Let's talk about Billy; Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel

Remember Billy? He is the test baby that I painted with the Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel (LUMG) and LDC paints.

Due to a bit more shine than I liked, I finished him off with a layer of pure LUMG which I thought helped a bit and gave him a bit of texture.

I took him to Orlando/IDEX with me and he was a real hit~loved by all. He was packed around, changed and re-changed and held by many people. This was a good test on the durability of his paint and the finish.

Remember, he was not first coated with Genesis Matte Varnish (GMV) as I usually do with my reborns.

I saw a few spots on his hands that had rub spots where the paint was lessened. I thought maybe it was the paint and LUMG itself but upon arriving home and deciding to remove that final layer of LUMG (I thought it felt a bit sticky), I concur that the missing paint is due to flaws in the vinyl and not the paint. (One reason that I love using the GMV to prep my dolls is that is resolves any kind of problem in the vinyl before I paint.)

I fully gave Billy a bath in hot, Dawn dish soap water, even scrubbing his vinyl with a toothbrush to remove that layer of LUMG. NONE of his color came off and the rub spots are almost not noticeable. I am very pleased with the overall results.

As this experiment has come full circle with me going back and forth on how I felt about the outcome of this gel + LDC paints, I can now confidently say that yes, I will use this again.

On Simple Treasures babies I will use just the LUMG and the LDC paints. On Master Artist Series, I will use the combination over a layer of GMV.

Speaking of Master Artist Series babies...have I ever shared how greatly I dislike working on Bountiful Baby vinyl???

Remember Stella? (reborn Kitten sculpt from BB?)


Well Stella left my nursery full of color and life but by the time I got to see her again in Orlando with her mommy, she had grown pale. This mommy does not like the feel of GMV so I did not use it on her. You see, the GMV just solves SO many problems with vinyls and some vinyls just suck up paint...and sometimes they suck it up later, after the doll has left the artist hands. In my opinion, Bountiful Baby vinyl is some of the worst to work on.

Interesting is that her brows and nails did not change at all.

I brought Stella home with me from IDEX for a repaint.

Well, since I liked the semi-opaque quality of the LUMG, I thought it might stay better on her uncoated vinyl than just the LDC paints with the LDC retarder.

One thing that I like about the LUMG is that the paints are richer in color and carry very well so I have repainted Stella with the LUMG + LDC mixture. I really like the results!

Stella will be going back home this week and we will hope for the best. At least her mommy knows where I live! :)