Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by Gail on Jun 23, 2012
Awesome, so happy you found this site, you have such wonderful ideas.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by Angel in Tx on Jun 24, 2012
I'm always amazed at how you make everything!
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by pagestep007 on Jun 24, 2012
yes Shawn, the theory should work for other shapes too. I have some oval ones in progress, so I can let you know how they go. I am scanning the streets for more pipe and spotted a white piece a few blocks from here. If it is still there I can let you know how white comes up. I am wondering if you can do iris inserts at the time of melting....
Snail. I am happy I found this site too. It is so stimulating! I wish I had found it, or that we had internet, years ago when I was just starting out. But then I suppose we are in just the right time that God has for us. So it is all very cool.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by Shawn on Jun 24, 2012
Yeah I think the oval would work but not sure since the shape is not "even".  Maybe something like a brand could be used to make an iris insert.  I wonder also if a counter sink bit would work just as well.  Not sure if you could find one that big but the use of two bits one the size of the eye and then another the size of the post would be just as good. May not be able to get the insert flush since you have the thickness of the fabric but would still make it a bit more flush. 

I bet you could also just paint these if you wanted. PVC does not always hold paint real well but for this it may be ok.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by pagestep007 on Jun 24, 2012
You could drill a hole, and insert a different color PVC, using plumbers PVC glue to glue it in. PVC does sand and buff ok, so you can level any inconsitencies off, and polish it again. I was considering trying an inverse mold, ie: forcing the material into a concave half, to then see if a pupil will bond onto the outside of the eyeball. I will be doing some experiments with  yogurt bottles to see if solid eyeballs will work in the same way. Experiments with that kind of plastic have showed promise so far. It melts ok, but must be pressured into a mold, but does take detail very well. Same with plastic bottle caps.I have made some nice detailed texture stamps for miniatures with it so it does work.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by Gail on Jun 24, 2012
I asked Chemist husband what kind of fumes the PVC might give off.  He thinks Hydrochloric Acid, I will definitely try this outside with a fan to be safe.  We painted PVC white pipes black to match our cutain once.  The man at the hardware store told us to sand it a little and prepare it with a special basecoat to help the blank paint stick.  It stayed on very well, but I don't remember the basecoat product we used, it was many years ago. For foam I spray with spray adhesive before spray paint and that keeps it from flaking off, maybe some adhesive basecoat would work on PVC to make paint stick better.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by pagestep007 on Jun 24, 2012
Thanks for that Snail. I mentioned the fumes in this vid as someone commented on another vid I did using PVC. I did not know what fumes it gives off so I thought I'd play it safe. It does smell just a little as it heats , but I do not find it offensive. When you think water pipes are PVC which you drink from, it should be  reasonably safe. I just did not know what it produces on heating. Hydrocloric acid is basically the acid in your stomach.. so I suppose this has the safety seal of approval. like silicone... the smell it gives of is acetic acid, or what is in vinegar, so it is pretty safe  also. Thanks for investigating for me.
   By the way, oil based paint flakes or scratches off; vinyl house paint sticks best. At least in my interior decorating days that is what we used to best effect...but in the long run, plastic being plastic, not  much sticks for the long haul.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by melaine9 on Jun 24, 2012
They make a spray paint for plastic. It might work for PVC , It seems to hold well on plastic  out door furniture.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by MsPuppet on Jun 24, 2012
Julie - maybe H.L., but haven't seen them. If they have them it will be by the Science fair project stuff.  Anywhere that sells stuff for Science fairs should have them.
Re: Eyes - Feedback Please Posted by pagestep007 on Jul 22, 2012
Shawn, I said I would try doing a white PVC eyeball, so I did. White works well. Pressing other PVC into it  for iris and pupil does not work.The PVC does not 'give' enough, and does not stick. You can glue with plumbers PVC cement though so in the following photos you can see that, Iris stuck on. It was molded though to make it sit  flat. The pupil I 'inserted' by drilling a hole in the iris cutting a darker circle , heating the dark disk, then pressuring it into the hole to make a snug fit, then sanding it flush. It will polish up sort of OK as much as PVC will.

 eyeinhand    eyeonpig2
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