Nipper Restoration

[Jerry B.]

A friend asked for help with his ghost plastic Nipper and he gave me artistic license to do as I pleased. I realize that a restoration is to try to make an object look like it did when it left the factory. For the purist in the Forum, please stop reading now. Nipper does not look like he did when he was new. He looks better. I used "Nipper Restoration" in the title to make it easier to locate later.

If you are still reading, I started with a 36" plastic Nipper. For whatever reason, the original paint for the eyes, ears, etc. did not stick and he was a ghost Nipper. If you stare at these original dogs long enough, you can see paint fading or coming off. The plastic material is very nice and the dogs shape is very much like the late paper Nippers. Didn't they share a common mold? This is what I did to create a modified Nipper.

1- After I cleaned Nipper, I sprayed him with a MEM 38353 product which is a plastic prep which prepares plastic for painting. Only future years will determine if this paint job is more successful and durable than the original.

2- I painted Nipper with Rust-Oleum 2X paint & primer which "also bonds to plastic". I used "Satin Ivory Silk" for the color.

3- I painted the features with acrylic paint. I bought black, brown, and gold.

4- I wanted the entire dog to have the same sheen so I sprayed a coat of clear to get the desired effect. Because I used a variety of paints, I was very concerned about the clear coat lifting so I used a water base protective finish. I purchased Minwax water based Polycrylic. Some people might be tempted to skip this step but I think it's very important.

I am very pleased with the final results. I would suggest that anyone could take on a project like this and be successful. I spent about $40 on materials. Jerry Blais

[alang]

Great Job Jerry. Nipper turned out great. This did not only require artistic license, but also a lot of artistic talent. Congratulations!

Andreas

[FloridaClay]

It looks very good. I gather, being plastic, this is a fairly modern reproduction. Yes?

Clay

[Jerry B.]

I think some of the plastic Nippers are authentic RCA authorized dogs and some were unauthorized or reproduction. Dogs like this were available from Ron H. at Union back in the 80's (best guess) for $100. Jerry Blais

[FloridaClay]

You do have an artistic touch Jerry. Had I done it, even Nipper's mother would not likely recognize him.

Clay

[epigramophone]

Once you have had him checked over by a vet he should be good for the next 100 years .

[barnettrp21122]

Great job, Jerry!
Here's what my attempt would look like: