I'm painting mine as I type this. I'll be honest, I could never get away with using a neon purple/green one. I'm too green for that! I never realized how pink I was until I tried to match my thumb color!

P.S. I painted it and have now gone to the final step of coating it in a flat clear. So far it looks great! One of the reasons I wanted to try this was I noticed when I had a purple silk in it the tip had a purple tint to it. Really I don't see that as a huge problem but I wanted to see how a paint job on it would turn out.

What material is your tip made of? I'd be curious to see how the paint holds up, I imagine there are paints that work ok on vinyl, but if it's polyethelene, like the original Vernet tips, there's no paint I know of that will adhere.

I painted my D'lites with Skintone Acrylic Enamel, which I found at a craft shop. It's held up real well. I don't think these are polyethylene, however.

jim

The water does NOT need to be boiling to make the TT pliable and adjustable. In fact, my local dealer has a TT on display in the shop that isn't recognizable for what it is because it was boiled. It's a standard Vernet that a customer bought, took home and submerged in boiling water. They brought it back, hoping to get a replacement. I don't know if they got one or not, but the shop owner shows it to everyone who buys a TT that he suspects doesn't know what they're doing or who ask about adjusting the size.

That’s what I used however I have a lot of experience painting vinyl. I used to paint figure model kits professionally. Here's an old tutorial I wrote a few years back. http://www.geocities.com/etrigan69/modeltutorial1.htm

What I did was wash the TT with dish soap. (This removes any skin oil and will allow the paint to stick better.) Then you want to use some primer. White would be best but any color will work. Keep it very light. If it's real thick it will most likely crack. Let that dry an hour or so. Now you want to use some latex type paint in found in many colors at most craft stores.

I used a skin tone some brown, red and ivory. I found a neutral tone that was close to the skin near my thumb. I mixed that then darkened it with brown. I then painted the entire TT with that then dry brushed the lighter coat over that. I noticed I had a bunch of pink blotches so I reddened some of the lighter tone and dry brushed a little of that. Then I did the little ivory right over that spot where the cuticle starts.

After you are satisfied how it looks take some dull coat clear (This goes on flat IE: No gloss) I did about two coats. Finally I brushed a bit of clear gloss across the nail.

Here's how it looks completed.

As far as shaping your TT using a blow dryer would probably work best. Heat it, fit it and then put it under cold water to set it. For model kits I have put them in boiled water but you don't want to leave it there long. Use tongs!

Wow, nice looking TT etrigan69! Very nice indeed!

Wow, that's the best looking TT I've ever seen.

For my money, most people don't care if your thumb is extended as long as your hands are empty.

Wow, etrigan69. That is not a TT. ...That is a masterful work of art. Nice job.

Very nice job on the TT. It is creepy how much it looks like a real thumb!
Brian

Etrigan69, that looks like a real thumb, awsome job on the painting.

Anyways, today I actually picked up Darwin's 3 DVD Set on TT's, and I never even began to think of all the ways it could be used. I picked up a hard TT today aswell, seeing as I only have a soft one, and I've been using it all day.

I did the Salt Trick to several people who knew how to 'vanish a silk' with a TT, and they were baffled. Followed it up with vanishing a lit match, and once again, baffled.

It's one of those things that is ONLY restricted by your creativity and your interest in trying new things out.

Adam

If you have a darker skin tone like me (I'm Mexican) you might want to try this idea that I came up with last year... (I'm sure someone will correct me if this idea isn't original with me). Take your Vernet tip and place it in a pot of hot coffee or tea for an extended amount of time. I left mine in there for about 6 hours while I ran some errands and it darkened my tip to almost an exact match for my skin tone. I left it in there for a few hours longer and it was a near perfect match.

I don't have it down to an exact science. You'll have to experiment with how hot you keep the coffee/tea.

Anyway, I figured that if coffee could stain teeth...

Rudy Tinoco

If you have a darker skin tone like me (I'm Mexican) you might want to try this idea that I came up with last year... (I'm sure someone will correct me if this idea isn't original with me). Take your Vernet tip and place it in a pot of hot coffee or tea for an extended amount of time. I left mine in there for about 6 hours while I ran some errands and it darkened my tip to almost an exact match for my skin tone. I left it in there for a few hours longer and it was a near perfect match.

I don't have it down to an exact science. You'll have to experiment with how hot you keep the coffee/tea.

Anyway, I figured that if coffee could stain teeth...

Rudy Tinoco

I am SOOOOooooo using that one!!! Chris is coming to lecture in San Francisco later in April. I cannot wait!

Back on Topic:

Don't worry about the color of the TT as much as the proper fit.

Do yourself a favor and get a TT that is large enough to be a good, slightly loose fit.

Also check out Jay Sankey's DVD "Hundred Dollar Miracles" for a lot of routines utilizing the 100 dollar bill switch. It taught me so much!

G