Faceups MSC and how to use it?

First step is always WEAR A RESPIRATOR MASK. Not a Lil paper one, a filtered cartridge set up like for spray painting. MSC is Toxic.

Okay after that.

Put down your base coat on a clean blank head. Start with 3 light layers. Spray about 20-30cm away from the doll head. After the base, just 1 coat between pastel layers when you want to 'save your work'
Some people only need 3 layers (after base), some people use 7. You'll find a rhythm eventually.
But to start, spray after base skin tones, eyebrows, eyelashes, blush and lips, eyeshadow, before glossing.
You can combine layers but this is just a starting point so if you over blush or something, you can safely wipe away an error. Wait 15min between single layers. And 30min after the initial 3 base coats, you want to make sure the doll head is protected and doesn't stain.

Don't use MSC above 40% humidity. I used to live in a very humid city, and it results in a white chalky finish. Don't reconmend.

 

You might want to have a look at this thread which has info on all kinds of tried and tested sealants and how to use them.

 

Hey! I used MSC for the first time this year too! Make sure you get an appropriate mask. I used a 6211P1 half facemask pack with filters meant for sealent grade use from 3M. You can order it online or look it up, the fit and filters are important... make sure it's sealant-grade.
I also wore gloves and googles.

I used a base coat of MSC on the blank face... I did this outside on a non-humid day. Wait like 30-45 minutes for it to dry. I sprayed it in an open garage on cardboard with a fan running. I then ended up using like 4-5 layers. Sometimes I had to dig into the dried MSC texture a bit to keep working.... it's hard to explain lol. MSC can be vaguely sandy, but you can kinda scratch it off. Look at the other threads.

Really make sure you wear protection and work on a non-humid day! Good luck!

 

Agreeing with the others- WEAR YOUR RESPIRATOR!!!! I have gotten sick for a few weeks from being exposed too much.

Do not spray indoors. That fan is not good enough. That open window is not good enough. Go outside and away from other animals or humans, or at least those that you’re attached to. Let the head wait in a shady place until your timer goes off. I’ve tried to carry in a “dry” head and smelled sealant as soon as we got inside away from the breeze.
Be careful with the wind. It’s nice to help get the scent away from your spraying area, but it’ll put dust and specks of who knows what into your sealant. If you wear your respirator right and get away before taking it off, the specks are a bigger problem.
Also wear gloves. Idk if there’s a skin contact safety risk for MSC specifically, but a lot of things absorb through the skin. Plus it feels icky.

 

As said above, get yourself a proper respirator with the right cartridges and do it outside away from other humans/animals but to add to it - it's also important to protect your skin and eyes so safety goggles and gloves are a must as well. MSC is toxic, it's no joke. If you don't have proper conditions to spray, there's also the alternative of using a sponge and a brush on sealant.

The workshop part of the forum has quite a few threads and stickies on sealants and safety, definitely good to read those through

 

For the proper respirator, you need at least a half-face respirator, with an organic vapour cartridge, and a minimum n95/p95 particle cartridge. I get both in one cartridge here, and they need to be replaced every month, regardless of how much/how little you’ve been spraying, because the OV cartridge is always filtering, but it stops filtering well after a month. Cartridges I find are the most expensive part of doing faceups, depending on how spaced out you do them.

I’ve also seen a recommendation not to use MSC below 4°c—no idea if that holds water. I only do faceups for my own dolls, but I’ve sprayed in -20°c and I didn’t get any ghosting, or any issues with it adhering, I just sprayed a little closer to the head, and only with a warm can that had been indoors until I had to spray it. I probably wouldn’t do this if I took commissions, and was doing a client’s head, but in my experience low temps don’t effect it terribly.

 

As the others have said read the advice on safety masks as this is vitally important. MSC is a sealant and that’s exactly what it’ll do to your respiratory tract and the air sacs in your lungs if you breath it in! It will coat them and as it’s non-biodegradable it stays put in your body.

As for how fickle it can be the answer is very! It must be shaken for at least two minutes to ensure it’s well mixed, personally I shake it for that length of time, warm the can (more on how to safely do that if you read further down) then shake it for two minutes again before doing a quick test spray on some cardboard.

Humidity and wet are the worst enemies, it’ll mist, go cloudy or you’ll get white blotches that’ll have an odd texture and sometimes begin to peel. Been there and learned that lesson many years ago!

Any oily coating will also cause it to lift and peel so be very careful what soaps you use to clean the doll with and what you have on your fingers when handling the surface you’re going to spray, also this is why you shouldn’t use human makeup to do faceups as most contain oils of some form even loose powder pigments unless they’re very pure. Been there and made that mistake too with what I thought was safe shimmery powder. It wasn’t and the sealant began to crack, lift and peel away after a few months! Now I only use pure shimmery pigment powders that are designed to be used with any type of paint, nail art, mixed with resin or clays….pretty much anything as they’re inert and safe. There should be a thread about safe paint, pastel and pencil types as well as one or two threads regarding shimmer powders and pigments.

Temperature wise it’s more about how warm the can is and where you’re leaving the head or parts to dry than anything.
As long as the can and therefore the spray is sufficiently warm then the outside temperature doesn’t matter unless you’re talking about instafreeze temperatures of course. Be incredibly careful concerning warming the can if you feel the weather is on the cooler side as it’s a pressurised aerosol and will go boom if you heat it too much. The safest method is using body heat, stuff the can in your trousers, underpants, a pocket, inside your bra or shirt…..whatever works for you. I’ve even sat in bed with the can under the duvet to warm it up. Some people sit the can in a mug of warm water but there’s always a risk of it going pop if the water’s too warm or it cooling back down again if it’s not warm enough.

Wind and dust…..ah the mortal enemies of the faceup! Unless you have a special room set up with extractors and specifically designed spraying booths then this will always be a huge problem with any sealant whether you spray or brush it on. You’ll always get dust and tiny fibres sticking to freshly applied sealant which is another reason why you should take it slowly and not rush. Take your time to closely examine and carefully remove any particles before applying the next layer. It can reduce you to tears finding your faceup ruined because you didn’t check for dust properly. The odd bit sometimes refuses to come off though but hey that’s what freckles and moles are for! I’ve not long had to completely wipe a faceup I was doing and had already spent probably close to 12 hours on, over a period of several days, because I didn’t pay attention at one point and ended up with several stuck fast bits of dust and a cluster of very noticeable pastel dust speckles (dark red and black pastel of course) right on the side of the nose. My only excuse is that my eyesight isn’t great because I’m older but I should have known better and inspected things closer before sealing that layer of work! So check and then check again.

Despite MSC being a royal pain in the posterior at times it is still one of the best sealants for faceups and that’s the reason it’s recommended and used so much.

Be safe and have fun, take your time, don’t get too disheartened if everything isn’t perfect as we all mess up, it’s part of the learning curve!

 

In my opinion, the humidity is more important than the temperature. A humidity of less than 70% is vital, and humidity less than 60% is optimal. The more humidity, the more likely it is for the sealant to act funky and not seal properly. Another thing to note: If you're spraying a secondhand head, or one that already had a faceup in the past, and see a cloudy white film, don't panic! That just means you need to make sure you cleaned off all the old sealant first, because it'll cause that cloudy look if it's still there.