Im upset...bad prep job

[paintedponyranch]

I recieved a traditional size foal resin yesterday. Hes not broken or anything, but Im not very happy. Maybe Im extremely anal or way too picky...and I really do not want to sound mean or hurt *****'s feelings so Im not going to email her, and I really dont want to say anything either but I dont know what to do. I know the customer paid good money to have him prepped and sent to me, but I am not happy with the prep job at all. He was damp when I got him and the holes arent filled, there are clumps all over him...like dust got covered with primer, and lots of rough areas that should have been smoothed out. I feel like an ass saying anything at all but I dont want to keep getting badly prepped horses that people pay money to have prepped and then they arent right. I will fix him for no extra charge this time, but I cant do that on all of them, you know what I mean? I feel just awful and like I shouldnt say anything at all...but I cant help it...its going to be my name on there, not hers. Please let me know what you think. Im just really upset by this. :toiletgra :sad

[Danelle]

This sort of thing has happened to me, and it just happened to a friend of mine who's also an artist. It's gotten to the point that I'll only accept prepped pieces from two preppers -- Heidi Reaves and Tony Aurelius -- as I've had to do far too much "cleaning up of other people's messes" and that's not fair to either the customer or me.

I would email the customer, tell her the situation (and truly, the only way "preppers" will clean up their act -- pardon the pun -- is if they're held accountable for lousy prep jobs!) and tell her you refuse to paint this piece in the condition it's in. Send it back to her and let her work it out with the "prepper" ... it's not your problem, and shouldn't be.

Unfortunately, there are a LOT of people in this hobby who hang out their shingles as "professional preppers" when they haven't a clue what they're doing. :sad

-- Danelle

[paintedponyranch]

Thanks Danelle, I emailed the customer...I sent her photos too. I hate telling anyone at all they did a crappy job, I like to give good positive constructive criticism, not crappy comments. I would never intentionally hurt anyone's feelings. This should not bother me so badly but it does....

<-----goes off to self evaluate....

[timberwolf]

So far as a customer I haven't sent any models to a prepper - it's usually the artist that does the prepping. But as a customer, if I'd sent my model to a prepper and paid for their services I'd like to know if they didn't do it properly. Even if I didn't call them on it, I would probably not use them again.

[sonyaj]

I recieved a traditional size foal resin yesterday. Hes not broken or anything, but Im not very happy. Maybe Im extremely anal or way too picky...and I really do not want to sound mean or hurt *****'s feelings so Im not going to email her, and I really dont want to say anything either but I dont know what to do. I know the customer paid good money to have him prepped and sent to me, but I am not happy with the prep job at all. He was damp when I got him and the holes arent filled, there are clumps all over him...like dust got covered with primer, and lots of rough areas that should have been smoothed out. I feel like an ass saying anything at all but I dont want to keep getting badly prepped horses that people pay money to have prepped and then they arent right. I will fix him for no extra charge this time, but I cant do that on all of them, you know what I mean? I feel just awful and like I shouldnt say anything at all...but I cant help it...its going to be my name on there, not hers. Please let me know what you think. Im just really upset by this. :toiletgra :sad
Wow. This could have been written by me! Two days ago, I received what was a supposedly professionally prepped resin (that is, customer paid someone else to do it). On initial inspection, it had visible seams remaining, and the seam along the back and top of tail were hastily done. There were still sandpaper marks on parts of it.

With closer inspection, even MORE seams were visible, pretty much everywhere. The primer was in an off-white color and appears to have been applied so thickly that it was chipping off when I was using the carbide scraper to remove the seams. Then, I noticed extraneous bits of crap in the primer, like flecks and clumps of dust or prepping debris, and a few pet hairs for added effect :ever. The primer had either been applied improperly, was of bad quality, or applied so heavily that produced a really awful texturized surface on the legs (I've had this happen with various primers myself and have had to strip them....) and hooves. More visible seams there as well. Also, this resin has quite a bit of detail (it's Andrea K's Kara Kush resin), and some of the wrinkling detail in the inner chest area had been obliterated because that's where the seam ran....it is by far the worst prepwork I have ever seen :sigh.

I told the customer I'd have to do additional work on it, which I estimated at about an hour, because I simply will not paint something that is so poorly done, both for my reputation and for my customer's sake. Well, I spent probably 2-3 hours on it stripping/sanding off the old primer (which came off with rubbing alchol and fine grit sandpaper and a scrub brush) and essentially re-prepping it. What a nightmare. But, the finish is smooth again, and I think I got most of the seams....won't know for sure until I re-primer it in NON-WHITE primer.

So, like Lora, I have a question: for those of you that offer professional prepping services, do you want to know when the customer and/or painter is dissatisfied with your work? Because I don't really like going behind someone's back to tell others to avoid them, but I also don't want to deal with the defensive attitude that it appears so many people in this hobby have when their work is not received with glowing reviews. As it is, I advised the customer of the problems and that she should go elsewhere for prepping services (I recommended Heidi Reaves as well), and another artist friend, and I will advise any future customers of mine not to have this person prep any resins being sent to me. In this case, I personally feel my customer should get all of her money back.

And this is not an isolated problem: of all the supposedly "professionally prepped" resins I've received from customers in the past, not a single ONE did not require extra work once I got it. The only time I have received a resin that was prepped to my high standards was when it was prepped by a fellow artist who is known for her meticulous detail: Roberta Costello. That's it.

Prepping is not exciting or particularly fun. I don't particularly like doing it myself, and for that reason, I charge extra (per hour) to do it, but at least I know it will be done to my standards. That's because you simply cannot rush doing a good and thorough job. It doesn't matter how beautiful the finishwork is if the underlying prepwork is substandard. And you can't just have sandpaper and expect to do even a halfway decent job: my prepping supplies include: sandpaper of different grits; the full carbide scraper set; large nail file; set of small needle/jeweler files; superglue and baking soda. Almost every piece I prep needs most, if not all, of these items.

Sonya

[KarenBeeson]

Like Sonya also said, your post could have been written by me, Lora!

I have twice received very, very poor prep jobs from the same prepper. These incidents were within too short of a time to tell the second person not to use that prepper. I felt terrible that my clients actually paid for these prep jobs and told them that I would reprep the pieces at n/c. Going forward, I will certainly not accept pieces prepped by this prepper.

I too would like to hear from preppers about their feelings on this matter.

