Hey I was wondering could you paint the legs before they dry, so you don't get paint on the feathers. I was thinking wile your mounting it before you card and pin. I just did a pintail and it going to be a pain to paint and was wondering if it is a good idea or if any one has done this.
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Though some lacquer paint will adhere, the acrylics will likely flake off. Your best bet is to mount the legs and mannikin and let them dry completely, paint, and then mount the bird. This can be easily done with the case cut bird, but will cause some difficulty with ventral cut birds. I use plastic freezer wrap and 1/2 inch masking tape when I paint the legs of these birds.
If you want nice looking legs with absolutely no overspray, remove the legs when skinning. Cut around the feather line, remove the meat from the bone, then pull the bone through the opening.
Wash the legs, wire them, and pose them with your mannikin and inject with Masters Blend or similar material. You can paint the legs the same day and there will be zero shrinkage and zero overspray. When you mount the bird, remove the leg wires from the mannikin and run them and the bone through the leg opening. Use a small amount of apoxie sculpt at the feather line. The damp apoxie will hold the skin in place or you can glue it with zap-a-gap.