alot is going to depend on how your going to paint it ..... airbrush vs rattle can ...... i can only assume since your on a tight budget .... it will be rattle can
Some tips to painting .....
1. clean the body very very well .....i use warm water and just a tad dawn dishwashing liquid .... i use a new green scotch brite pad ...... but make sure you put the window masks in first before doing this !!!! then using the scotch brite pad ..... lightly scuff and clean the entire body ... using the warm soapy water ..... try as best you can to get a good cross hatching of the scuff marks (this helps the paint adhere to the body)
2. once its clean .... dry it completely .... with compressed air if possible .. try not to use any rag... even if they say lint free they can still leave particles on the body ..... plus by drying it with a rag you take the chance of touching the painting surface which will leave grease and oils from your hands on the paint surface.
3. what i do next is coat the entire inside with proline liquid masking ....... put 3 even coats letting it dry for multiple hours ( in the sun if possible ) making sure its completely dry before i move on
4. next step is to use a sharpie and make your paint design on the outside of the body ( make sure you leave the film on the outside of the body for the entire process ) make sure your design is how you want it and where you want it ....
5 next using a new blade on a xacto knife lightly score the liquid mask on the inside of the body around all the window masks and on your entire design .... every line and edge needs to be scored completely through the liquid mask
6. now starting with your darkest color on the car .... SLOWLY peel the liquid mask off the area that be that color ..... be careful in sharp corners and areas where it may not have a clean cut edge .... as you don't want to pull up any masking that you don't want that color your painting
7. Now depending on the paint that you use ( water vs acetone based) i use a adhesion promoter on it first ...... letting it dry completely
8. your first coat of paint should be very very light ..... you should just be able to see the paint through the body ..... let this coat dry completely ...( in the sun if possible)
9 your next 2-3 coats ..... again spray light coats until you get the color density you want ..... and let them dry between each and every coat .....
10 after the color is where you want it ..... back it with backing paint needed for the color .... some colors require white .... others black ..... fluorescents require a white backer ...... some color shifting or dark colors require a black..... do some research here
11 now that your first color is on ....... do the same with each additional color in your paint scheme ...... keeping in mind .. you work from your darkest color to the lightest ...... each color ..... peel the masking for that area ... paint it .... back it and move to the next .....
12 once all colors are on ... put one complete coat of backing over the entire body .... then let dry completely .... the longer the better
13 ...then peel your window masks ..... and the outside protective film .... and done ....
14 put stickers of your choice on the body .....
Ohhh and make sure you use paint designed specifically for rc bodies.... the tamyia paint at places like hobby lobby is NOT for Lexan bodies of rc cars .....
use something like traxas paint, spazstix , proline, duratrax etc .....
