My son lost an argument with gravity yesterday and has a broken arm. His hard cast goes on tomorrow and I'd like to custom airbrush something cool on it. Anyone know the best paint to use for something like this? I'd like it to have low VOCs, although I can put a respirator on him, fast dry time and enough durability to last 4 weeks on a busy preschooler. Ideas? Also, I'm thinking hot rod flames, but am open to ideas.

Justin,they sell water based air brush paint at hobby lobby,comes in alot of different colors.Sharpy pens also work good plus thier cheap.If you need a cast saw I have one of those too.For some reason I have worn alot of casts in my life.JGZ

Be careful painting a cast as they need to breath thru the plaster and/or fiberglass. Not the best ideal to completely coat a cast. Just my medical opinion. JP

JGZ, I'll check out the local hobby shop. Most of the stuff I've gotten has either been for lexan (will rub off) or enamel (really bad for little lungs). I hadn't thought of Sharpies, that may be a good option if he picks a light colored fiberglass. Heck, I ought to bring him over for some cool exotic fiberglass job. Can you do a cast in carbon fiber?

Zilla, thanks for the offer. I've got a good airbrush, but may take you up on the stencils.

Socofn, thanks for the advice. I'll check with his doc in the morning when he has it put on and make sure. I was only planning on painting the lower half, but don't want to screw things up.

Hate to rain on the parade but a cast needs to breath so his arm does not rot off, or at least this is the way it was in the military when I put casts on daily. JP

Hope your son is doing alright. Sharpies are a good option. The cast will be breathing out the gaps on both ends too, so I wouldn't worry too much about some paint on it. Just need to be sure whatever you use does not react with the plaster or fiberglass.

Good news! The doc signed off on cast painting. Turns out they can now do waterproof casts as well, so he can take baths and stuff without covering it. Who knew? Now I just have to figure out what he wants on it....

Man carbon would be sweet.... it would be even sweeter to see the doc's face when he had to cut it off. Heck take it to the next level and mix in some yellow kevlar.

Didn't get a chance to paint the long cast, but Alex got his short cast on late last week. Got a little paint work done this evening. They're by far the worst flames ever, but given the non-smooth fiberglass, templates that wouldn't stick and the wiggly 4 year old they're good enough. Most importantly he loves them, so I'll count it as a win. Best part was getting to give him his first lesson in how to run the airbrush and letting him paint some random stuff in the garage.

He looks pretty stoked about the situation.

Turned out so cool. Way to make an inconvenient situation better.

Best decoration I had for my cast was a garbage bag. We were on vacation in Corpus Christi and I really wanted to go in the water. Stupid asphalt chunk jumping out and making me flip my bike just before summer.

These are the moments that make being a dad worth the hassle. Good job!