[ravensgate]

Well, I do all my own prepping. On my own pieces and commission pieces. Thus far I haven't had any complaints...that doesn't mean there won't be any. Sometimes you just miss stuff. I have begun painting only to see a tiny spot/seam/thingy that's bugging me and have to reprep. I actually plan on offering prepping services in about a week. Were I the prepper in question here, then YES I would want to know. If for no other reason than, how can one expect to grow in their work if they don't see their errors?? Yes, there are gonna be some hurt feeelings, some pissy attitudes, etc., but in the long run it will only help all involved. At least that's my opinion:dunno

[Appy38]

Well let me see if I can get all this worded good.
I have been doing prepping on resins for a few people now. So far all have been happy and if they where not they didnt say.
We are human and mistakes can happen. If I do miss something yes I would want to know. How can I better my self if I dont know.
I to bought a resin one time that was prepped and OH BOY let me tell you, it was so bad I did have to strip it. It was clear it was done with brush on something, I guess brush on gesso. It had so many brush marks and was just gobbed on SO thick to cover the seams that where clearly not done. It was really bad.
I do my best , I dont rush it. I try to have one out within 15 days , but sometimes it is longer.

[Danelle]

One of my worst experiences of this sort was when I agreed to paint an Eberl Verocchio for a customer. I insisted that it arrive prepped, and it did ... sort of. This "prep job" consisted of pinholes, missed seams, divots, the like ... and an ear that fell off in my hand. Yup. Seems that the "prepper" received the piece from Brigitte with a broken ear (which is common), "fixed" it several times with no luck, and finally "fixed" it a final time with epoxy that never set. She then sprayed white primer on over it, hoping it wouldn't get noticed, and sent it on to me.

Needless to say, as I was going over it doing the prep job PROPERLY, the ear fell off in my hand. The epoxy had never set and I could easily press my fingernail into it. I emailed the "prepper" about it, and she told me she'd tried to fix the ear, but had given up on it. (Nice.)

I think it's criminal that people with absolutely no experience or know-how can "get a piece of the hobby" by hanging out their shingles for "professional prepping" when they go at these delicate resin pieces with all the gusto and finesse with which a carpenter might sand a table leg. And, it's not just a matter of artists having to clean up after them, or money being refunded ... every time a horse gets shipped there are irretrievable costs that are usually eaten by the poor customer.

Artists pretty much wear their work on their sleeves -- a bad paint job is easily visible, and word travels. But preppers are pretty much a hidden commodity, as their names are not on finished pieces, and many people are, indeed, afraid of hurting feelings. While such care for people's feelings is noble, and kind, this is a problem that isn't going to improve unless "preppers" are called to task for sloppy prepping. And as long as artists keep "cleaning up after them," these preppers have no incentive to clean up their own acts.

-- Danelle

[Vicky Norris]

I've sent several models off to preppers and gotten back poorly prepped models. So now I do it myself.

The problem I find is that one artist will rave about my prep jobs and tell me they are excellent and another will find fault after fault after fault. :randommil

So what do you do when most good artists now will not prep?:1spinny

I want my models painted to my specks, mostly, so don't want to buy too many already painted models, but that is what I guess it is going to be coming to for a lot of us.:sigh

As to your foal resin. I'd make sure that no more of your customers sent models to that prepper. I'd also let the prepper know how unsatisfied you are with the prep job. That is what I'd do.

[Stacy]

This is exactly why I only prep for friends :P And myself, I by no means am an expert, but heesh I don't sell my services, oh my what ese will they think of.

[hi_d_hi]

Thanks Danelle and Sonya for the props'. I would say it's very important to let the customer and the prepper know about the work that was done. You have to give the customer notice so they won't go with that prepper again, and you want to give the prepper notice so they can make right by the customer.

[Ponypainter]

Crappy prep jobs like those mentioned in this thread is why I've started offering prepping again. I hate it, but it's FAR better than getting in a subpar piece that the customer has paid big bucks to have "professionally" worked on. The shipping alone is expensive back and forth on larger resins. One incident was cleared up well, and others went down the tubes with an overly defensive attitude. :( There's a difference between a small missed area and overall crapshoot.

It's time we quit covering up for preppers that just aren't suited for the job. We have a very small community of artists! Prepping right takes a delicate hand and adequate tools, along with a bit of time and *proper lighting*. Trying to finish an Eberl during this week's episode of "Lost" probably won't cut the mustard.

Tracy
(Heidi is one of the few I can honestly recommend as well!)

[tropicalcross]

This is why I want to prep every piece that comes in to my studio. I really do not want preprepped models unless it's from a prepper I know does good work. In the past year I have been sent around 6 so called 'pro prepped' pieces only to find numerous amounts of missed seams, holes, etc. Only two were perfectly done.

[BettyBarBandit]

My two experiences with sending a model for prepping have been poor ones. I felt so badly for both artists, and, now, I will only use a prepper which the artist recommends(such as our Heidi!), or, go without.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

I'm sorry, but as a prepper and a painter, I have to say on a piece like that-- IT'S NOT PREPPED! If holes are unfilled, rough spots unaddressed, I simply can't paint on a canvas like that.
I would contact the prepper and ask why they didn't fill the holes, why there is dust, etc etc. Because that isn't prepped correctly, and I'd hate to see other persons' pieces turn out the same way. Someone needs to nip it in the bud now before it gets out of hand.

[jennifersimagination]

As others have said, I could have written this thread too. I recently had peices with a certain prepper and gotten in two pieces to paint from two different customers from the same prepper and every piece needed to be redone- not many problems with seams, but resin boogers left in the nostrils, chunks of fur and debris in the primer, gouges in certain areas, rough spots that needed more sanding and the primer applied so thickly that the pieces arrived tacky, and when they finally did dry, the primer just peeled right off. The primer was litterally globbed onto the pieces- ew. I don't know what kind of primer was used, but it really sucked. Also, the bottoms of the pieces had all kinds of chunks of things stuck to them- I know when you prime and then set it to dry, the wet hoof bottoms can pick stuff up, but please, if someone is paying you to do the job, please have the respect to sand them down. And leave the cats and dogs out of the prepping room!!!! I have bought my self a set of carbide scrapers and I am doing my prepping myself now!

[paintedponyranch]

Here are the photos, I think now I will email them to her. Thank you everyone for the responses. I truely just didnt know what to do.

