Has anyone switched from GHSP to Golden air dry? What are your thoughts? Which do you prefer? Thanks!
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I’m wanting to know also.is it chalky looking when you finished?
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I’m looking to do the same thing! Are you a member on Melissa George’s Patreon? That’s who I plan to paint along with when I get my new paints.
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If done well they look beautiful. I just don’t know what the learning curve is to get them lookin’ pretty 
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I’m so please with the look of ghsp. It’s just the baking ugggg.
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I agree!! I love working with GHSP. But I don’t like having (toxic) paint thinner out all the time- that’s the main thing pushing me toward air dry. I worry about the fumes from hot vinyl as well, even though I bake outside. And it would be cool to be able to bring stuff to work and show my students some techniques. Induct the new generation of reborners
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Yes…she makes it look so easy! I agree, I also worry about the fumes!
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I follow Melissa n decided to switch or try the golden paints. I was working on Owen. He felt too sticky. I stopped n stripped him n started over. He was sticky again. I think I used too much retarder. Owen is now thrown in a bag until I decide to strip him n try again.
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Changing over from Genesis to air dry will be a learning curve for you but just take time and work through it. Air dry paints can look chalky if applied too thickly, but then so can Genesis. However, for those of us who have mastered air dry paints, we know that you can very well achieve translucent skin tones with them. The key is avoiding or using very little opaque colors with lots of white in them, and applying thin layers to build a 3D skin tone.
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Why is my doll sticky after priming? I stripped her 3 times and have to strip her head again. I left a web sponge on her cheek by accident and it soaked down to the vinyl.
I don’t know why everyone is getting sticky dolls…what mediums are you guys using? Im wondering if anyone is using the Wetting Agent improperly because that will really give you a sticky baby. I was getting really shiny babies until I changed the way I mix my paint. All this below is Golden products btw.
I put a few drops of paint in my bowl, then a few drops of retarder, and a bit of satin glazing liquid and I thin this with wetting agent and water. When you mix the wetting agent with water make sure you only put in a small amount of the wetting agent because too much can give you a sticky baby. I put a small amount in an old empty, clean, varnish bottle and the rest is distilled water. It can look foamy or soapy when I use a lot of it but I just pat it down with a brush and its very smooth. I sometimes use a dry brush to move it around, as well. I rarely use sponges actually…every once in a while and always for varnish. My new babies are coming out so much better than the ones I have painted in the past. I owe most of this to Melissa George because that is where I got my ideas from. Ive actually been using the satin glazing liquid for a long time, I think it makes the paint look smoother and cleaner. I think everyone has their own way of mixing paint and you just have to find what works for you. Recently Ive been using Gac 500 in my mottling mix on a tip from Melissa and that is working out really well, I was having problems with getting the mix correct.
I agree that if you do the switch you should really get her patreon because truly she has helped me so much. Im so thankful that I became one of her patreon members. Do I sound like a spokesperson? LOL
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I use liquitex matte gel and water for priming. It also gives a bit of tooth for the first layer of paint. I put it on really thin.
Im thinking that maybe what you are using is too thick?
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Thank you! Would you say that you prefer air dry over heat set? Once you got the hang of it, was the process easier?
I am a member of Melissa’s Patreon page which is what made me think about switching over. Her Patreon page is amazing isn’t? Did you use GHSP before switching to Golden?
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No, I started with acrylics due to my health problems, I was using Liquitex. Golden is so much better and Im glad I switched…and yes, I love her Im happy she is willing to share so much with us.
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Thanks for the tips
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Thank you so much for your input!
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I should think its really hard switching though especially with the confusing bunch of mediums…at least with GHSP all you need are thinner and varnishes.
I do prefer air dry over heat set because the odorless thinners were causing me lots of allergy issues. They make my throat burn and itch. Also, the warm vinyl does.
I would say overall that if you are getting a lot of tack to back off on the amount of mediums you are adding to your paints. Keep in mind both Retarder/Slow Dry and Water are products that will break down your binders and thus a little bit of binder product is needed to offset that.
Another big cause of Tacky surface is using lots of Retarder/Slow Dry. I prefer NOT to paint with this product unless I am doing a flesh tone layer and need to thin it out well before it starts to set or I am painting hair and need more working time. Adding Retarder/Slow Dry to every paint layer you paint will very much slow down the drying time of your paints and make them tacky because the surface will hold on to the water in the paints more.
Tackiness also comes from the binders in the mediums used for painting. Binders are like “glue” for the paints and thus are a little tacky. This is also why the dust attraction some have issues with. Some slight tack is normal but a lot of tack is not. A little goes a very long way towards doing what it needs to. I have tried different products and found that I like the Golden Super Matte Medium the best. Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel would be the alternative to the Golden Super Matte Medium. I have been using it now for a couple babies with my RebornFX paints. I do use the Wetting Agent and find no more than 2 drops to 4 oz of water is the best ratio for that. I have mine mixed up in a squirt bottle. Using these 2 products I am getting nice skin tones that are not tacky and low on sheen. I do find that when I use the RebornFX Sealer to seal the paints I get some slight tack and sheen but follow-up with Ultra Matte Varnish with a little extra matting powder (Or one of the other varnishes such as Golden Polymer or DecoArt with matting agent) takes care of both sheen and tack. I have tried making an isolation coat with the GAC500 mixed 2 parts GAC500 to 1 part Jo Sonjas Flow Medium. To that I added a little distilled water with some Matting Powder (I used arrow root powder for this particular test mix). It all worked and looked fine but the next day it cures to some sheen just like the RebornFX Sealer does. Of course it did matte down fine with matte varnish.
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This comment is super helpful, THANK YOU!! I’m taking notes!!
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