Modifications, repairs, & beautification options [painting] for Ficcares and fakkares

[dulce]

Ok,am starting this thread,please feel free to post your questions and your pics of your creations.

[rowie]

Thanks for starting this thread dulce. I'm definitely subscribing because i'm interested in learning techniques in repairing old Ficcares that have chips on enamels or scratches, etc. I think this will be a very helpful thread to a lot of Ficcare owners as well.

[dulce]

I have started painting my silver matte Ficcares with fancy Walmart nail polishes,Rustoleum spray and Krylon indoor/out door spray paints.Will post some pics.The light blue primavera original colour was solid gold [before painting] was spray painted with an indoor/outdoor spray paint[you could use Rustoleum or Krylon]Several light coats are applied[let dry inbetween coats]but you also wipe off each coat gently just on the raised floral surface each time you put a new coat on, on to keep the metal raised floral surface clean. Keep building till you get the shade you want.With each coat maybe wait 20-30 secs to let it set slightly before you wipe off.If it doesn't wipe off properly [dried too much] then add a drop of paint thinner on a soft cloth and go over the raised surface very lightly.A week or so,later,spray with clear gloss Rustoleum to add shine and protection.

ETA1:

These are painted with silvery glittery nail polish then covered with large silver stars nail polish.

ETA2:

These are done with lavender glittery nail polish the covered with lavender/gold stars nail polish,then coated with clear nail polish[shiny] then a week later a clear rustoleum gloss spray over all.

ETA3:

Couldn't resist adding my pic of my cat..

ETA4:

my attempt at a blue jeans using mixed blue nail polishes and added a little glitter clear nail polish in the lighter areas then the protective coats later.

ETA5:

these are the blue Walmart nail polishes I used to create my faux[wish I had a real one! ]blue jeans using a silver innovation clip.The finished faux blue jeans is a few pics above.I later covered with a clear nail polish gloss then waited 1 week to cover with clear gloss Rustoleum spray.It's important to wait that week or even more to reduce the risk of incompatibility with your paints and final protective finish.The small car hobby shop told me to wait a month!I tried..

ETA6:

A spray painted silver matte ficcare[ using light blue indoor/outdoor Krylon paint spray] and Rustoleum clear gloss spray after[1 week later].

[Kaelee]

That "blue jeans" is my favorite! The finish on the light blue one is amazing as well, I would never guess it was painted with nail polish!

[dulce]

Thanks Kaelee,desperation creates creativity.I so want a blue jeans!The light blue one[maximas] is spray on Krylon indoor/outdoor paint.

ETA:

Things I found worked for me-practise your different painting techniques on a new no stick light coloured cookie sheet[easy clean up],clamp your ficcares while painting[I like Prevention magazines but anything will do and keep them clamped till dry] use light coats for most techniques except for the marbelling techniques,wait at least a week[longer is better!] before adding your final protective coats to reduce incompatibility issues with the underlying paint,and you can remove paint off a clip with a dremel or fine sand paper,also experiment with Testor enamel paints,assorted fancy nail polishes,spray paints to see which you like the best and have good lighting and lots of newspapers.With the innovations I added a cotton ball on the inside of the lower tip and attached with an elastic,it's not fun trying to remove paint from the under spring.

[Nightshade]

Here's mine

My first foray into Ficarre modification was antiquing my silver Primavara.

1. Clipped it to the side of some cardboard and tapped off anything that might get overspray with masking tape


2. Sprayed with a black enamel meant for metal. After 2-3 seconds wiped it off so the top was silver and the recesses were black. Let it dry. Repeated 2 more times. Once that was dry did two coats of a clear top coat (also meant for metal).


3. only after it was fully dry from all coats did I take off the tape




I don't have a step by step photo record for this one, but this one I did by:
- covering the middle section with contact paper
- taping off everything else
- cutting the design out of the contact paper
- spraying the exposed bits with multiple coats
- removing the contact paper
- clear coating the entire top several times








Here they are in context with my other Ficcares. I've since sent the custom vine one to live with Hypnotica

[truepeacenik]

Ok, I grabbed two fakkares at old navy.
The last two.
The difference in these and ficcare is the angle of the area where you pinch the clip open.
It's more Y-ed than the name brand.
I'd like to ease it down to a less severe angle.

But I'm no jeweler.

What tools are appropriate here? Needle nose pliers?
How to do it and protect the enamel for now.
I will hack these, but I'll wear them as is for a bit.

[Nightshade]

I wouldn't use a needle-nosed pliers I think it'll leave tool-marks. Or if you do, wrap the Fakkare with a but of leather or suede first

[Sillage]

Wow so much inspiration in this thread!

Last night I had yet another Ficcare Fail-- I tried to decoupage a Maxima. I had a very nice scrap of special Italian printed paper that I intended to use. Since you all are smarter than me, you can tell how this is going to end... the flat surface of the paper could not conform to the curved surface of the Maxima without bubbling and buckling. Looked like a mess of course! And despite being high quality, expensive paper, having such a printed ornate motif made the Ficcare look cheap even without the uneven application. Back to the drawing board!

[chen bao jun]

Fakkares painted with nail polish


Action shot of the pink marbled in hair.


Action shot, red fakkare painted with gloss testor car paint.


Better action shot of the marbled.


action shot green nail polished fakkare (Karina ulta clip)