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8938/bidjarea4.jpghttp://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5049/bidjar1ki0.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3852/bidjar2ia4.jpghttp://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3814/bidjar3ij5.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8516/bidjar4xs4.jpg

[sonyaj]

mean there won't be any. Sometimes you just miss stuff. I have begun painting only to see a tiny spot/seam/thingy that's bugging me and have to reprep.
Oh, trust me - I definitely know what you mean! And in the case I just mentioned, we aren't talking a few little seam spots - the whole damn resin had areas of incomplete or just badly done seam removal. If I got an otherwise well-prepped resin that had a few little boo-boo's, I wouldn't care, and I would fix them without charge to the customer.

As Danelle says, when people see a finished piece, what they "see" is the finishwork by the artist, while the work of the prepper is not considered seperately. A poorly prepped piece unfortunately reflects on us as artists, which is not fair. I look at everything I do (painting, prepping, detailing) through the eyes of a judge, collector, and anal perfectionist artist. I'm by no means close to perfect in anything I do, but I certainly aim for that!



I actually plan on offering prepping services in about a week. Were I the prepper in question here, then YES I would want to know. If for no other reason than, how can one expect to grow in their work if they don't see their errors?? Yes, there are gonna be some hurt feeelings, some pissy attitudes, etc., but in the long run it will only help all involved. At least that's my opinion:dunno
The person that did the prepwork I mentioned is not on Blab, at least not as a regular poster. I can't think about how to word an email to her indicating all the problems that probably wouldn't come across as inflammatory and rude. But, I can't deny that the whole thing pisses me off. IMO, this person shouldn't be offering prepping services, but if I suggested that to her, I'm sure she'd want to rip my head off and trash my name as much as she could :dunno.

SJ

[Stacy]

Here are the photos, I think now I will email them to her. Thank you everyone for the responses. I truely just didnt know what to do.

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8938/bidjarea4.jpghttp://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5049/bidjar1ki0.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3852/bidjar2ia4.jpghttp://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3814/bidjar3ij5.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8516/bidjar4xs4.jpg
*Y*U*C*K*

You are completley permitted to be mad at this, it is a horrable prepping job :/ I'm sorry hun but the prepper needs to correct her work :(

[Danelle]

Oh my goodness, that is indeed a *very* poorly done "prep" job ... in fact, the primer looks to be laid on so thickly, that I would be very worried that any paint laid over it will crack right along with the primer itself (and I'd suspect that at some point, that's exactly what will happen).

If I were in your position, I would send this right back to the customer at her expense. This is totally inexcusable, and I can see how trying to correct it is likely to be a huge time-sink.

BTW, can you IM me the name of the person who did this?

-- Danelle

[Ponypainter]

Here are the photos, I think now I will email them to her. Thank you everyone for the responses. I truely just didnt know what to do.

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8938/bidjarea4.jpghttp://img390.imageshack.us/img390/5049/bidjar1ki0.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3852/bidjar2ia4.jpghttp://img235.imageshack.us/img235/3814/bidjar3ij5.jpg
http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8516/bidjar4xs4.jpg
That resin reminds me of the "Bidjar" that started this (http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27614) thread. Same horse?

Tracy

[MGR]

And this is not an isolated problem: of all the supposedly "professionally prepped" resins I've received from customers in the past, not a single ONE did not require extra work once I got it. The only time I have received a resin that was prepped to my high standards was when it was prepped by a fellow artist who is known for her meticulous detail: Roberta Costello. That's it.

I've had the same experience, Sonya. I have never received anything prepped by Roberta Costello nor Tony Aurelius, who the OP mentioned, but I have by Heidi Reeves - she is the ONLY prepper I've received work from who did a truly flawless job. Absolutely perfect in every way.

The rest of the supposedly prepped models I've received to paint were not fully prepped. Major problems still existed. I haven't received models from every prepper on Earth, of course - just a few - so I can't say that all the rest stink! :) But that's also been my exerpience - the majority of preppers are not doing a great job of it and it's not worth the customer's money to have it professionally prepped by most of the preppers whose work I've seen. :(

[sonyaj]

Oh my goodness, that is indeed a *very* poorly done "prep" job ... in fact, the primer looks to be laid on so thickly, that I would be very worried that any paint laid over it will crack right along with the primer itself (and I'd suspect that at some point, that's exactly what will happen).

Well, a quick PM to Lora shows that it is the same prepper for both of us, which isn't surprising, as the KK I got has the same thick, textured, off-white primer and missed seams like on this foal.

So, Danelle - now you know who it is ;).

SJ

[ramiethepeep]

*head-shaking* Unbaised outside opinion? (By which I mean, I am a model horse armchair quarterback - I've never painted a resin, I've never prepped a resin, I've never had a resin prepped/painted, I don't even own any resins (but I wish I did!)

Whew..

Quit Being So Durned Nice! :haha Really: you (general you, not anyone in particular) aren't doing preppers any favours by sucking it up and saying nothing. They may be thinking that their prep job was great and wonderful, when in fact it's horrid, nightmarish and downright grosso. As artists, you shouldn't have to be spending your precious time taking photos of bad prep and emailing them to the prepper along with a Clif's Notes lesson on Why You Are Refunding My (or My Customer's) Money, but if you do so, THEN you are doing the prepper a favour.

Just Ramie's deciedly unhumble opinion! :)

[Sandie]

Oh my goodness, that is indeed a *very* poorly done "prep" job ... in fact, the primer looks to be laid on so thickly, that I would be very worried that any paint laid over it will crack right along with the primer itself (and I'd suspect that at some point, that's exactly what will happen).

If I were in your position, I would send this right back to the customer at her expense. This is totally inexcusable, and I can see how trying to correct it is likely to be a huge time-sink.

BTW, can you IM me the name of the person who did this?

-- Danelle

:yeahthat
Please and Thank you!

[Dr. Bork Bork]

As far as flawless preppers go... Myla Pearce does fabu prepping! I've purchased several pieces from her in the past year where she did the prepping and it was absolutely flawless-- a dream to paint on. :thumbsup

[paintedponyranch]

It is the same resin but not the same customer or prepper.


That resin reminds me of the "Bidjar" that started this (http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27614) thread. Same horse?

Tracy

[MGR]

The problem I find is that one artist will rave about my prep jobs and tell me they are excellent and another will find fault after fault after fault. :randommil

Really? you prepeped the Finnagain I'm painting for you (who'll be coming home on Monday - YAAAYY!) and it was a spectacular prep job! I didn't include you in my above litany of "bad preppers" because I don't think you do it for money, right? Just your own?

