How to Make PVC Figures, Paint and Clean It

PVC figures appeared in life only a few decades, but in production technology and quality have made great progress, do you know how to make PVC figures in the factory? As a PVC figure manufacturer with 17 years of experience in making figures, we will give you a complete introduction to the production process of PVC figures, so that you can understand a series of questions about PVC figures.

Due to the early technical and equipment constraints, most of the figures are made by hand, the figure modeling is first carved with oil clay and then through the silicone mold to turn into resin figures. In recent years, with the progress of technology, many PVC figures have been first made on the computer with professional software to create 3D prototypes, then 3D printing, and finally repair, polishing, cleaning, coloring, assembly, and packaging.

What Is a PVC Figure

A PVC figure is a model made of PVC raw material, also known as the PF figure, PVC figures are usually also called action figures, anime figures, and cartoon figures, PVC material is very suitable for making figures with complex shapes. The Pvc figure is not a toy,  it is a limited edition that can be collected, as it is designed for ages 15 and up. Some PVC figures have bases to support standing figures.

How To Make PVC Figures

There are two stages in making PVC figures in the factory, the sample stage, and the mass production stage. The two production processes in which are different.

Sample Making

Sample means that before mass production, the factory makes a 3d figure prototype according to the customer’s 2D design, then use a 3D printer to make out PU resin figure, then polishes, hand coloring, assembly, 3d file making time will be completed in 5-7 days, and sample production time will be completed in 7-9 days. Finally, we will take photos/video or send samples to customers via international express DHL, or FedEx as a PVC figure reference, after the customer confirms the quality, the factory will use the samples as quality standards for mass production, and then mass production of PVC figures can be made.

Large factories have sample rooms dedicated to developing samples according to customers’ different needs. PVC figure samples are also available in gray versions (mainly for modeling and structural reference), coloring versions (mainly for coloring reference), functional versions (samples with mechanical and electronic functions), etc.

Mass Production

For mass production of PVC figures in factories, steel molds need to be made according to the sample models confirmed by customers, the mold making time will be long. When the figure steel mold is made, the steel mold will be installed in the injection machine, and then put PVC raw materials into it. The heated and melted PVC will become liquid and be injected into the steel mold, Within a few seconds, the liquid PVC in the steel mold will cool and solidify into a model.

Taken out of the produced PVC figure white model from the injection machine, cut off the water injection port with scissors, polish the surface of the figure to make it smooth, then paint and color it, assemble it and finally package it. Waiting for the customer to check the mass-produced PVC figures without quality problems, the whole process of customizing PVC figures is finished.

The mass production stage of PVC figures takes one to two months to complete, depending on the complexity of the PVC figure, the more complex the figure, the longer the making time of the steel mold, and the more PVC figures quantity, the time will be extended accordingly.

How To Paint PVC Figures

The color of the PVC figure produced from the steel mold is the color of the raw material, usually white. After polishing and cleaning, according to the picture provided by the customer, then refer to the Pantone color, color mixing, and then you can color. There are three main methods of coloring.

Paint Spraying

This is usually used for spray painting large areas, such as the body, hair, or base of a PVC figure. It can also be used to spray the base paint of PVC figures so that 20-50 PVC figures of one color can be sprayed at one time with high speed and efficiency.
Shake the spray paint gun before use, using the built-in glass ball to stir the paint and gas in order to get the best spraying effect. At a distance of 25-35cm from the surface of the PVC figure, evenly moving spray paint, spraying up and down, do not spray continuously at one point, it will cause an uneven painting phenomenon.

Pad Printing

The Pad printing process is very simple, the ink on the steel plate is dipped into the surface of the silicone pad printing head, and then press on the surface of the PVC figure where will be able to print out text, patterns, logos, etc.

Hand Painting

For a small amount of PVC figure painting and some places that are difficult to paint with machines, painters are needed to color the PVC figures by hand with a brush.  For some parts of the PVC figure’s skin texture details, the painter needs to have many years of rich experience to be able to do this job.

How To Clean PVC Figures

If your PVC figure is placed for a long time, the PVC figure will be a lot of dust on the surface, covering the original color, you can use a toothbrush to brush off the dirty part of the PVC figure, and then clean it with water, do not worry about the PVC figure itself will be damaged, because the PVC figure is waterproof, and finally use a clean cloth to scrub the figure, which is a simple and effective way to clean PVC figures.

If the PVC figure has oil stains, it is difficult to wash it with water, you need to use soapy water, or Tide detergent, which will remove the stains completely, and can clean the PVC figure cleaner.

If your PVC figure is accidentally painted with other colors by the brush, it will become very difficult to remove this color, you need to use Thinner to remove it, but also the original color of the PVC figure will be removed, and then you need to repaint to restore the original color.

Are PVC Figures Good

Many household products and PVC figures are made of PVC raw materials, non-toxic and non-polluting, and safe for human health. PVC figures have the advantages of being lightweight, soft, and unbreakable compared to resin figures, and PVC figures also have a smooth surface, good paint adsorption, and can be preserved for a longer period of time, so PVC figures are a good choice.

What Is PVC Action Figure

Most action figures are made of PVC, so they will be called PVC action figures. Action figures, which with joints that can move freely, the body of the figure has about 13-14 points of movement, so players can create a variety of character shapes to show the figures.

Why Are PVC Figures So Expensive?

The price of PVC figures depends on the complexity of the design, production process, materials, figure size, kind of color, and other factors. Moreover, the manufacture of PVC figures requires a steel mold, which is heavy, about 400 kg, and this will be an expensive cost.

Those expensive PVC figures, which are some of the well-known anime and movie characters, the manufacture and sale of these PVC figures need the authorization of the copyright holder, otherwise, it is pirated, and the licensing fees are often very high, so this leads to the manufacture of famous anime characters of PVC figures will become a very high cost.

For rough, simple shapes and easy color painting of PVC figures, the price is lower. But buying such low-quality PVC figures is not worth it, it is equivalent to a waste of your money, which has no value for collection.