chopper22980

would anyone know if the shells for the rc's are ok to air brush on?if so what kind of paint,i just dont want to eat the plastic up.i do tattoo's and i want to air brush some of the design's that i have made up onto a new shell.i have some down time,so I just want to play around some with the new shell.

Xeller8

You should be fine with just about any kind of paint.

ehroof

they make special paint to paint the bodies. Patco makes it and some other companies. you have to make sure the paint is fleixble since the bodies flex alot otherwise it will just chip and peel away. The body gets painted on the inside which makes it kinda hard to mess up. if you use a candy color or some metallics you will need to do a base coat last usually white or silver.

Xeller8

Seems as though most of the paints any of these companies use chips...peels and flakes off....I think the majority of their problem is bad prep work.

chopper22980

my dad owns a body shop,so im just going to do it all there.he has some of that irradescent paint.yes i know i spelled that all wrong,lol.which im going to add some metal flake to it.its a pretty awesome color.like a blue,purple,and teal mix.i'll post pic's when im done.thanks for the info.

ehroof

Yeah, you should wash the side you are going to paint with dishwashing detegent and warm water, usually dishwashing degergent removes grease and the oil from your fingers (biggest reason why paint does not stick)

Xeller8

I'd also scuff the inside where you are going to paint with some VERY FINE paper ( like 1000 or finer) a very fine scotch bright pad or maybe some #00 or even 000 steel wool...yeah it will dull it (thats what you want for mechanical adhesion) but once you put the paint to it you won't be able to tell as the color will show through just fine...

I also own a body shop so if your Dad does I'm sure he can help guide you through it.[8D]

ehroof

Xeller8, you dont think you will see the scratches if he scratches it on the inside, then paints? if you scuff it on the outside and paint it the paint would hide it, i dont know about the inside though. I would try it on a piece of clear plexi first before you pay $20+ for a body. I'm not in the body shop business but i think the scratches might show though. Wouldnt look nice if you going to spend the time to airbrush.

Xeller8

Going as fine as I posted will leave microscopic scratches (just enough the dull the surface a bit) and you shouldn't see them once the paint is on and fills them back in.

And yes...I'd suggest experimenting on a scrap piece first...I meant to put that in my first post but got pulled away from the office before I could edit. and actually the scratches would show through MORE on the outside if painted over (depending on how course of scratches) as the paint would eventually shrink as it cures allowing it to show the scratches....with the outside being smooth in this case you shouldn't have a problem.

Try scuffing the inside and painting on a scrap that you trim out of the wheel opening or something first if you are worried.

chopper22980

i asked him for some help and he said."will you pay me to help you,cause time is money and money is time.and i have to much work that i will get payed for to do.then he laughed and said"you have been around this business for what 20 years,and you still need dads help with your toys.i laughed so damn hard i almost passed out.so then i said"you have been in this business for over 35 years and you cant just tell me what paint would be ok on plastic without a estimate.i know all about prep i just didnt know if paint for the cars we drive would melt the plastic.

ehroof

i dont think it would bother the bodies, never painted the bodies with anything but paint made for the rc plastic/lexan bodies. I was told that the paint comes with a special additive or more of it so the body can flex without breaking or chipping the paint. Dont they put an additive in paint when they paint bumpers and stuff that is flexible???