So, consider this a rave! I don't remember having to do anything to your horse to get him ready for paint. :grin

[paintedponyranch]

Ok LOLOL Ill stop being so durned nice LOL I tried to email her but it came back to me as undeliverable.




*head-shaking* Unbaised outside opinion? (By which I mean, I am a model horse armchair quarterback - I've never painted a resin, I've never prepped a resin, I've never had a resin prepped/painted, I don't even own any resins (but I wish I did!)

Whew..

Quit Being So Durned Nice! :haha Really: you (general you, not anyone in particular) aren't doing preppers any favours by sucking it up and saying nothing. They may be thinking that their prep job was great and wonderful, when in fact it's horrid, nightmarish and downright grosso. As artists, you shouldn't have to be spending your precious time taking photos of bad prep and emailing them to the prepper along with a Clif's Notes lesson on Why You Are Refunding My (or My Customer's) Money, but if you do so, THEN you are doing the prepper a favour.

Just Ramie's deciedly unhumble opinion! :)

[paintedponyranch]

Sorry for posting twice in a row.... could someone please PM me the emails for Tony A...and Heidi Reaves? I would like to add them to my web site for recommended preppers. I went to Tony's web site but my email wont go through it for some reason and It is not published on the site.

Thank you :1spinny

[Vicky Norris]

Really? you prepeped the Finnagain I'm painting for you (who'll be coming home on Monday - YAAAYY!) and it was a spectacular prep job! I didn't include you in my above litany of "bad preppers" because I don't think you do it for money, right? Just your own?

So, consider this a rave! I don't remember having to do anything to your horse to get him ready for paint. :grin

Yea!!
Melissa, I don't remember if I did him or not! :1spinny I think I did...:haha I know I did some on the Muscat, but knew he would need more when I sent him to you. At the time I sent him, I didn't have any filler.
I only do prepping for myself, no way would I do it for money.

[Intothesunstudio]

:wow After seeing those photos you have every right to be upset, Lora. What a horrid looking prep job. Did they even prep the horse other than spraying it with tons of primer?

I have to give praise to Heidi as well. I purchased a prepped Libretto resin from her and there wasn't a flaw on it. It was perfect!

I prep all my own resins and I'm slowly getting better. Now that I own the RR carbide scrapers set, I have to say I've seen a HUGE improvement in my prepping. I still miss things, which is why I set up my new policy of taking a while to prep. I think I was rushing too much. I work on a horse and then set it aside for a few days and go back with a fresh perspective and the next time I go back I find what I missed and so on until I can get the horse looking as best as I can.

I think the person who "prepped" that horse needs some glasses or perhaps a new prescription so they can see what they left behind.

I think it's important to let people know when they could use some improvment in a nice way. It happened to me with painting. Someone mentioned to me I could do better and they were right, so I pushed myself to do better. If someone can't take constructive crits well, then they probably shouldn't bother continuing. You need to be able to learn and grow.

[ktbussey]

I don't think Tony Aurelius is taking on any more prepping - his website says his books are closed. I know he got pretty snowed under there for awhile. The demand for really good preppers always seems to far exceed the supply!

[paintedponyranch]

Thak you for letting me know. Well, Hi Di Hi...I will put you on my site if I can get your email LOLOL


I don't think Tony Aurelius is taking on any more prepping - his website says his books are closed. I know he got pretty snowed under there for awhile. The demand for really good preppers always seems to far exceed the supply!

[Intothesunstudio]

I don't believe Tony is. I was speaking to him about prepping at Regionals at the beginning of the month and I remember him saying that he wasn't taking on any more orders at the moment.

[MacGurl]

That resin reminds me of the "Bidjar" that started this (http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27614) thread. Same horse?

Tracy

That's what I thought of too - it doesn't "look nice", like the Bucklers castings do.

Kathy

[mayia04]

I am the customer in question... The prepper is ****** , I might as well get it out there now... The KK that Sonya is talking about, the Bidgar... All mine... If I had known that **** was doing such a bad job on prepping, there is no way I would have paid what I did and sent them on to painters in the state they are in. So First off THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Sonya and Lora for telling me:) I am now debating about how to go about getting a refund, ****** still has a resin of mine, so this may get interesting... I feel bad in a way outting her as she seems like a genuinly nice person, but that can't make up for the fact of over 3 badly done prep jobs, who knows how many others would have/have been screwed over... How did this happen so many times? I have had ****** prep many of my resins in the past, and haven't had an artist complain, so either the artists were trying to be nice by not telling me and didn't want to stir up trouble(Which I totally understand, this is my bad for putting them in the situation in the first place by not inspecting the models myself before sending off), etc., or ******* actually did a decent job prepping them, or who knows what. Mostly to save money, I never had any of these horses sent to me after prepping, they went straight to the artist, which is obviously a mistake... Lesson learned. :drowning

[mayia04]

Maybe I was also too quick to name the prepper in questions name, MODS, can that be changed to a "PM me for name" of prepper? Feeling like I jumped the gun a bit:(

[Danelle]

Here's a tip to all preppers out there (and painters, too, if they haven't already discovered it):

Go down to your local jewelry store, and ask them to let you see their catalog that they buy from. Inside, you'll find an extremely useful piece of equipment called Opti-visor. It'll be amongst the best $35 you ever spend in this hobby. It's basically an adjustable band that goes around your head, with a drop-down visor that contains two magnifiying lenses that go over your eyes. I use mine ALL the time and it's invaluable. If you sit outside in the sunlight with one of these contraptions on, and do your prepping, you WON'T miss anything, unless you want to. These things show everything.

I also use mine for painting minis and fine details on larger pieces.

-- Danelle

[Dr. Bork Bork]

*pictures self with opti-visor on & prepping outside in the summer... suddenly the sunlight comes through & there's a terrible ant death ray streaming through the lens on to the $300 resin in lap....*
:roflmao

Yes, I would love to have an opti-visor. Prepping can be really tough on the eyes. I will have to look into saving up for one!
:hugg Thanks, Danelle.

[Jeannine]

This is so true. I've gotten 2 pieces now by supposedly the "best" preppers in the hobby. One was an Eberl that still had about 100 pinholes, and the other done by another 'best" prepper had about 10 pinholes in obvious locations.
I've learned to be a little more lenient as I've noticed I've missed things that I swore weren't there before. Plus, prepping can be subjective. What I think is a divot, someone else may think it's a sculptural detail. That's why I love having 2 of the same sculpture as it definitely helps with what to prep and what to leave alone.

