Instructions requested! Best way to decorate magic bands with acrylic paint?

[onemorejennifer]

I'm trying to work my way through all 186 pages of the "has anyone decorated their magic bands" looking specifically for tips and advice when using acrylic paints. It's pretty slow going! So I thought I'd ask.... If you have successfully used acrylic paints to decorate your magic bands, do you mind answering a few questions please?

• Did you use any kind of base/primer coat?
• Is there a way to "erase" mess ups? (I'm sure to have a few!)
• Can you mix acrylics with nail polish? i.e. if I want to use a clear glitter/sparkle polish as an accent
  
• Did you use a top coat/sealer? If so, what kind? How long did you let the design dry first?
• Any other tips/advice to pass along?

Thanks so much!

 

[TheyThinkImCrazy]

• Did you use any kind of base/primer coat? I have used nail polish base coat, acrylic sealer and none at all (but started by cleaning the band well)....all have worked
• Is there a way to "erase" mess ups? (I'm sure to have a few!) Water, rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover all work, depending on where in the process you are, but you can just paint over things too. I have completely rinsed off and started over (more times than I would care to admit), when I have made mistakes.
• Can you mix acrylics with nail polish? i.e. if I want to use a clear glitter/sparkle polish as an accent I've used nail polish as an accent on every one of the bands that I have done with acrylics.
  
• Did you use a top coat/sealer? If so, what kind? How long did you let the design dry first? I have used nail polish base as a top coat. I recently purchased acrylic leather paint and matte and satin finish coats. I haven't had a chance to try it on a new band yet, but I did try the matte finish coat on a band that had a shiny base coat finish, and it brought it down to what I think of as satin. It was really, really shiny before.
• Any other tips/advice to pass along? Use a thinner or blending agent meant for acrylic paint, rather than using it as is or adding water, It will spread easier and won't dry as quickly, so it is a little easier, Same with paint...you can always add more, but trying to take it off is a lot more work.

Something else that I have found helpful on a couple of mine was to draw out the design or find one online, and shrink it on my printer to the right size. When I did DH's Goofy band I cut out the face and used the outer part as a stencil. I positioned it, lightly stenciled the shape of the face, then I took away the paper and worked on getting the edges clean and filling it in, before adding the details.

Make it personal and have fun with it!

 

[onemorejennifer]

Thank you so much for your reply! We had actually already started painting our bands the night before you posted but your answers make me feel a bit more confident about our method.

Here's what we did:
Sketched out the design on a paper template first, then used carbon paper to transfer the design to our magic bands.
Used acrylic paint with nail polish accents on a "naked" band. (no base coat first)
Wiped away "mess ups" with a damp paper towel.
Let dry overnight then sealed with three very light coats of Americana Duracoat Satin Varnish.

Our trip is next week so I'll come back after and report on durability, etc.

Here's how my 13 year old daughter's (she did it completely by herself) turned out:

Here's my attempt to copy @HockeyMomNH's design I found on page 81 of the huge magic band decorating thread, with thanks and appreciation for the original (photo taken prior to sealer):

I don't have a photo of my husband's or my 16 year old daughter's but hers might be the most fabulous of them all.

 

[Calirya]

These are mine.
Afraid to seal them. LOL

 

[Calirya]

These are my 2 choices for sealer. Was thinking maybe the matte finish wouldn't crack as much??