I have a shed antler that I found this spring. It was missing several tines. I have drilled and epoxyed a wire in them, and built them up with Apoxie Sculpt. My question now is, which is the best way to paint them. Should they be primered? Which paint is best lacquer or water base? Should they be sealed and should it be a satin finish? I will be doing this with a air brusch. Thank You
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I only use the epoxy putty for tips and blending the tines together. I think you are better off cutting tines off of other antlers and mending it into the other horn with a short piece of all-thread rod.
The reason I use tines is because the epoxy really doesn't take color other than paint. And I have found it tends to yellow after a few years too.
That being said, I have not used an air brush, but I have used acrylic paints that are thinned down and building it up in light coats. GOOD LUCK!
There is no need to cut tines from one to replace another. You just need to learn how to paint them to look realistic. It is a matter of finding the correct colors and layer them until they look like the original. Erich Carter gave me the directions on how to make the stains but I cannot remember where they are. I still have the stain just no directions. Also there is a kit sold thru Research Mannikins for coloring antlers.
Todd B
I use the same method you did for repairing/rebuilding broken tines. The white epoxy takes paint better. I have experimented with laquer and water based paints, but was only satisfied with oil based paints. The biggest thing to remember is to use a small PAINT BRUSH and add the color in layers, dipping your brush in thinner to obtain the desired colors. You can also take a dremmel tool and add grooves or detail if you like.
Tony, These are all valid ways but if you want more choices click on the orange "search" button and enter things such as "antler repair", "antler staining" etc. You will find more on this topic than you will want to read. Enjoy, Aaron H.