Since I was going over it with Polyurethane I could use regular testors paint. I even was able to get the proper colors for the three-tone in model masters and used an airbrush to spray it. The weight added is minimal, since I used all of the stock covering. If you fiberglass the wings you will add some weight, but the plane flies fairly light so the added weight is not a problem. I can't speak for people that put some type of heavy gas engine in the nose though, since I used a Saito 1.20.