So a friend just gave me one of his kendamas. Im in love with it, I pretty much havent put it down since i got it. I’d like to change the color of it eventually. I was thinking of striping the ball (sorry dont know what its called) with acetone and then blasting it and painting it the color of my preference. I was thinking of using latex spraypaint, or any other sprayable paint that would give the kendama a little more “tacky” feel.
Any reasons why I shouldn’t do this? Does acetone have a negative effect on wood? Would painting it cause problems if I dont do it correctly?
I’m not sure if acetone would ruin it, but the kendama wood would defiantly soak up the acetone. As far as spray painting, it would really make it tacky and it may even be uncomfortably tacky. I ended up staining my kendama to give it some extra tack. You could always give it a try…worst case scenario, you have to buy a new kendama. Haha.
Acetone will not ruin the wood in any way. It evaporates almost immediately. Even easier though, chuck the tama (ball) to a drill and spin it against 100 grit sandpaper. The paint will come off very quickly, but if you are going to be re-painting it, it doesn’t even need to be removed completely. Finish sanding with a smooth 220 grit sandpaper. As for types of paint, you can use any type as long as you spray a good clear on it. I hand paint all of my voodama dolls using a brush and acrylic paint; I just spray clear on it afterwards.
If you need help landing lighthouses and Lunars and want to be a super cheater spray this stuff on it ;D
Another useful piece of kendama advice not having to do with paint, whenever the tip of your ken spike gets dull and blunt, just poke it into a hand held pencil sharpener and twist away- good as new! 
