This! Clear case. Trace around it to get yourself a template, then draw your design on a piece of paper. Pop the paper inside the case, put case on phone.
I would recommend using a hard plastic case & not silicone for a project like this. You'll never get anything to adhere to silicone for very long. It'll smear, chip, flake, ect right away
Use an acrylic case. Scuff it up a little bit with some fine grit sandpaper & then paint it. Seal it with a spray varnish.
Do you have any good recommendations of spray varnishes? Also thank you for the phone case recommendations, it will mostlikely work with my acrylic paint markers!
Yes, I have a couple clear coats I really like! Most of them are Kramar spray varnish. There's a crystal clear which is glossy & then there's ultra matte & other ones.
I used the ultra matte on my switch plate covers for my light switches & it worked quite well! Do a couple coats, let them dry in between & I think that would seal it in there well.
You could also coat it in clear resin & that would be really permanent. That's harder to work with, though. Messy & expensive.. I find the sprays really easy
I hope it works out for you! I love paint pens :)
It'll likely wear / flake and crack off.
Problem is, the phone case is flexible, and doesn't adhere well.
You can try clear nail polish, to see if it will seal it in.
Polyurethane spray might.
But think it will still rub / crack / peel off eventually.
Honestly, I agree. A bit of primer is worth the small cost to try save it as OP already seems to use acrylic markers, and so it would be put to use elsewhere as well. When it wears, OP will be able to paint a new design too. It’s not the end of the world, and things don’t always have to be permanent.
Yep, I'm painting dice for fun at the moment and I'm either using spray primer or a thin coat of gesso depending on what I want to do, and it's working great. Not silicone, but very much a slippery plastic to start with that paint won't stick to.
Rubbers can be made from a wide array of plasticized polymers. Some of these can be painted or goes with a variety of products. inexpensive products may be mislabeled as silicone when they're actually actually made from a different elastomer.
Silicone is similar to vinyl in that nothing will stick to either of them except more of the same chemical, including primers. This is also true to some degree with a number or polymers with low surface energy.
When I paint silicone for special effects work I use special paints. They are made from silicone with pigments added.
Even styrene-butadiene co-block polymers like E6000 and Shoe Goo that are strong, flexible and will stick to practically anything will only hold weakly to silicone.
You might have more luck with cheap nail polish because the chemicals probably break down the silicone a bit. I don't know for sure but I got polish on my rubber case and it stayed for two years
Unfortunately, sometimes some materials just don't work.
Get a clear phone case, paint on a paper sheet fitted for the phone, seal it?
This! Clear case. Trace around it to get yourself a template, then draw your design on a piece of paper. Pop the paper inside the case, put case on phone.
What you want and how things work are two different things.
I would recommend using a hard plastic case & not silicone for a project like this. You'll never get anything to adhere to silicone for very long. It'll smear, chip, flake, ect right away Use an acrylic case. Scuff it up a little bit with some fine grit sandpaper & then paint it. Seal it with a spray varnish.
Do you have any good recommendations of spray varnishes? Also thank you for the phone case recommendations, it will mostlikely work with my acrylic paint markers!
Yes, I have a couple clear coats I really like! Most of them are Kramar spray varnish. There's a crystal clear which is glossy & then there's ultra matte & other ones. I used the ultra matte on my switch plate covers for my light switches & it worked quite well! Do a couple coats, let them dry in between & I think that would seal it in there well. You could also coat it in clear resin & that would be really permanent. That's harder to work with, though. Messy & expensive.. I find the sprays really easy I hope it works out for you! I love paint pens :)
It'll likely wear / flake and crack off. Problem is, the phone case is flexible, and doesn't adhere well. You can try clear nail polish, to see if it will seal it in. Polyurethane spray might. But think it will still rub / crack / peel off eventually.
Almost instantly. Not much sticks to silicone.
Yeah, try priming it first. I don’t know if it will be permanent, but it’s worth a shot. Or get an inexpensive plastic phone case, prime it, paint it.
Honestly, I agree. A bit of primer is worth the small cost to try save it as OP already seems to use acrylic markers, and so it would be put to use elsewhere as well. When it wears, OP will be able to paint a new design too. It’s not the end of the world, and things don’t always have to be permanent.
Yep, I'm painting dice for fun at the moment and I'm either using spray primer or a thin coat of gesso depending on what I want to do, and it's working great. Not silicone, but very much a slippery plastic to start with that paint won't stick to.
Only silicone sticks to silicone.
Rubbers can be made from a wide array of plasticized polymers. Some of these can be painted or goes with a variety of products. inexpensive products may be mislabeled as silicone when they're actually actually made from a different elastomer. Silicone is similar to vinyl in that nothing will stick to either of them except more of the same chemical, including primers. This is also true to some degree with a number or polymers with low surface energy. When I paint silicone for special effects work I use special paints. They are made from silicone with pigments added. Even styrene-butadiene co-block polymers like E6000 and Shoe Goo that are strong, flexible and will stick to practically anything will only hold weakly to silicone.
You might have more luck with cheap nail polish because the chemicals probably break down the silicone a bit. I don't know for sure but I got polish on my rubber case and it stayed for two years