I prep all my own stuff and my customer's stuff. I'm more afraid of never seeing my models again than getting them back poorly prepped.



. Sometimes you just miss stuff. I have begun painting only to see a tiny spot/seam/thingy that's bugging me and have to reprep. I

[MGR]

Here's a tip to all preppers out there (and painters, too, if they haven't already discovered it):

Go down to your local jewelry store, and ask them to let you see their catalog that they buy from. Inside, you'll find an extremely useful piece of equipment called Opti-visor. It'll be amongst the best $35 you ever spend in this hobby. It's basically an adjustable band that goes around your head, with a drop-down visor that contains two magnifiying lenses that go over your eyes. I use mine ALL the time and it's invaluable. If you sit outside in the sunlight with one of these contraptions on, and do your prepping, you WON'T miss anything, unless you want to. These things show everything.

I also use mine for painting minis and fine details on larger pieces.

-- Danelle

Oh, so THAT's where you get them! Thanks for the tip, Danelle!

[Appy38]

Oh, so THAT's where you get them! Thanks for the tip, Danelle!


:yeahthat

How strong are yours Danelle
I found some on ebay but don't know how strong to get them.

[Danelle]

I *think* they're 35x, but I'll have to go check. :)

-- Danelle

[Appy38]

Here is a page of them. I just don't know what ones would be best



http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=Optivisor&category0=&submitSearch=Search

[Ponypainter]

I got mine at a quilting shop :)

Tracy

[Danelle]

Here is a page of them. I just don't know what ones would be best



http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=Optivisor&category0=&submitSearch=Search

They're all pretty similar, but the ones I have are like the ones worn by the good-looking guy model. :)

-- Danelle

[sonyaj]

Here is a page of them. I just don't know what ones would be best



http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2 F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=Optivisor&category0=&submitSearch=Search
You know, I bought one of these off of Ebay thinking it would help me do the fine detail work on the the resins, and I found it had such a limited focal range that it didn't work...:sigh. By that, I mean I had to hold the horse at a very exact distance or it wouldn't be in focus, and where it needed to be held was not conducive with where I wanted to hold it. Admittedly, it was one of the cheap-o ones (~$12). I was starting to have blurry vision after a long painting session and got the visor to help that. Then, one day, I had the radical notion to take off my glasses - viola! Solved the problem. Of course, that's all good until my eyes get worse so I can't see near OR far.

But, for the minis or smaller sizes with copious amounts of detail (read: Minkiewicz and mini Rose resins), a light touch and those jeweler's files are de rigour.

Danelle, I want to see the picture of the good-looking man that is modeling your visor :D

SJ

[CindyEvansKTS]

*Y*U*C*K*

You are completley permitted to be mad at this, it is a horrable prepping job :/ I'm sorry hun but the prepper needs to correct her work :(


:yeahthat Just plain EEEEWWWWW, I don't care who did it, this does need to be corrected so that this person get's their act together or people know not to use her/him.

I can honestly vouch for both Heidi and Tony, both do above par, super excellent work!

[DraytonWoods]

Thanks so much for the info on the optivisor Danelle! I purely DIY my own stuff and man, my eyes are not good. :D

[TheLoneStoner]

I have a question ~~suspiciously eyeing 3 unpainted resins...:~


Should it be up to the artist to go back to the prepper and say - "whoa, bad job"?

I would think the artist should have the resin owner contact the prepper as aren't they the ones who contracted with the prepper?

I also think that if the prepping situation is this bad and painters are having to redo the work - someone needs to speak up. If you don't and you are just telling people never to use that prepper again I just do not think that is really fair. How are they to learn or know they suck if no one tells them? They may think they are doing a wonderful job and then they lose all their customers. I'm sure there are some folks out there that just do it on the fly and don't care but surely there are some that if they knew the problems they would do better? :yes

Maybe the time has come that preppers send photos of the prep job before sending the resin to the artist? Would that help?:dunno

What does a great prep job look like? Anyone have pics to educate me?

Can you tell I am freaking out because I have 3 unpainted/unprepped resins? :randommil

(LOL They look hunky dory to me but....)

[hi_d_hi]

Here's a tip to all preppers out there (and painters, too, if they haven't already discovered it):

Go down to your local jewelry store, and ask them to let you see their catalog that they buy from. Inside, you'll find an extremely useful piece of equipment called Opti-visor. It'll be amongst the best $35 you ever spend in this hobby. It's basically an adjustable band that goes around your head, with a drop-down visor that contains two magnifiying lenses that go over your eyes. I use mine ALL the time and it's invaluable. If you sit outside in the sunlight with one of these contraptions on, and do your prepping, you WON'T miss anything, unless you want to. These things show everything.

I also use mine for painting minis and fine details on larger pieces.

-- Danelle

I thought about getting one. Right now I just use a magnifying glass, and the sun. That's the best thing in the world to see if you got it right. If you don't go in the sun and just rely on any light, I don't care how good it is, nothing beats the sun to tell you the truth.

[mayia04]

I have a question ~~suspiciously eyeing 3 unpainted resins...:~


Should it be up to the artist to go back to the prepper and say - "whoa, bad job"?

I would think the artist should have the resin owner contact the prepper as aren't they the ones who contracted with the prepper?

I also think that if the prepping situation is this bad and painters are having to redo the work - someone needs to speak up. If you don't and you are just telling people never to use that prepper again I just do not think that is really fair. How are they to learn or know they suck if no one tells them? They may think they are doing a wonderful job and then they lose all their customers. I'm sure there are some folks out there that just do it on the fly and don't care but surely there are some that if they knew the problems they would do better? :yes

Maybe the time has come that preppers send photos of the prep job before sending the resin to the artist? Would that help?:dunno

What does a great prep job look like? Anyone have pics to educate me?

Can you tell I am freaking out because I have 3 unpainted/unprepped resins? :randommil

(LOL They look hunky dory to me but....)


