Uniball POSCA PC3M Individual Pen
The Uniball Posca PC-3M Pen is a fine bullet tip which produces a line approximately 0.9-1.3mm thick.
Bright, bold, opaque color: Posca felt-tip markers contain a special water-based pigment ink that can be used on almost any surface: plastic, metal, wood, glass, plaster, canvas and more. Professional quality yet versatile, fun, and easy-to-use – perfect for all your design and arts and crafts needs… Just press the tip against a hard surface and let your creative journey begin!
Posca’s ink formula is non-toxic, lightfast and waterproof, and has no unpleasant odor. It doesn’t bleed through paper (unlike alcohol-based marker ink) and can even be scraped off hard, non-porous surfaces like glass after application. The body of the marker contains a small ball designed to ensure the ink is evenly mixed, and the tips can be rinsed clean with water.
Not surprisingly, because of their versatility, Posca markers, have garnered a lot of positive attention from artist and painters worldwide. Although, with fame comes many questions…
While the Posca user community have a wealth of knowledge and we have helped put together a list of tips that have come from the Posca website and associated forums.
Q. Are Posca markers permanent / acrylic / water based?
A. POSCAs are water-based pigment paint markers which can write on any surface. Paint is permanent on porous surfaces, and removable on non-porous surfaces such as glass
Q. Can children use them?
A. POSCAs are water-based markers. They are odourless and totally safe for children to use. However, as they are quite technical, we recommend them for children over 5 years old.
Q. Can I use Posca to paint on skin?
A. POSCA can easily be cleaned off the skin and is non-toxic. However, it is not a cosmetic and has not been tested against cosmetic or dermatology standards. The manufacturer will therefore not be responsible for possible reactions on the skin if used incorrectly.
Q. Is Posca Toxic?
A. POSCA‘s paint is water-based, without solvent and odourless.
In fact, beekeepers use it to identify the queen in beehives! A colour corresponds to each year which enables them to determine the insect’s age.
Q. Is Posca refillable?
A. You cannot refill POSCA. Some users do reuse paint from one marker to another, in particular to mix colours. Mitsubishi Pencil Company has however not designed it for that use.
Q. What is the drying time?
A. The drying time is extremely quick. Generally, the paint dries quicker on porous surfaces than on smooth ones. In any case, wait a few minutes and the paint will be dry.
Q. How can I make the colour permanent?
A. POSCA‘s paint is permanent on porous surfaces. You can further optimize its adherence by following one of the next three steps: apply a varnish , bake in the oven (ceramic…) or iron (fabrics). For a precise information about each material, please consult the Posca Markers Official Testing Chart
Q. What should I do when the tip has dried?
A. Don’t panic if you have lost the cap and the tip has completely dried. Thanks to the piston and valve mechanism, you can flow paint once again by priming the POSCA marker again.
In case the tip is extremely dry, you can take it out simply by pulling and rinse it with water.
Q. Are tips replaceable?
A. The tips of the following references can be replaced when dirty or worn: POSCA PC-1M, PC-3M, PC-5M, PC-7M, PC-8K and PC-17K.
Tips are also reversible.
Q. What are Posca‘s paint characteristics?
The paint is both opaque and fluid, smooth and dense with a wide coverage. It can be mixed, diluted and overlaid. The rendering is similar to that of acrylic.
Q. Can you use Posca on fabrics?
A. Posca can write on any type of fabric and is resistant to washing once it has been ironed. Of course, the resistance will depends on the type of fabric. To fix colors, iron the fabric on the reverse side, using no steam.
To optimize adherence, wash the fabric before customising with POSCA. On delicate fabrics, we suggest you start drawing outlines and then colour progressively in order to avoid bleeding.
Q. Can you use Posca on rocks?
Posca works wonderful on clays, stones and rocks, cement, etc. Its adherence is perfect and the line definition is fine. You can apply a varnish or bake in the oven (depending on materials) to optimize its adherence and resistance. On smooth or shiny surfaces, make small circular and regular movements when painting to achieve a neat result.
Q. Can you use Posca on glass?
Posca can be either permanent or non-permanent on glass. If you want to have it permanent, just bake it in the oven. Otherwise, you can always clean it off with a damp cloth.
Q. How long would it take to dry on untreated wood?
A. It absorbs quickly into untreated wood, should be mostly dry after about 5 minutes, it was good after 5 on smooth non absorbent surfaces
Q. Do these work well on wood and painted wood?
A. Yes, be sure to sand and primer first for best results. My son paints custom wooden skateboards with these. It’s like using acrylic paints
Q. Would these work well on Gunpla? Or any other plastic model kit?
A. I am pretty sure they will. I used them on a guitar pick guard which is plastic. But never played with the guitar/guard on so cannot tell you for sure!
Q. Does it work on foam soles of shoes?
A. It is OK. but, I think disappear by friction gradually.
Q. I’m wanting to paint like some things on my walls. Will they work for walls or not?
A. I used these to paint on one of my furniture pieces and it came out really nice so I would say it would work on walls just the same .
Q. Do they work well on metals?
A. So far, yes they do! I’m using them with acrylics on sheet metal . and its a blast !
Q. How thin are the extra fine tip vs the fine tip? I’m not sure which to buy.
A. I found that the extra fine tip clogs more and is so close to fine tip I just use that one- reg fine tip
For more details on materials check the following link Posca Markers Official Testing Chart.
