Painting/coloring 3D printed dolls?

[DollyKim]

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of an Eve Studio polyamide doll kit, thank you dolly gods, and wouldn't mind some good advice on painting and coloring him. I have gathered that my general BJD supplies will work, but...

What sealer should I use?
If I powder pastels will they rub in to the skin to give him some soft color? Air brushing and dying with dye aren't options at this time. Are there other methods?
Anything else I should know? I've never had a 3D printed anything before.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

MSC works fine for a sealer - there are a couple of others I know people have used but can't remember which ones (Purity Seal I think is one). Watered down PVA glue also works as a base layer. I think they are printed from the stuff Makie dolls are printed from, so I'd still consider priming them - the material is a lot easier to clean than resin or vinyl (in my experience, anyway) but it can still stain. How much depends on the colour and the medium. Any of your normal BJD colouring supplies will work - including powdered pastels. Just treat it like resin, vinyl or ABS for colouring purposes and you should be fine.

Ah - sanding! Again, this is working on the basis that this is the same material as Makies (my only experience of 3D printed dolls). Sanding changes the texture and structure of the surface - something to do with the friction iirc. This won't be a problem if you never plan on dyeing it, but does cause uneven dye take up.

And it will potentially feel lighter and more fragile than you were expecting.

[Nimarkiva]

I've got a 3D printed doll, from Silverbeam, and I found out that even if you coat them with MSC first, which works great, take time and care with your faceup and blushing. Once it's on, it's on unless you really work at cleaning it, at least with the Silverbeam ones.

This is a different brand than my little guy, though. So my experience with the 3D doll process may be different than yours, depending on the material they used for printing. There are several types of plastic used for 3D printing, after all.

But it is something that might help, because better safe than sorry just in case it's similar. Hope your project turns out well!