Painting Lionel's postwar little rubber men

[dsmith]

Thanks Ed and Jim, I think I'll try both of your suggestions!

[Jumijo]

Acryllic paints will stick to the rubber. Enamels will not.

Jim 

[otftch]

Take a couple of tubes of super glue and pour them into a bottle cap.Use an old paint brush and coat the figures.Let them dry for a couple of days.They will now take paint like regular plastic.I have used this method for years and it does work and beleive it or not,it does not ruin the detail.

                                                         Ed

[dsmith]

I have tried to paint the little rubber men in Lionel's 3444 cop & robber car, milk car, switch tower and mail car.  In each case, the paint never dries but remains tacky even though they were painted over 6 months ago.  After my first unsuccessful attempt, I tried cleaning them first with paint thinner, goo gone or soap and water but nothing works to get the paint to dry.  I also tried spraying them afterwords with a clear mat finish.  I am using Testor's model enamel.  I haven't tried acrylic paint because it scratches off too easily from plastic and rubber.  Any suggestions?