Glitter Glue Controversy

When I was at FPBA in Vegas there were conflicting instructions on how to apply glitter glue and I've also found conflicting descriptions on-line. When I got home I tried a tribal tattoo three ways:

The yellow glitter section is the glue thinly applied and left to dry. By thin, I mean a thin even coat without white streaks.

The middle red section is thickly applied glue left to dry. It was layered on pretty thickly, some white streaks, applicator reloaded once, took a few minutes to dry.

The last orange section was applied as thickly as the middle section but the glitter was immediately applied.

I wasn't expecting as dramatic of results as these. The wet glue won hands-down over the three days that I left the tattoo on. (Sorry for the gray glue edges, I tried applying eye shadow for a 3-D effect. Oops.) I showered 3 times and patted dry.

I want to do a stencil removal test too. As you can see in the middle section, when you let them dry and then lift them, the thicker the glue the more "lift-off" you have. This makes sense to me because I've painted about a dozen homes and I always take the painter's tape off when the paint is fresh...or pay the price. Pashur was removing them immediately at the conference and I thought it was weird because it was against the instructions usually given, but it makes sense.

Hope this helps someone.

Denise

Awesome info!!!!

So, you recommend applying a thicker layer of glue, applying the glitter right away (before it is dry) and removing the stencil right after that?

IamGinaW wrote:So, you recommend applying a thicker layer of glue, applying the glitter right away (before it is dry) and removing the stencil right after that?

So far, I just tested the wet vs dry glue and found that the wet glue was better.

I'm going to test the remove stencil before glitter or remove stencil after. Pashur/Glimmer suggest that you remove the stencil BEFORE glitter. When I paint homes, I always remove the masking tape before the paint dries completely because if you wait, you will lift the paint along with the tape so this advice makes sense.

Hope that helps.

D.

I'm thankful for the info. I've never done glitter tats... will definitely use your technique when I get my first set!

Thanks for the information. I do it both ways only because it's so hot here in Florida.

It might help some people who have been waiting for the glue to dry before they apply. Might make the line a little quicker.

How do you wipe off the excess glitter when the glue is still wet? I let mine dry because I smear it all if it isn't. I don't use the stencils though...so the glitter is all around the design. That orange one looks great after three showers!

ClashAnna wrote:How do you wipe off the excess glitter when the glue is still wet? I let mine dry because I smear it all if it isn't. I don't use the stencils though...so the glitter is all around the design. That orange one looks great after three showers!

I do a calligraphy glitter tattoo so that's a good point, I haven't tried freehand when it's wet. This was with a stencil. I'm assuming you'd press it in and let it dry and then brush. I'll have to experiment.

img]

I find that if you take the stencil off before you apply the glitter you have to be very careful where you put the glitter.... if it's a hot day or the girl is wearing moisturizer or fake tan the glitter will stick to the skin around it and won't come off until they shower.... so I glue.. glitter straight away ( this can stuff up the brushes a bit, but I always use cheap brushes for this so it doesn't matter).... then remove the stencil.... this means I can only use them once or twice maybe but I'm ok with that as the finished result is quicker to achieve.

I remove the stencil first... too messy for me to leave it on!! I mean, there is glue on the stencil too, not just the skin.

And I agree on removing the stencil while the glue is still wet... it doesn't lift up then!

I guess I'd just never dream to let the glue dry. I mean some glues / types of body adhesives need to set and get tacky but dry ........hummm. We do free hand - but for stencils I have to agree with Tash - on or off for glitter can be dependent on your working environment. In hot areas where folks have moist skin, glitter can stick everywhere. Each artist needs to test their practices and make a working choice.

In a Pashur class he suggested that you not only alcohol the place where the tattoo will be but the fallout zone (bare skin) all around. It helps a lot when I've done that.

D.

there is also something to be sad on the different brands of glue - some do work better than others .. i find that a thin layer of glue last much longer with the ybody pink glue 7-10 days on a dry skin (myself) easy ..
i take it off with sun screen let it sit for a little while and rub it off with washcloth in the shower
works wonders,,,

Yeah! First time I've ever seen my name in beautiful glitter. Kinda brings a tear to my eye Sniff

Oh my Denise! Love the caligraphy, I've been trying to learn how to write this way for use with my paints, but never thought of glitter tats! fantastic!

Denise, Thank you...what a lot of work and to share it with us is wonderful. I have been told several ways and wondered if the brand of glue made the difference. I work where people are sweating and can't imagine doing the glitter after removal of tatt, but saw Pashur do it. Guess I'll just have to give it a try. Your calligraphy rocks my clients would die for it. What brush do you use for the glue?

Do you make your own stencils? This year ordering is more confusing for me with so many companies offering stencils. I understand many make their own, but not sure I'm up to learning to operate a machine for it and finding supplies...a few mistakes on ordering and I would have been better off just buying them.

I just use a 1/4" flat brush for the glitter calligraphy. It will become sticky so just get cheap synthetic ones with pretty stiff bristles. The 99% alcohol cleans them out pretty well so you can use it over and over. I use an olive jar and just put a bit of the alcohol in the bottom and let them sit and then wipe them on a baby wipe...then I just have a little bit of alcohol to throw out when it's polluted.

I have different stencils from all the companies. I've been ordering from Faketoos because he's here locally and has some good, crisp designs and I've even done some custom ones for a local college. Some of the stencils have bits you have to take out but the only one that has driven me crazy is the soccer ball. I'm shying away from tendrils and swirls and am buying ones that have large areas of "color" because they don't lift as much and have bigger impact and are easier to deal with.

D.

But are you puffing the glitter, pouring the glitter or applying it with a brush.
You work is fantastic...I wanna be able to add something like this for my season.

For the calligraphy name "Martha" I used a 1/4" brush with slightly tinted glue that I put in a little plastic lid or those great little divots in the top of a brush bath lid so it's easy to clean, just a little goes a long way.

I use poofer bottles from Amerikan Body Art and I widened the hole with a dart board dart so that the glitter will stay up there but flows easily when squeezed. You put the darkest color at the bottom and then work your way up with lighter and lighter or complementary colors.

I keep a tall skinny olive jar with just a little 91% alcohol in the bottom to put the brush into when I'm done.

I have a video that shows it at about 5:30 minute mark. I probably should have done a full calligraphy name so you could see the awesomeness better but I wanted to cover other ways to do calligraphy.

https://youtu.be/QNK2jXrsdVE

Lifting the stencil before glitter may work in other places but in hot, humid Florida it makes a Glitter mess!

do you think like afte 6 mons the glue loses its staying power? I am having some probs with my glitter starting to come off quite noticably on myself later on the same day I applied it.

scgilland, been watching for an answer to your question...I'm wondering the same thing. I purchased a large bottle from Amerikan a couple of years ago and the end of the summer I didn't think it was doing well. It is kept inside and has never been hot or frozen. Let's hope someone chimes in and lets us know.
Wonder what the top 4 boys and top 4 girl designs are? Faketoos offers so many more options than Amerikan, yet there is where I started by taking her class years ago at FABAC. I only use them in the summer for outside events.

I can share what I sell out of most often.

For boys it is the flaming skull, transformers, scorpion, and superman symbol.
For girls it is hello kitty, dolphin anything, butterfly, and tinkerbell.
I constantly have to reorder those stencils, and I buy from faketoos and ABA.