Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

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Gerardo
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Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

Hi,

I painted one side of colored copy paper with black acrylic paint. It's a very dull black and I think it's its dullness what makes the paint layer get scratch marks from just folding the paper. Is this common? Is there a solution?

Thanks guys!
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by phillipcurl »

Yeah, this happens to me too. Its just the nature of acylic paint, which is basically plastic. Nothing to worry about. How I got around it was mixing it with MC or water, but that dyes the whole sheet.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

Thanks Phillip! OK, I don't have any MC... I might try mixing it with white glue just to see what happens. Is the color black what makes the scratch marks so visible?

Does anyone else have any other ideas?
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by phillipcurl »

It seems to show up more on black, yes. Not sure how well it would work with white glue.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by marckrsh »

Since I have not heard the obvious solution...perhaps do touch up after the folding is completed? I am also aware of some artists who first apply the paint AFTER the folding is completed. Why waste paint? It also reduces the thickness. Experts are also good at getting good blending effects. - Marc
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

Thanks for your answer Marc. I'm trying to avoid that cause I fill a bit like cheating. It's just how I feel... you know :oops:?

Anyway, I made a little test making a mixture of acrylic paint and white glue stopped the paint from getting scratch marks but it damped the paper :?.
Last edited by Gerardo on October 9th, 2015, 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by phillipcurl »

Gerardo, what type of paper are you using? If you are using pre-sized paper, try just diluting the paint with water. I did that the other day and it turned out great.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

How do I know if it's presized?

I suppose it isn't. It's common color copy paper but in B2 size. That's 100 x70 cm (39 3/8 x 27 9/16 in). I had to use pure acrylic paint. Even a litlle of white glue or water damps the paper. I'll try now a spraying transparent lacquer paint to protect the black paint from scratches. I had done a little test and it did help, so I'm hopeful :).
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by LeafPiece »

Are you talking about cracks along creases, or the tendency of acrylic to scuff and create dull gray areas when you're folding?

Finding a more expensive paint will help both of those problems a little. A good black paint shouldn't look dull when you put it on, but I have used cheaper paints that look like a very dark gray rather than black. These paints also scuff easier. Using expensive paints won't solve the problem completely, though. Like phillip said, that is the nature of acrylic (and really, anything that is intended for flat, non-bending surfaces).

I wouldn't feel too bad about touching it up when the model is finished, like marckrsh suggested. It's the paint that failed, not your origami. I have the same cracking problems sometimes and don't think much about it.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

Thanks LeafIiece!

Scuffing... exactly. I didn't know that word. In the past I had problems with cracking paint, it breaked apart from the paper, but that was with a bottle of white spray paint. This is different. Also, I'm not sure if "dull" is the right word; what I meant was the complete opposite of "shiny". A coat of enamel paint is super shiny, of vinyl paint is just a tad shiny, but a coat of acrilyc paint is not shiny AT ALL; that was what I meant.

I did try the transparent lacquer, it helped but I'm really bad at using spray paints, it ended up with paint drops over the coating and it all dried unevenly. I won't try that again.

roodborst's comment here gave me the idea of painting other kinds of papers. I made a little test of the black acrilyc paint over brown kraft paper and I don't know why but it didn't scuff (am I saying that right?). Weird... it's the same acrylic paint but the paper helped that way.

And your right, I am using cheap acrilyc paint but if kraft paper works then everything will be alright. I just wasn't thinking about painting both sides, but I can live with that :).

If someone else has any other ideas, you should share them here. This could really be helpful for other origamists that also want to paint their paper.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by LeafPiece »

I'm glad the kraft paper helped with the scuffing problem. It sounds like you still want a shinier paint, though, right? The words you want to look out for are "matte", "satin," and "gloss." There are some other terms in between, but those are the most common. Gloss would be like your enamel paint, satin like your vinyl paint, and acrylic paint usually has a dull, matte finish. Even though that is typical for acrylic, most of the major brands will carry a line of acrylic gloss paints as well. You just have to look for them. I don't believe they are any more expensive than standard acrylic.
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Re: Acrylic paint getting scratch marks

Post by Gerardo »

Thanks LeafPiece. That was really helpful :).
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