No, I agree, it is not the artists job... As the customer, I am going to e-mail the prepper, the question is how to go about it. She seems like such a sweet lady(even though I already outted her name on here, which was done in a moment of anger, and maybe not the wisest move), and I don't know if this is the quality she always puts out or maybe she is going through a hard time right now(not that that excuses things). I have had resins prepped by her in the past (an eberl Muscat among them) that look flawlessly prepped(but then again, I didn't see the piece, it went straight to the artist, who didn't mention any problems), so I don't know what to do. How do I politely phrase it? I am open to suggestions, anybody :dunno

[Paints4me]

Hi,

Every horse that I have ever received from a prepper apart from 2 preppers for clients has needed more prepping and I have to fine tune them. Several were just real bad and one I did email the prepper and kindly told her of my disapointmnet, did not want to offend but unfortunatly people do even when you tell them in the kindess way.
The best prepper I know if is in Japan and he is not even into the model hobby as far as I know, but he preps them for a client I have there. The other one I could not fault was Zana Goulding...she did the best job in the US that I have dealt with. Tony A is quite good too....when you could get him.

Its not fair on the painter to have to do the extra work but I do it as the client has spent that money to send me a horse so their intentions are good.
If it is not cleaned up it ends up that the painter gets the blame further down the track if the horse is sold on and that is not a good thing. I prep my own pieces that I sell...

[cheseri]

No, I agree, it is not the artists job... As the customer, I am going to e-mail the prepper, the question is how to go about it. She seems like such a sweet lady(even though I already outted her name on here, which was done in a moment of anger, and maybe not the wisest move), and I don't know if this is the quality she always puts out or maybe she is going through a hard time right now(not that that excuses things). I have had resins prepped by her in the past (an eberl Muscat among them) that look flawlessly prepped(but then again, I didn't see the piece, it went straight to the artist, who didn't mention any problems), so I don't know what to do. How do I politely phrase it? I am open to suggestions, anybody http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/images/smilies/confused-smiley-013.gif

Well I would give her the chance to handle it the right way. After all, she may feel even more awful about it than you once she knows how unhappy you are with her work. Just tell her straight forward the painter has deemed the prep work incomplete, and is requiring further work before she is able to paint the horse. Give her the option of either re-doing that work herself (at no charge of course), or refunding the amount of additional cost for having the painter complete the work herself. Give her the chance to handle it well and do the right thing before you worry about what comes after. I think we all tend to get caught up in something that goes wrong and automatically assume that person is going to be a PIA about it. There are still plenty of good honest people that will own up to their mistakes and make amends without a fuss. Give her that opportunity... JMHO :peace

[Paints4me]

Hi,

Should it be up to the artist to go back to the prepper and say - "whoa, bad job"?

Well I do both, tell the Prepper and the Client if it is really bad. Otherwise I just clean them up.... I send photos of the areas to both parties to at times if it is to bad.

I also think that if the prepping situation is this bad and painters are having to redo the work - someone needs to speak up. If you don't and you are just telling people never to use that prepper again I just do not think that is really fair. How are they to learn or know they suck if no one tells them?

True, the prepper need to know... I mentioned to to Tony A a few years back that I was not completly happy, and he took it well and said he would keep an eye out in future. The next horse I got from him was pretty good. It was years between though.


What does a great prep job look like? Anyone have pics to educate me?

Can you tell I am freaking out because I have 3 unpainted/unprepped resins?

I just think its plain to see that there should be no, bits and pieces and all areas smooth where they should be:-)) Another thing is the horse should be standing correctly.....I have to level most of the models that come to me so they are not rocky..


I have a question ~~suspiciously eyeing 3 unpainted resins...:~




I would think the artist should have the resin owner contact the prepper as aren't they the ones who contracted with the prepper?

I also think that if the prepping situation is this bad and painters are having to redo the work - someone needs to speak up. If you don't and you are just telling people never to use that prepper again I just do not think that is really fair. How are they to learn or know they suck if no one tells them? They may think they are doing a wonderful job and then they lose all their customers. I'm sure there are some folks out there that just do it on the fly and don't care but surely there are some that if they knew the problems they would do better? :yes

Maybe the time has come that preppers send photos of the prep job before sending the resin to the artist? Would that help?:dunno

What does a great prep job look like? Anyone have pics to educate me?

Can you tell I am freaking out because I have 3 unpainted/unprepped resins? :randommil

(LOL They look hunky dory to me but....)

[Paints4me]

Well said:-)

The lady in question it a very nice person, so Id think it will work out ok.



Well I would give her the chance to handle it the right way. After all, she may feel even more awful about it than you once she knows how unhappy you are with her work. Just tell her straight forward the painter has deemed the prep work incomplete, and is requiring further work before she is able to paint the horse. Give her the option of either re-doing that work herself (at no charge of course), or refunding the amount of additional cost for having the painter complete the work herself. Give her the chance to handle it well and do the right thing before you worry about what comes after. I think we all tend to get caught up in something that goes wrong and automatically assume that person is going to be a PIA about it. There are still plenty of good honest people that will own up to their mistakes and make amends without a fuss. Give her that opportunity... JMHO :peace

[ravensgate]

No, I agree, it is not the artists job... As the customer, I am going to e-mail the prepper, the question is how to go about it. She seems like such a sweet lady(even though I already outted her name on here, which was done in a moment of anger, and maybe not the wisest move), and I don't know if this is the quality she always puts out or maybe she is going through a hard time right now(not that that excuses things). I have had resins prepped by her in the past (an eberl Muscat among them) that look flawlessly prepped(but then again, I didn't see the piece, it went straight to the artist, who didn't mention any problems), so I don't know what to do. How do I politely phrase it? I am open to suggestions, anybody :dunno


Like Karen said, you will probably still offend no matter how polite you are. Cause, let's face it, no matter how thick-skinned you are, nobody likes to hear they didn't do a good job on something. It's just dissappointing to hear no matter who you are. But like everyone else has mentioned, we will continue to deal with sub par work in any genre if people don't speak out about their dissappointments. I used to let everything get to me when someone in critiques, and now I have just learned to keep an open mind and a quiet temper. I cannot learn and grow with a closed mind.

For example, I had a fellow Blabber commission me to do a little SM, and wanted to send another one of my CMs back to me that I did last year for a couple of updates in areas I had gotten better in. Well, I just had to do the updates and back away from the pony because the more I looked at her the more I was appalled at my lack of prepping skills last year. Now I am quite confident in my prepping as I have learned what all goes into it and what to look for. From the looks of it (last year CM), I just sanded off the logo and sanded the seams. I had never heard of a carbide scraper last year and it astonishes me how much better my prepping is with them. I didn't take commissions until this year when I was more confident in my prepping and painting both since I prep most of what comes to me.

