Are you into blowmolds?  Many decorating enthusiasts are.  One of the busiest conferences in the PlanetChristmas forums is called "Blowmolds."  Go there if you have any questions at all.

A popular topic among blowmolders is how to strip and repaint.  You can take a dated blowmold and make it look almost new again with just a little bit of work.  Carrie Sansing has provided details below on how to do it.

Stripping the Mold

Supplies needed: 

• Rubber gloves

• Natural bristle scrub brush (I don’t use a wire brush, you could damage the plastic, but others I know do use wire)

• Old tooth brush

• Eye protection (safety glasses or visor)

• Lots of clean Cotton Rags (available at Home Depot)

• Large Bucket

• Mild detergent

• Ammonia (I use lemon scented, it’s easier on the nose)

• Paint stripper (I use the generic Ace brand)

• Tin pie plate (Baker’s Square!) or metal bowl

• Paint brushes (2 or 3 of different sizes will do) 

To strip the entire blow mold, here are the steps I take: 

Remove the light housing or light cord and put it where you can find it in a week or so. 

Mix a squirt or two of detergent in a large bucket of water. Hose down the blow mold and then scrub the entire mold using your scrub brush and the soapy water. Take the time to rinse the scrub brush off of old flaked paint that may get caught in the bristles (which you don’t want later on in the process).  Put on your gloves. Dip your scrub brush into the ammonia. Doing a small area at a time, work at getting as much flaked paint off as possible and make sure to remove any dirt or paint that is in the creases of the mold.  Rinse the mold down and the scrub brush. Move on to the next area. Use the old tooth brush, dipped in ammonia and scrub along each crease. Wash with detergent again and rinse the blow mold very well, particularly paying attention to the creases you scrubbed. Dry the mold as thoroughly as possible. Let it sit until you are sure it is completely dry. If you’re lucky, a lot of the old paint will now be off. 

Put on your gloves and safety glasses. Pour the paint stripper into a tin pie plate or metal bowl. Using one of your brushes, dip the brush into the stripper. Run the brush across the rim of the pan or bowl so that it doesn’t drip and to remove excess. Now working in a very small area of the mold, brush the paint stripper on an area no more than 8 inches square. (Tip: You do not need to brush on a really thick coat of stripper. Just enough to cover the paint on the mold. If you find that the process is going too slow or the stripper is not working as well as it should, go ahead and put on a thicker coat in the next area. You will develop a “feel” for how much stripper to use.)  If you do a larger area than 8 square inches, you run the risk of the stripper eating the plastic! (Trust me on this, I ruined a mold so badly I had to throw it out!) Wait about 30 seconds, you should see the paint start to crack or bubble. Now, quickly dip your scrub brush (which you took pains to clean) into the ammonia and scrub the area you just stripped. Using the rags, wipe the area down. Rinse again with the hose to stop the chemical process. The paint should all come off. Repeat this procedure, doing small areas at a time, over the entire blow mold. Use a smaller size brush (I use one with an angle tip) to get the stripper into the creases of the mold. This is the hardest part and takes a lot of time. Once the mold has been completely stripped, I wash it down one more time with ammonia and the scrub brush and rinse it very well. The mold should now be close to white. If it looks cloudy, wash it with kitchen cleanser to remove any paint or chemical residue. 

Be careful, take your time. It took me an entire week to strip and repaint one Poloron Choir person. The more careful you are, the better the result. Don’t rush the process, if you do, you'll be very disappointed with your result or worse, you’ll end up wrecking a blow mold. 

Taping Off and Painting:

Supplies needed: 

• Painter’s blue tape

• Detail tape (yes, the kind used on cars)

• Newspaper (Don’t use colored comics, the ink can and will transfer!)

• Here is one approach:

Using several sheets of the newspaper and blue tape, start covering the large white areas of the snowman’s body. I would cover any white area that may be in the line of fire of the spray paint. Tear the paper to fit. When you tape the paper on, press the tape down hard along the edges of the newspaper! You don’t want any spray paint to seep under the edges of the tape.  The tape must be put on carefully, butting the edge of the tape up against the edge of the raised surface to be painted.  Start to mask off all the areas that will not be painted first. I usually paint the little annoying things first, to get them out of the way. In the case of this snowman, I would cover all the white parts, leaving all the red colored parts exposed. Be careful in this step, it will make the difference in the long run as you don’t want overspray on the white areas. Once the large white areas are all covered with paper and tape, I would then carefully mask off the white stripes on the candy cane using the detail tape, the entire upper part of the face with the blue tape, being careful to leave the hat and mouth exposed, the scarf, the entire wreath and bells (except for the berries and bow), and hand. The only parts left exposed would be the red parts.   

Paint all the red areas. Let the paint dry thoroughly. Krylon Fusion for Plastic (“KFfP”) will dry in 15 minutes according to the product label (but temperature and humidity does make a difference in the drying time, it can be MUCH longer). Make sure the paint is completely dry before moving on to the next area. If you need to wait until the next day, wait. Don’t rush this or your work will be ruined. Once dry, you may then apply a second coat if needed. Also, when painting with KFfP, go with light sweeping strokes of the spray paint, don’t put the paint on too heavily or it will run. Use a side to side sweeping motion. CAUTION: If you have never painted with spray paint, practice with it before you decide to repaint an expensive or rare blow mold!  

Once you are absolutely sure all the red areas are completely dry (and you have done your second coat, if needed), cover these areas with more paper and tape (if a large area, like on the hat), or with blue painters tape or detail tape, depending on the size of the area.  Now uncover the next area to be painted, perhaps the green. Paint it, let it completely dry, cover it, and move onto the yellow bell and earmuffs. If you know that you will not be going near an area that is already painted and you are confident in your skill, you can skip covering some areas.  CAUTION: This is a judgment call on your part, but keep in mind that if you are outside in a breezy location, no matter how good you are, the wind is going to cause overspray. I do my painting in the garage with the door open. 

Once you have repainted your blow mold, be careful when you take off the paper and tape. This part can be trickier than you’d expect. If you just pull the tape straight off, you probably will pull the newly applied paint off too. You want to peel the tape back on itself so that it cuts through the paint. Screw it up once and you’ll know what I’m talking about! Take your time, be careful, and your blow mold will look brand new.