N95s are a working surface of the whole and function by grace of a LOT of industrial design. I would avoid customizing one if I needed it to work.

Respirators, well, docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
has some material information and you could go from that to paint compatibility.

(My gut-level flinch response is that the fate that finds you for altering safety equipment will be strange to mercy. This is plausibly excessive and as specific consequence of my misspent youth.)

Respirator Repository

READ ME For the nose/chin measurement, it's specifically from the flanges on the respirator, a straight measurement from top-to-bottom.

^{Google Docs}

I'd second Graydon's take on n95s: just don't. The electrostatic properties that make it effective are tricky, the entire surface is filter, the straps are delicate...

Starting with an elasto & gluing wispy weightless trim on... maybe. On a practical note, the only thing I've found sticks to silicone is silicone caulking.

Start with a full-face elasto and it's *much* more forgiving about hanging decor off of it, thanks to the multi-strap head harness holding things in place. Of course, whatever you make out of it has to work with the fact that there's a full-on gas mask under there. (And they ain't cheap.)

I can highly recommend magnets and lacey fabrics as good ways to decorate or customize respirators, specifically the disposables.

The Dräger 1950 N95 is arguably the best on the US market right now, and it has the most robust structure to handle added decoration without collapsing. The plastic anchors for the headband on each side also allow for hanging/mounting decorations.

For magnets, there are lapel pins and needle minders, but to customize/add on to, look at hijab magnets.

PS: the Dräger 1950 is what I'm wearing in my profile photo - along with a magnetic lapel pin.

Also, the small size of the 1950 fits the most people