My point is, I probably never even thought twice about letting CMs sell in the past that were just not prepped properly. Has anyone ever said anything to me about it??? No. But if they had, I would have learned much quicker what goes into a good prep job. Now I just shudder at how many seams or divots are floating around on some of my older work because no one ever spoke up. Trust me, telling artists/preppers of their shortcomings is going to be the only way to better their quality of work.

Sorry for the long post, just my take on things :shy

[CindyEvansKTS]

:yeahthat As much as an Artist doesn't want to hear about their shortcomings, they actually do want to know! Weird, huh? ;) I know when I first hear a critique (either tactful or downright brunt) I will shut down at first for a short time (this is why I refrain from posting right away, so I can stew and mull over it), but will eventually admit they are right and will work on it

[desertnightcreations]

http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/images/smilie/yeahthat.gif As much as an Artist doesn't want to hear about their shortcomings, they actually do want to know! Weird, huh? http://www.modelhorseblab.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif I know when I first hear a critique (either tactful or downright brunt) I will shut down at first for a short time (this is why I refrain from posting right away, so I can stew and mull over it), but will eventually admit they are right and will work on it

This is exactly how I feel. It took me 30 years to learn to take constructive criticism. (I am 35 now). I tell my friends now that I may be a bit pissy at first but that I don't really mean it. Give me 24 hours and I'll be thanking you :-)

As far as preppers go, I think it's an extremely hard job to do. I admire those that can do it because I can't. It hurts my hands and the whole time I'm sanding there is a voice in my brain saying "You could be making tack instead of sanding. YOU SHOULD BE MAKING TACK INSTEAD OF SANDING!!" But I do agree that those folks that mess up need to be politely told about what they missed. In the long run, those that prep, and are told of what mistakes they make and then correct those mistakes - those folks will be sought after in the hobby and are sitting on a gold mine ;-)

THank you to artists like Sonja and Tracey etc who will take the time to fix a less than stellar prep job before they paint a resin. That shows so much integrity about YOUR own work. That too is to be admired.. :-)

[Amylee963]

You've got a right to be picky-you're the customer!
Luckily, I havent had that many experiences with bad prep jobs- or any prep jobs for that matter!!! Lucky I don't import them from other countries!

[EquusArt]

I agree w/Danelle regarding the magnifying visor! It's one of my most valuable tools right from the git go. I use it to sculpt with for fine details, for prep work and also for some parts of my finish work.

It takes a little getting used to in order to learn the focal distance and adjust your way to doing things occasionally to accomodate the "sweet spot" you need to find for optimum focus, but so well worth it.

Perhaps the use of the magnifying glass makes some of us prepping folk a little more fussy about how our pieces are prepped?

As an artist, I know I don't want to put a paint job on any piece I consider not to be LSQ prepped. Unfortunately, with the time I put into prepping my own sales pieces, I simply cannot afford to also take the time to prep pieces from customers as well. I wish I could. Then no one would have hard feelings.

[lazyshamrock]

Sad as it is, if a finishing artist does a great paint job on a poorly prepped model, it reflects on the person who signed the piece...since the preppers don't sign their work.

I must agree that cheseri gave you great advice--and I hope this all gets resolved soon.

[artocyn]

Crappy prep jobs like those mentioned in this thread is why I've started offering prepping again. I hate it, but it's FAR better than getting in a subpar piece that the customer has paid big bucks to have "professionally" worked on.


Thank you!!! I know that prepping is flat out no fun,and time consuming to boot. I've got six resins sitting on a shelf that I hope (one day) to give clothes to, but the prep work that I hate to do is holding me back. I think that if you are a painter who is really intent on having THE perfect surface to do your magic on, then you should include prepping in your price, even if it ups the final price tag. If I really wanted a piece done by a certain artist, I'd rather include more $$$ to have that artist prep it to their standards. That artist would know what condition and kind of prep finish would be correct for their technique.

--Cyn

[tinnggg]

re: magnification. I do a lot of beading, mostly with seed beads. My MIL is constantly bemused by the fact that I don't wear my glasses, use a whole lot of light, etc. I bought a pair of reading glasses to do the bead work and found that most of the time, I had to quit due to eye strain (thought that was what they were supposed to relieve). I don't even use my regular glasses for it - they're for distance and just don't help at all for close-up work. Anyway, I got a couple of these color balance lights and they have magnifying glasses on them. Oh, says I. That should make prepping a breeze. The high light obliterated any sign of a seam, and the magnifying glass gave me a headache. That combo may work for some but it didn't work for me. I find it easier to use my unassisted eyes and normal (off to the side) light levels.

You know though, when so many artists started insisting commissions arrive preprepped, I wondered how long before problems arose, especially when you factor in home casts and seconds.

[hi_d_hi]

re: magnification. Oh, says I. That should make prepping a breeze. The high light obliterated any sign of a seam, and the magnifying glass gave me a headache. That combo may work for some but it didn't work for me. I find it easier to use my unassisted eyes and normal (off to the side) light levels.


That's what I'm afraid of. I get headaches too, when looking through a magnifying glass too long. Maybe I'll just buy a bigger one, instead of the visor.

[Hanblechia]

You guys have my sympathy. I've recieved and fixed up so many poorly prepped pieces that I finally just stopped. I don't take custom orders anymore. Even so, now and then I have a client who's not gotten a body to me yet who'll ask about prepping. I ask them to get it prepped as best they can, preferably with NO PRIMER added to cover things up, and then I'll just take it from there. I don't want to put a paintjob on a primered piece that I don't know if the prepper scrubbed off all of the mold release from! If they didn't, no matter how good the prepjob is, the primer and paint may well crack and peel later. A nightmare I've had to deal with too many times, thank you.

So I ask folk to clean up the seams and air bubbles as best they can, preferably add no primer at all, and then I can see what's there - nothing's hidden by primer, no detail is flooded, etc. Then I can scrub the piece and prime it myself, finishing the prepwork to my own nit picky standards. Otherwise I've never seen a resin yet that was prepped well enough to suit me. Even so though, once in a while I'll be doing the final detail painting on a piece and DOH! I'll see something that -I- missed! Grrr... :}

So my advice to folk who pay for prepping services, and to artists who accept pre-prepped work, would be to ask for NO PRIMER - never ever! It's not that difficult for us artists to apply our own primer of choice before painting. And if the prepwork is done well, it won't need primer to cover up what the prepper is too lazy to do right in the first place. Then the finishing artist can scrub that puppy down with cleanser before adding their own primer and get a piece of mind knowing that there isn't mold release still underneath there, lurking and waiting to totally ruin your finishwork.

