HELP!! White highlights won't show...

[AbJul]

Hi, I was looking for some advice on putting white highlights (sparkles, etc) on top of color on my t-shirts. I can't get the white to show up. The shirt just becomes very soaked with wet white, and dulls the color I'm putting it on top of.
Darla's how-to in one of the mags shows highlighting on the lettering of the shirts, and I really like the effect, but my white just does not show up. Any help?
Thanks
Jules

[quickchange]

Jules need to know what type of paint you are using..

The area you are highlighting needs to be on the dry side.. and don't try to soak it white the first pass.. Depending on the paint and how thin it is you may have to do a couple of passes with the white.. Also if the color on the shirt is soaking wet this will not allow the white to sit on top.

Really need to know what your are spraying (paint), if you have thinned it and a little more information. I hit on the biggest reasons why the white does not pop.

I use aqua flow white.. as thick as I can get it to pass through the brush at 50 to 60 psi.. YEP, tons of clogs, but I want that white to stay on top.. In the shop I don't have a lot of time to wait for stuff to dry completely. Thinning the white would improve the flow, but then I would have to really baby it on the shirt.

Hope this helps, Darla or someone may have some other tips.

Hello AbJul, This is an ever present problem that tshirt artists struggle with constantly..It seems that the black is never black enough & the white almost always dulls down..It's best if you apply your white sparkles on top of pretty dry paint if possible..I've known a lot of artists who hold a hair dryer with their left hand & spray white with their right.. It takes a little practice, causes sever tip dry, & I can't say that's what I do as it takes more time, but you will get a truer white if you can keep the colors from intermixing..Sometimes I've resorted to a second coat, but again it takes special effort & more time so that's a seldom thing for me....Also try to work with your white as thick as possible, & that's easier said than done..just know that this is something that we all have problems with--some beat it & some don't!!--Excellent question, I wish I could help you more..

[Riptide]

AbJul...

Great advice above! Building up your white is the only way to get it to be bright. Lots of layers are always better than one big blast of white. Use a hairdryer in between the layers and your whites will be bright... promise.

[aixguy]

If your not in a prodution environment, trying to make a liviing painting, you can try heat setting the shirt before you apply your highlights. Follow all the above advice after the heat set. I use pieces of masonite for shirt boards and heat set right on the board. Heat set = cover shirt with something (brown paper, old pillow case, teflon sheet..etc. Set iron to temperature for your material (cotton most likely) Iron for a few minutes, keeping iron moving at all time and pulling up your cover sheet often. You probably should let your paint air dry if it is soaking wet before heat setting.. The top cover can become stuck to the paint if it is to wet..
Let us know how you make out!

[AbJul]

Thanks to all for the advice!! I am really struggling with this...
The paints are Createx t-shirt ready paints, and the white is VERY thin...seems thinner than some of the others. I thought about that, and wouldn't know what to do to thicken it up, as all of my paints were purchased for AB ready. Anyway, I remembered the hairdryer thing from some post I read before, but was already frustrated and had quit. Think I will try that next time. The paint underneath seemed to be dry, but the white just spreads out into a little puddle, no matter how much or how little I try to apply. I guess it is just one of those things that I will hopefully figure out in time
You guys are so great, all of the help you give us newbies is really priceless! I have also received my 4 back issues of the magazine, and WOW! what a great mag! I can't wait to get all of the rest! I would love to subscribe to online mag, but my connection is really not good, dial up and all, and takes a long time to load anything, so think I will hold off on that for a while.
Anyway, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!! You make this soooo much better!!
Jules