubbled up? Maybe the problem is the Jaquard Airfix. Did you heat-set the Marabu paint?
Thanks for the link- looks good! The pink colored neoprene is tempting..

No, it hasn't bubbled up and I haven't heat-set my paint, I don't know why the paint worked so well on the neoprene, I quess I was just lucky. But I'm glad you like the site and yes the pink does look nice :-p

[Mermaid Melanie]

thinner layers and drying in between each layer helps i find x

[Lotus]

I agree with Melanie. Thin layers of color built up are far better than one or two thick coats. Also, is Jacquard air fix suitable to mix with different brands of paint? I only use it with neopaque and lumiere, so I have no idea on that. The Jacquard paints themselves are great- even if you don't use Airfix (I didn't on my wave tail)- 72 hours of dry time set the paint really well. It's starting to fade a little in places, but that's mainly because I used a really diluted layer of blue on the body. The fluke has not faded at all.

[The Harlem Mermaid]

I used a regular fabric paint and it never came off off my neoprene tail, I also think that maybe you applied the paint to thick. I don't know for sure but it might be one the reasons yours came loose. I don't know if you can buy the brand I used where you live but you can check my tutorial on how I did my tail, maybe you'll find some useful info there :-) Another "How I made my neoprene tail" thread (http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2487-Another-quot-How-I-made-my-neoprene-tail-quot-thread). Hope this helps :-)
Hello dear thank you for your thread, i too am looking for info on how to paint a white sheet of neoprene nylon fabric for my mermaid tail and appreciate any further info. :)

[The Harlem Mermaid]

Hi Celine, i too am learning how to paint neopene nylon fabric, to answer your question i bought my neoprene nylon fabric from http://www.aquatails.com/ its the real thing not neoprin great quality and color is White easy to color any way you want , im selling one sheet of neoprene nylon as well if interested. hope that was ok to mention here. since i dont have the time nor know how to im buying my tails already painted so selling the other one

[The Harlem Mermaid]

here is a place you can order your neoprene fabric in many different colors http://www.foamorder.com/neoprene.html