Painting spandex

[thormungandr]

So I want to make a movie styled Green Lantern costume for halloween. I was planning on getting glo paint aerosols (glopaint.com) and spraying it on but it seems like it would crack and not be affective. Thoughts?

 

[indiefilmgeek]

I was pretty impressed with how well Dupli-Color's Vinyl & Fabric spray paint worked in some of my tests. They have a limited number of colors to pick from, but it might be something to look into.

Amazon.com: Dupli-Color High Performance Vinyl & Fabric Spray - Desert Sand: Automotive

 

[Darth Mule]

Yep. You will need a flexible fabric paint to do this with. The simplest way is to create a stencil with clear self adhesive shelf paper and use Jacquard fabric paint, available at JoAnn to paint in the details.

 

[Temperance]

Fabric paints that DO work on Spandex:

dynaflo
jaquards
setacolor
createx airbrush paint
decolourant screen printing paint
Tulip fabric paints (however they are very thick and the spandex will loose some flexility)

For any paint you use, you must heat-set it once you've painted it. Spandex weakens and looses stretch once heat is applied, so you must do it very carefully. You may put a towel over top of the spandex while you iron it, or use a super low ultra delicate setting and pass the iron over only a few times. If you have a commercial steamer, it will work the best.

 

[nubproductions]

So does anyone have any tips on painting the spandex? I was thinking about putting the spandex suit on a mannequin to stretch it out as I paint and letting it dry there as well or should I paint it while the spandex is flat and not stretched? I'm trying to make the skeleton costume from the karate kid with the skeleton on both sides.

 

[NavMidn]

Definitely put it over a mannequin to paint it, (afterall that's the shape it'll be in when you're wearing it, plus the paint doesn't have to stretch with the fabric then when you put it on, and all the tiny areas of fabric that are exposed when it's stretched over a form will get paint on them when otherwise, if the fabric were unstretched, they would not), but if it's a nice mannequin be sure to cover it in plastic first so the painting process doesn't ruin it.

-John

 

[pandatrooper]

When I did my Alien stunt warrior costume, I dyed the spandex leotard dark grey. Then I had a friend who was the same size and build as me wear some old long sleeve shirt and sweat pants, then he wore the leotard on top and I airbrushed directly on him. This way, all the muscles shapes lined up.

 

[revbatman]

When ive used the Dupli-Color's Vinyl & Fabric spray paint all the projects I used it on turned out fine...with the spandex though ...make sure it is on a person or mannequin as stated by others!
Also, I did a light wash and air dry after first coats, softens and shows where you need Moore fore second -third coats of the spray.
Rev.

 

[BobbyFromBUF]

I know that this thread is a bit older now. As of 2019, is there a clear "best practice"?