Painting Plastazote

Notes from Sarah about painting Plastazote:

"I have always painted plasterzote with acylic paint (system 3) - dilute it - try lots of variations on diluting. I haven’t had many problems with it. I guess if the costume is taking a lot strain in certain areas there could be creases visible after a while with thick acrylic. I would have thought that kids costumes for one carnival day would be fine. It can be painted on - I guess they have tried this.

Also try mixing it up and spraying it with a pump spray from the garden centre - cost around £10 - so it is very diluted - you could maybe try rosco supersat this way - as it stretches well on fabrics and doesnt clog up sprayers.

One lovely thing - use drawing inks with an ink diffuser - one that you blow - that is a lot of fun but hard to control - but gives a great bright finish, and v good for ageing things. rather accidental, but effective. That's how I did my navigator hat.

If you are after a smooth opaque finish on plasterzote try Idendon (a builders rubber solution material), this covers cracks and hardens up plasterzote. It can be applied with a palette knife or painted on, and sanded I think. It can be mixed with acyrlic paint before applying. However, it does seem to crack in places under strain after a long while. But should be ok for a carnival day. Idendon is hard to find if small quantities, i have a massive pot it cost £70 from flints."

Plasterzote-comes in many colours