Sponges & Cottons Pads

SPONGES ~ These little makeup sponges are the BEST tool for applying oil paints to vinyl dolls. I thin the Scuola paints with Safflower oil, and then apply with these sponges. The color glides on easily, and the extra is easy to sponge off.

I found that the sponges are much better at getting into tiny nooks and crannies, than my fingers are! For those of us who are used to getting our fingers into our work, sponges are not a frustrating alternative: in fact it was a big improvement in several ways. You should wear gloves when working with the oil paints, and the sponges make this possible without losing any dexterity at all.

It's absolutely amazing how the right tool for the job can solve a multitude of problems.

I've heard several reborn artists say that they apply the oil paint and then wipe it off using paper towels: lots of paper towels. I'm not sure why this is necessary? Maybe the cheaper quality paints are dry and thick. Using the creamy Scuola paints and these "magic" sponges, I didn't need to use one paper towel. The oil paints applied easily, smoothly and with no excess.

COTTON PADS ~ Cotton pads are also shown in the above photo. These are very handy for cleanup. I use them with the Plastic Cleaner a lot, to clean my brushes. And, I use the cotton pads to apply the final Sealer coat. And, I grab them all the time for other little jobs. I like the flat little cotton rounds such as these, rather than ordinary cotton balls.