Mustangman40

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Painting over ultracoat?

I have a new ARF that is done in ultracoat that I want to add some checkerboard to and have to go with paint to get the color I want..

Do you think I should use a primer first or just shoot the color? I plan on scuffing the covering with a scotchbrite pad, cleaning real well with alcohol, masking off and shooting the edges with a clear to prevent any bleeding... The base coat will be White, followed by a Lime Green checkerboard pattern...

I am trying to keep the paint line where it breaks back to the ultracoat as thin as can be as sanding that down and not scuffing the ultracoat will be a chore. Hope that makes sense, thanks for any tips..

Jimbo

jaka

Hi!
The only paint that I know of that stick to Oracover (Ultracote to you in the US) is 2-part boat epoxy. 2-part auto acrylic does not and neither do alkyd water suilable paint (the paint you find in home depot stores, etc)

Mustangman40

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I forget the name of the paint I was going to use, but it is what the RC car guys use to paint their cars with.. I was thinking if I use that clearcoat first over the ultracoat, the color would stick to that??

Another thing I am thinking about doing...
If I pin stripe the area with black ultracoat or monokote first, then mask that off. I will end up with a protective edge to the paint to help prevent chipping around the edges..

Jimbo

Mustangman40

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I also forgot to mention, this is a Gasser. So no nitro!

FallDownGoBoom

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I did the trim/anti-glare panels on my P-47 using Krylon Fusion over Ultracote. I thought that because Fusion is designed to spray directly on plastic it might bond better on Ultracote, and to some extent things came out that way. I used steel wool to roughen part of the Ultracote. It worked out OK, but it's still pretty easy to pull up part of the paint if masking tape is applied over it.

Which could be a problem with your checkerboard finish, because if you're going to mask/paint one series of stripes (say the horizontal ones) first, then remask to paint the alternating checkers, you could end up pulling up the paint. If I was going to do another checkerboard, especially a cowl, I'd mask off the entire alternating pattern with scotch cellophane tape or some kind of vinyl masking tape, then paint the whole thing in one step. I felt I got a better line with those types of tape than the blue painters tape.

OldScaleGuy

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I am not sure this is a good option for you due to your color preference but i did take individual squares of red Ultracote and added them to the tail surfaces of my Chaz 3D 80.

Mustangman40

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I wish I could use film to do the checkerboard but they don't make the color I want, Lime ice is the paint color... It will also go from the fuse which is ultracoat, to the painted cowl.. Im waiting for the motor to come in (mid March)so I can mount it and make my cuts in the cowl that I need, then do the painting.. So I am a good month away from painting it, just doing my homework so i am ready when the time comes...

In the mean time I will make up some test pieces and do my testing before I take it to the plane.. I will post the test pics as I go, I think the clearcoat first is going to be the key to keeping paint from pulling up when Imask off for the checkerboard...........

jaka

Hi!
The paint the R/C car guys use is acrylic paint,thats a one part water suilable paint that does not stick to plastic film that well. It sticks to Lexan good though!
The problem is finding a paint that sticks to polyester plastic. As I said the only paint that I know of is 2-part boat paint (International).
I used 2 part Sikkens autocryl when I did the markings on my Marutaka DC-3 but the panit did not stick well to the Oracover surface, even though I wet sanded it.