How to repaint Christmas decor figurines and make them pink!

Hello friends! I am sharing with you figurines in my past collection that I have repainted to suit my pink theme. If you’re like me, you can relate how hard it is to find figurines that are in the shade of pink. It’s not something that comes in abundance here in Australia - like the red and more traditional Christmas colours.

I have been repainting my figurines for the past three years and through the years I have been doing it, I can say I am getting more comfortable with each and every piece. The more you do it, like with any other task, the easier it becomes.

Fun fact: I have essential hand tremor. It isn’t always obvious but it’s more evident when I have been using my hands a lot, when I’m lifting something heavy, or when I’m exhausted. It also seems to have a mind of its own that it knows when I am doing something intricate like painting, so it tends to shake more than usual which is so annoying. So when others tell me they have very shaky, unsteady hands and can’t do this type of project, I’ll say sure you can. If I can manage with my tremor, you definitely can do it.

Repainting a figurine requires patience and time. I find that dividing my tasks into several days makes projects like this easier, manageable and more fun. On day 1, I sand and cover; Day 2, I apply the first and second coat; and on Day 3, I do detail painting and touch-ups.

Here’s a step-by-step on how to repaint your figurine:

(If you prefer to see a video tutorial, please let me know in the comments)

1. Lightly sand the surface. I use a 400 fine grit sandpaper which is an excellent grit to paint your base coat on. Then thoroughly wipe with a damp multipurpose cloth to remove all residues.

   

2. Using a painter’s tape, cover all areas that you don’t want the paint to touch (e.g. the face and skin unless you want to change the skin colour). Tip: Cut tape into tiny small pieces to get through the corners and crevices. Even the smallest part needs to be covered.

   

   When covering faces and skin, I find that using a delicate surface tape like Scotch is better than the normal painter’s tape. The latter has the tendency to lift off the paint underneath. This happened to me three times already including the Red PJ Santa above. I had to touch up the face which made it more time-consuming.

   

3. Apply a spray coat of primer. Do this outside in a well-ventilated area with a respirator mask on. If you do this often, I strongly advise you to wear one even when painting outside to avoid repeated exposure to the harmful VOCs found in spray paints and airbrush.

4. I find that spray paints and airbrush paints give a smoother result than normal acrylic craft paints. But if you prefer painting with a paintbrush, I highly recommend you use Golden Fluid Acrylics. It’s an artist-grade paint, but gives a very smooth finish. It doesn’t leave streaks like the cheap craft paints do. So If you decide to repaint projects often, I highly recommend you invest on a set.

   

5. Two coats is usually enough. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the painter’s tape. It’s common that a touch-up is required on the edges. Use a thin brush and mix paint that matches the colour of the spray paint. You can use a colour mixer to find the closest accurate shade of colour. I used Trycolors a lot, it just makes mixing paint a lot easier.

6. Seal your work with a top coat clear spray. I prefer matte for my sealer.

I’ve made a list on Amazon for all the materials I use for my own repaints. The Amazon referral program allows me to earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

If you like to see a video tutorial of how I fixed and repainted this Christmas girl figurine, please let me know in the comments.

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