How to change the color on pre-painted bodies (prepainted midnight pumpkin metallic)?

[DTSCB 85]

From this thread:

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/102045-rc-bumper-cars-what-car-would-be-best-to-do-this/

I'm thinking of getting 4x midnight pumpkins: https://www.towerhobbies.com/product/110-midnight-pumpkin-metallic-2wd-kit/TAM58365A.html

But the body looks to be prepainted metallic silver.

What does it take to change the color?  Can I just paint over it? 

Should I try to track down unpainted ones (looks to be discontinued for now from tamiya)? 

What after market bodies might fit?

Thanks!

 

[Aerobert 1983]

The bodies are chrome plated. There are several ways to get it off the body, like drain cleaner or dish washer tabs. I didn't do that before but I would say that you can also grind them and then paint them. Especially if they are used as a bumper car they probably don't need to be in concourse state.

[TurnipJF 8779]

The metallic finish doesn't take paint very well, but can be stripped off quite easily using oven cleaner which doesn't seem to attack the plastic at all. Once you have removed the metallic stuff, prime and paint as usual for a good, durable finish.

That is the process that I followed with a Tamiya chromed VW Beetle bumper which I painted black and repurposed to fit on my Twin Detonator, and the paint finish has held up very well for several years now.

 

[mike in pa 64]

I would try to find another body. Poke around the net or ebay.

[Tamiyabigstuff 809]

I might still have a MP body still unpainted white plastic.

If I can find it I would be happy to do a swap.

Assume you are in the UK otherwise shipping costs may make it unviable.

[DTSCB 85]

1 minute ago, Tamiyabigstuff said:

I might still have a MP body still unpainted white plastic.

If I can find it I would be happy to do a swap.

Assume you are in the UK otherwise shipping costs may make it unviable.

I am not in the UK.  I'm in the states.  I should update that.

[DTSCB 85]

I found the black body on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/193535291405?hash=item2d0f9a300d:g:XZkAAOSwoqtgqlmq&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAABEEwczF8idz4YJI7IUkTG%2BsU8RpxfaLF0Y1J6aszR%2BIj4AJE2GAMacLNrupqkPDCZFksrHN9APbHo0ogAcaymYPUdwgKpYzLnXvQHr6TofWUw%2BCrpuEa7Bl2XpiAguKREGb%2FU7F7vfKuFpZTyqIoaicl8nmr%2BUSvJQPFKGtNhvHPPEjVIlZdfc0%2F3ZzrVCkMP2oJSG4Zr0CP7PwBR675XWc%2FOwsinusWTlxqmS0TpJb5arbGnZT37kLx86QUSNKrsRpmcKt3E5Kw45436KAphh1URLsqxzKc7rRQsSGYFnqCouHI%2FgVzs3cbEYlq0X4bu9hLW2vJjhuixxjISN9bNfgWnwPZ0K9JYVn1Nmeqf4iYs|tkp%3ABFBMgpXK_75g&shqty=1&isGTR=1#shId

Is this painted? Or just black plastic?  (Inside looks to be black too.)  Is this a candidate to directly paint over?  I plan to change the color on 3x, so I want to avoid extra work if possible. 

Current replacement body comes painted from tamiya:

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/7-digit-spare-parts/rc-body-58365/

Parama PSE has a plastic one, but doesn't seem to be for sale at the moment (or I have to email to back order)

https://parmapse.shptron.com/p/1-12-midnight-pumpkin-tamiya-clear-body

Edit: black body direct $12.50

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/7-digit-spare-parts/rc-body-58547/

Extra black parts (back/front)

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/7-digit-spare-parts/rc-e-parts-58547/

White discontinued body for reference:
https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/7-digit-spare-parts/rc-body-58070/

[DTSCB 85]

I called tamiya customer service and the black body is just black plastic, no paint.  It can be painted.  They do recommend using the fine surface primer first.  87064

https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/finishing/fine-surface-primer-l/

I'm thinking I'll have a chrome body, black body, pink body (for my daughter) and blue body.  My son and wife can fight it out for the blue one.  (Maybe they will have to battle first to see who gets it.)  I'll take whatever is left. 

