Are paint pens any good???

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

I am wanting to do some finr designs on some of my figures.  I was thinking of trying paint pens.  I have tried permanent markers in the past but these don't show up on paint so well and do tend to smudge.  Are paint pens any better?  Thinking of white, gold and silver.

[cahrn]

They can be alright. I used to use them effectively to do graffiti effects on model trains, though they take a little getting used to when using to ensure the paint is flowing nicely through the tip. In time I found that even the finer tipped ones weren't quite as precise as I would have liked. Even though you tried permanent markers (I'm assuming something like sharpies) you may consider looking at micron pens as they come in very fine sizes, although the color choices are likely more limited.

[carlos marighela]

There are some very fine paint gel pens out there. Cahrn is right, there is something of a technique in ensuring flow. Limited colour range for the finest tips but the Gundam marker pens, used for doing panel lines, are very good. They make pre-shading easy.