Repainting a figurine (and when not to)

People repaint our pieces for all sorts of reasons: to match a team color, to turn a duck into a specific dog, to fix a scuff. It is your figurine and it is a reasonable thing to try. Just know what you are getting into.

What works

• Water-based acrylic craft paint. It adheres to PLA without a primer.
• Two thin coats rather than one thick one, which fills the layer lines and looks smoother.
• A matte clear coat afterward, if the piece will be handled.

What does not

Spray enamel, oil-based paint and anything containing acetone will attack the plastic. Enamel also stays slightly soft on PLA and will mark if you stack two painted pieces.

You can repaint a duck. You cannot un-repaint one.

One warning: a repainted piece is no longer ours. We cannot warranty paint we did not apply, and the layer lines you painted over are still there underneath — the paint does not fill them, it just makes them less obvious from a distance.