Can You paint Fimo?

Question

What kind of paint do you need to use?

Answer 1

As long as you put on an undercoat that matches what type of paint you finish the job with you can use anything

Answer 2

Painting Fimo Clay

Answer 3

I tend to buy fimo in the colour I want the finished object and/or mix colours together to get just the right one. I do paint the finished object with clear nail varnish however just to give it a shine and a sparkle. Regular varnish/paint would probably work better but I have a nail varnish fetish so I use what I've already got!

Answer 4

When Fimo (or any other brand of polymer clay) is "painted over," the most common paints used are acrylic paints (or clear acrylic sealers). It's good to always de-grease the clay first too by wiping it down with alcohol. You can use either the "craft" acrylic paints in little bottles, or you can use the "artists" acrylic paints in tubes (which are thicker). Especially if you use the regular craft paints, you'll need two coats for full coverage, or to use a white paint or gesso as the first coat.

Some other paints and media can also be used over baked polymer clay, but some of them will be more translucent than you may want and/or require more coats... things like artists' oil paints, tempera, chalks, etc., but some will also require sealing since they're water-soluble.

Do NOT use any paints or sealers directly on clay though which have a petroleum solvent in them ("enamels," or any of them that say they clean up with paint thinner). They are not compatible with polymer clay, and will begin to dissolve it over time (may look and feel fine in the beginning though... can take up to 6 months to begin to turn sticky and eat into the clay).
Note that some spray paints, regardless of the type of paint inside the can, will also eat into polymer clay because this type of solvent is present just in the propellant for the paint.

If you want more info on painting on top of polymer clays, check out this page at my site:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/paints.htm
(... look first at the category called *Preparing the Clay*...)

(most clayers build the color into the clay though, rather than painting over it completely... but that's your choice, and you can always do both)


Diane B.

Answer 5

Hi,

You can paint fimo with craft paint, acrylic, oil........anything you want. The secret is to seal it with the polymer varnish sold with the product. I do it all the time.

Have fun.

Taracat

Answer 6

You can but fimo comes in different colours anyway.