elburro
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Hey, I figured this might be worth starting a thread since some of my recent paint jobs have been well received here. Thanks to those who emailed me and responded in the forum.
Anyways, I like painting RC bodies better than I Like running my trucks. I get my biggest kick out of painting. I even liked it when I used rattle cans to paint. Now I use a double-action Paasche VL airbrush with a 2 gallon compressor I picked up at Home Depot.
I figure maybe we could share some tips on the subject or just generally help each other out. Heres what I learned since I've been painting my RCs. I learned all this stuff the hard way. My LHS is absolutely A-1 useless when it comes to education ...
1. When the body is finished, give it a quick look for catastrophic mistakes (fix them), and then set it down and leave it alone for a full 24 hours. Don't even look at it. I learned this the hard way. Its almost impossible to resist mounting the thing on your car or truck if you keep looking at how cool it came out. This will cause untold paint damage because it needs a good 24 hours to cure.
2. "Spidering" happens because you are too close to the surface you are painting. Back the brush away and pay attention to your trigger finger.
3. Do not remove any masking until all other paint is dry. Use a hair dryer if you have to and then let the body rest for an hour before you pull of any masking. Leave window masking on until like 2 seconds before you mount the body onto your car or truck (after you ignore it completely for at least 24 hours).
4. Don't buy any painting equipment from your LHS. They might be nice guys but they are also richer than you and they know how to reach into your wallet. You can get a Paasche VL and a 2 gallon compressor for less than you would spend in a hobby shop for an Aztec brush (no comment) and a "hobby" compressor (again, no comment) and get WAY better quality. As for paint, Createx AutoAir is the exect same paint as FasKolors with a different label on it and a much wider line of colors at HALF THE PRICE. I got my whole setup for $135 including the compressor and a gas mask.
5. Plan your paint job. Random "works of art" don't always come out as you expect them to. Learn about what colors fade well into one another. Practice on paper until you get some confidence with an airbrush.
6. Smell the body. Not your body, the freakin RC body. If it smells like paint, it isn't dry yet.
7. You can use a hair dryer to "speed-dry" coats of paint but keep in mind this gets the paint "pretty dry" it isn't cured yet. This will let you continue painting but still let the body sit and don't look at it for 24 hours before mounting it. I use this method of drying and it lets me do a body from start to finish in an afternoon. I always let speed-dried paint sit on its own for 10 or 15 minutes before I continue painting.
8. Always try to get bodies with protective overspray film on them.
9. You will waste less paint and not risk ruining your paint job if you trim the body completely BEFORE you paint it. For nitro cars this includes body cutouts for engine access, cutting out windows Etc. If the body has no overspray film, use houehold plastice wrap instead.
I'll stop babbling now.
EB
Anyways, I like painting RC bodies better than I Like running my trucks. I get my biggest kick out of painting. I even liked it when I used rattle cans to paint. Now I use a double-action Paasche VL airbrush with a 2 gallon compressor I picked up at Home Depot.
I figure maybe we could share some tips on the subject or just generally help each other out. Heres what I learned since I've been painting my RCs. I learned all this stuff the hard way. My LHS is absolutely A-1 useless when it comes to education ...
1. When the body is finished, give it a quick look for catastrophic mistakes (fix them), and then set it down and leave it alone for a full 24 hours. Don't even look at it. I learned this the hard way. Its almost impossible to resist mounting the thing on your car or truck if you keep looking at how cool it came out. This will cause untold paint damage because it needs a good 24 hours to cure.
2. "Spidering" happens because you are too close to the surface you are painting. Back the brush away and pay attention to your trigger finger.
3. Do not remove any masking until all other paint is dry. Use a hair dryer if you have to and then let the body rest for an hour before you pull of any masking. Leave window masking on until like 2 seconds before you mount the body onto your car or truck (after you ignore it completely for at least 24 hours).
4. Don't buy any painting equipment from your LHS. They might be nice guys but they are also richer than you and they know how to reach into your wallet. You can get a Paasche VL and a 2 gallon compressor for less than you would spend in a hobby shop for an Aztec brush (no comment) and a "hobby" compressor (again, no comment) and get WAY better quality. As for paint, Createx AutoAir is the exect same paint as FasKolors with a different label on it and a much wider line of colors at HALF THE PRICE. I got my whole setup for $135 including the compressor and a gas mask.
5. Plan your paint job. Random "works of art" don't always come out as you expect them to. Learn about what colors fade well into one another. Practice on paper until you get some confidence with an airbrush.
6. Smell the body. Not your body, the freakin RC body. If it smells like paint, it isn't dry yet.
7. You can use a hair dryer to "speed-dry" coats of paint but keep in mind this gets the paint "pretty dry" it isn't cured yet. This will let you continue painting but still let the body sit and don't look at it for 24 hours before mounting it. I use this method of drying and it lets me do a body from start to finish in an afternoon. I always let speed-dried paint sit on its own for 10 or 15 minutes before I continue painting.
8. Always try to get bodies with protective overspray film on them.
9. You will waste less paint and not risk ruining your paint job if you trim the body completely BEFORE you paint it. For nitro cars this includes body cutouts for engine access, cutting out windows Etc. If the body has no overspray film, use houehold plastice wrap instead.
I'll stop babbling now.
EB
