[Painting in Winter?]

Whenever I use rattle cans I place them in a jug of recently boiled water first to help warm the can and therefore the paint which helps it flow.  It will also increase the pressure in the can so it has to be done EXTREMELY CAREFULLY.  But I will warm it until it's warm to touch (about 20-30seconds in the jug of water) and then hit a coat of paint lightly outdoors and then bring the shell back into the warm to help it flash off.

You do have to be very very careful though as you don't want to over pressurise the can but as you use the paint up  and the paint level drops in the can, so does the pressure and that can lead to spitting and poor spray performance.

I do prefer to use an airbrush but I would primer up with a rattle can and the TS paints are some of the best to paint with.  Clearcoat though - that's a whole different can of worms.  Not properly mastered that yet as it can gas off and react if hit too thickly.

[Backing Paint]

I've always tended to back candies with silver but the pearl may depend on what pearl colour it is and what effect you're after. A pearl purple can turn to an iridescent blue / black if backed with black but could turn more pink/purple if backed with white. Why not attempt a couple of trials with some scrap lexan to be safe?

[An ode to the Hotshot>>New Hotshot video]

Awesome video. Really captures the essence of the Hotshot and is very evocative. Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[What paint for airbrushing a polycarbonate body?]

I've used Parma Faskolor and Pactra RC finish for years on polycarbonate bodies. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Pactra is solvent based - it will spray at a lower pressure when suitably thinned and out of the 2, is probably the easiest to get along with but I no longer use it becasue its solvent based and it's not great for my asthma - even though I wear a mask.

Parma Faskolor can be sprayed without thinning but you need alot of air pressure and for the air temp to be slightly warm but I've found that by thinning it (I use the Fasthinner), I can spray much more easily at 25-30psi (like Pactra) which is well within my compressor's capabilities. It's also water based - so doesn't smell and is kinder to my lungs - although I still try not to ingest it.

I've never tried Createx but there's a host of different water based paints that are very similar and all compatible with Polycarbonate. Just remember to spray the darker colours first and work in reverse to whatyou'd normally do.

The key is in surface prep (key the surface - especially when using water based as they don't attack the plastic like a solvent paint) and in getting a good consistency by thinning. Too thick or too much air pressure, or too thin or too little and you'll end up battling to get a good finish. I tend to thin to begin with at 2:1 (Thiners:Paint) and mess around on scrap lexan or paper until I get a good flow. No different really to using Tamiya Acrylics on a hard body but I've yet to find a paint that sprays as nice as the Tamiya ones so be prepared to adjust your style a little bit.

HTH
Andy.