Airbrushed paint-Protective coat?
 

I recently got my first put together foam RC plane, its EPO foam and I was told to use an airbrush and water-based paint, well anyways I figured out the paint rubs off easily with water, and in my case, I'm putting floats on my plane. so of course water is gonna splash onto the paint, and prob ruin it. now I'm getting a bit frustrated because the paint is soo delicate, I put the lowest tack painters tape and I even use the "stick it on pants" trick to get rid of tack, and it removes paint. is there some kind of clear coat or something I can put on the paint to stop it from rubbing away when the water touches it. I've finished most of the paint job by carefully using a clipboard to make edges and I'm planning on using a black decal sheet for the black borders, but ill still have a problem with the water.

I also just found out that the foam I have is safe to use aerosol can paint, so I'm a little frustrated right now because I thought I had to buy an airbrush ....

Thanks, any help will do.

Hello!
Try to use water base polyurethane that is brush on. Not sure about spray on, but could test on a piece of scrap foam. Put three coats on and in between each coat use 000 steel wool. This will also seal your decals down too. It provides a "candy shell" on the foam.

thanks for the reply,
would this stuff do?
https://www.amazon.ca/Rust-Oleum-200...d+polyurethane

That link wanted me to change counties for Amazon, so didn’t open the link. But! I did look up rust-oleum polyurethane water based. I couldn’t find gloss, but saw the matte and satin finish. They should work. My buddy used Minwax, but I don’t think that it matters. Please airbrush basecoat paint on some scrap foam with your paint. Then apply the polyurethane to see if it smears the paint that you are using for basecoat. This way you don’t ruin the paint job on the actual plane. My buddy brushed it on an HSD jet with no issues. Even over the stickers, which sealed the edges. Good luck!

I've sprayed this on a few planes through my airbrush,, come in gloss too
https://www.systemthree.com/products...ethane-topcoat

Any water based paint or clear Poly-U can be sprayed,, you just need to experiment to get the viscosity right for your spray tip,,, use the largest tip on your airbrush for water based paints and use mist coats to build it up slowly,, you try and put "wet coats" on and it will run

good luck


two examples

Does it turn a bit yellowish over time?

Masking tape and foam don't mix. The foam underneath the tape isn't as strong as the paint... so the foam is what releases when you pull the tape... not the paint.

Your paint might well be water proof once it's set and dry... to the point it won't come off in water.

It sounds like what might be happening is you're trying to mask an area that you previously painted... and the color is coming off with the tape... because of the foam base it's on.

Have you actually tested a sample of dried paint with water... or is it that removing the masking tape is the problem? If it is the removal of the tape... just don't put tape on anything you've painted... rather use cardboard of something to create a "blind" when you paint. Sometimes some quite impressive graphics can be done with an airbrush and blinds for masking.

It's either that, or when you paint something on foam... plan the scheme so the masking tape only stays on unpainted areas. I hope this makes sense.

Michaels or Hobby Lobby will have alot of foam safe paint... and are great stores to get that stuff... yes most of which can be sprayed right out of the can. Watch out for weight using clears also... although a light coat is fine... you don't want to load it up with clear paint... and it actually won't help the paint stick to the foam any better.

I actually used a clipboard instead of masking, worked great actually. now the paint was still drying when I accidentally wiped it with water, so maybe since its been sitting for a week its "waterproof" ill do a quick test, lol maybe im thinking too hard about this haha

im in Canada, so im assuming your from the states so thats why.