I just got two resins this past week (long overdue) that arrived lightly primmed as part of their prepwork. I've got to contact the prepper to find out if they scrubbed these two resins very thoroughly, and if so trust that they did a good job... or else strip these and start over again before I can paint! What a pain.

Paige Easley Patty
Hanblechia Studio

[sonyaj]

So I ask folk to clean up the seams and air bubbles as best they can, preferably add no primer at all, and then I can see what's there - nothing's hidden by primer, no detail is flooded, etc. Then I can scrub the piece and prime it myself, finishing the prepwork to my own nit picky standards.
You know, if the piece was going to be professionally prepped before heading to me, I wanted it primer sprayed so at least I knew the prepper had then been able to go over it and get everything that was missed in the first go-around (using grey or rust primer makes all the un-prepped areas come out like stars at night!).

But, after this recent experience, I'm not sure I want the prepper to primer spray it either, since I had to essentially strip most of whatever junk was used. I guess I've made assumptions (that the piece has been scrubbed and that the prepper knows how to apply primer properly), but then as with many other things in life, those assumptions will get you into trouble.

So, whereas, I generally don't feel the piece is properly prepped until it is primer sprayed, I also don't want to go back and re-do substandard work like this again.

Here's a suggestion to preppers that might help us artists: If you can write up a protocol for how you go about prepping a resin, that would be great. This would include what brand of primer you use (because some primers really, really SUCK, as I've found from personal experience) and if nothing else, to just use a light coat over the areas that had seams so you can see what was missed. Then, we don't have to worry about having detail obliterated and some nasty, textured surface with questionable primer. As an artist, I'd also want to know if eartips, etc., were fixed/restored, and what materials were used for this. Sending a summary of the protocol plus any pertinent info the artist should know would be helpful.

I did some touch-up work on a resin painted by another artist (but I had the customer get permission from her before I'd agree to do the work), and it arrived with a badly repaired/restored broken leg by some third party. I ended up re-doing most of the entire thing so it would, again, be up to my standards and those of the original artist (Michele Locke). So, poor technique and misrepresentation of ability sure isn't limited to preppers alone.


Otherwise I've never seen a resin yet that was prepped well enough to suit me. Even so though, once in a while I'll be doing the final detail painting on a piece and DOH! I'll see something that -I- missed! Grrr... :}
Seems to be the common theme amongst many of us here, unfortunately. And, I well know how it is to be paintin' along and...what's this - a SEAM I MISSED!? :wtf "Grrrr" is right.



painting. And if the prepwork is done well, it won't need primer to cover up what the prepper is too lazy to do right in the first place. Then the finishing artist can scrub that puppy down with cleanser before adding their own primer and get a piece of mind knowing that there isn't mold release still underneath there, lurking and waiting to totally ruin your finishwork.
Most of the supposedly prepped resins I've ever received were not primer sprayed, and of course, once I did that, it usually necessitated at least an extra hour of prepping to get areas missed (and there will ALWAYS be some, as we all know :)).

I hope this thread has raised the awareness for those who offer prepping services and that maybe you can implement some of the suggestions that were offered to improve your services to your customers and the artists.

Cheers,

SJ

[hi_d_hi]

The only problem I'd have with not priming it, is a big one. I wouldn't see what I missed. :dunno And really, until I get the 1st coat of primer on there, I don't know how well I've done from the start. :dunno And I do a lot of work before putting the 1st coat on. Then usually after the 1st coat, it shows a very noticable seam where I didn't see any, or divot where I didn't feel any, missed areas where I didn't go up in grit and are still scratchy looking from too hard grit. So personally, unless I prep, prime, prep some more, prime, and the artist doesn't want that, then what? :dunno Strip it? After stripping comes more prep time. I'd need to make sure all that primer is out of the nooks and crannies, and all the annoying places paint doesn't like to come out of. Unless they make some type of water soluable primer, that just rinses off, or soaks off. I wonder if that new latex spray works.

[ravensgate]

I agree with Heidi...I have to prep, prime, prep, prime, etc so I can really SEE what I am missing. I also run my fingers over the horse and don't look at it cause I have found I can feel a lot of problems that I might not be able to see. However, the primer is essential for me to really see if I missed anything. So, I think that would definitely put preppers in a pickle by not wanting the piece primed. If I were to get a piece that was going to a specific artist I might write the artist first and tell them what I plan on doing and see if they have any objections to the materials used. I know that one doesn't have that opportunity all the time but certainly something to think about.

[tinnggg]

So personally, unless I prep, prime, prep some more, prime, and the artist doesn't want that, then what? :dunno Strip it? After stripping comes more prep time. I'd need to make sure all that primer is out of the nooks and crannies, and all the annoying places paint doesn't like to come out of. Unless they make some type of water soluable primer, that just rinses off, or soaks off. I wonder if that new latex spray works.

What I have done on occasion is use a good sandable gesso and just brush it (light, smooth coat) on the troubled areas. Some of the gessos I've run into though are rubbery.

[Hanblechia]

I certainly sympathize with adding primer to make it easier to see what you may have missed. I do this myself to trouble areas while still prepping, but after cleaning. It just seems that for me, as a finishing artist's point of view, that everytime I get a piece with primer already on it, I still have lots of nit-picky work to do that will have been missed anyways. So I'd rather the prepper miss a few of the harder to see things and know that the piece is REALLY clean before it gets that primer coat. And use a primer I like! Not too slick, not too thick, but not too pebbly or gloppy, either. So I guess that's why I just do my own prepwork these days - because maybe I am -too- picky! :>

It may be a good idea for those who offer prepping services to list in detail how they clean the resins to remove mold release, and whether or not they do any sanding on the body itself. And then list what kind of primer they use and how many coats they like to apply. Then the artist in who is to paint that piece could be directed to that information online by the client before the piece is sent to be prepped. Of course that isn't practical if the client sends the resins to be prepped long before a finishing artist is selected!

Anyways, a few thoughts that may or may not be of use to anyone here. I sure would like to see a lot more preppers out there, and better ones! I would use them if I could find one that was reasonably fast and did a good enough job to please me! :}

Paige Easley Patty
Hanblechia Studio