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Frog Jumper 3478]

The metallic bodies are uncommon to rare, and will one day have value to a collector.

To remove the chrome and then paint a metallic body is equal to remove the gold plating from your grandmothers jewelry and then having it bronzed...

IMO...

Terry

 

[DTSCB 85]

39 minutes ago, Frog Jumper said:

The metallic bodies are uncommon to rare, and will one day have value to a collector.

To remove the chrome and then paint a metallic body is equal to remove the gold plating from your grandmothers jewelry and then having it bronzed...

IMO...

Terry

 

So, you're saying one day, years down the road, someone will find this thread (due to all of the part numbers in it) and try to message me about if I still have the 3 extra metallic bodies? 

[alvinlwh 5280]

Soak overnight in ordinary bleach and the chrome comes off. 

[Frog Jumper 3478]

57 minutes ago, DTSCB said:

So, you're saying one day, years down the road, someone will find this thread (due to all of the part numbers in it) and try to message me about if I still have the 3 extra metallic bodies? 

Exactly!

[Frog Jumper 3478]

I’ll add that I’ve read elsewhere that you can “tint” the chrome by misting it with Tamiya translucent colors.  I’ve never tried it myself though…

[Frog Jumper 3478]

You’ll find a Brazilian tutorials on how to paint the plastic shell, but my only advice is to wash the body in warm soapy water and then dry with a lint free cloth. Do this every time before you apply paint. And once you’re done washing, don’t touch the surface you want to paint. Handle it from the inside.

 

[alvinlwh 5280]

40 minutes ago, Frog Jumper said:

Brazilian tutorials

I searched for that and got these... 🤔

 

[Frog Jumper 3478]

9 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

I searched for that and got these... 🤔

 

 

The advice holds true, no matter the actual subject...

 

[Nikko85 2985]

Remove chrome with bleach, but as others have said perhaps get a black body or a white one? Painting a solid body is easy, I use Hycote acrylic spray paints but many paints work.

The only real issue is that if you roll over and get a scratch you'll get the  plastic coming through, so unless it's a shelf queen pick a colour combo where that looks ok. I painted a red car orange and the scratches looked terrible. 

[TurnipJF 8779]

Another idea is to leave the chrome on the body, and just give it a really good scuffing with Scotchbrite so as to give the paint something to stick to. That way, if the paint gets scratched, there is a good chance that it will reveal the scuffed chrome beneath, giving the appearance of scratches down to bare metal. Et voila! Funky scale patina!

[alvinlwh 5280]

Just had a thought, chromed plastic on static models tends to be weaker than normal plastic, kind of like clear plastic, more brittle. Will it be the same with a chromed body? If yes, you will be better off getting an ordinary body instead. 

[DTSCB 85]

I got black bodies and painted them.  I put black racing stripes in them, aka no paint, but some of my lines bleed paint.  What is the best way to clean this up?  I feel if I painted them black... I might have had more options to just touch up the paint.  So far, I tried cotton swaps and isopropyl alcohol.  It works, but the lines are fuzzy, not crisp like the tape left where it didn’t bleed.

 

[alvinlwh 5280]

5 minutes ago, DTSCB said:

What is the best way to clean this up?

Realistically? Mask up the color part and spray black strips. Nothing you do will make it sharp and clean. 

However, you might be able to scrape the bleeding paint off but I will not bet on the results. 

[Aerobert 1983]

Alternatively you could also make black stripes from adhesive foil. But as you want to use them as bumper cars for some kind of demolition derby I would leave them as they are.

The colours looking pretty cool btw. 👍

[bRIBEGuy 2547]

2 hours ago, DTSCB said:

I put black racing stripes in them, aka no paint, but some of my lines bleed paint.  What is the best way to clean this up?  I feel if I painted them black... I might have had more options to just touch up the paint.  So far, I tried cotton swaps and isopropyl alcohol.  It works, but the lines are fuzzy, not crisp like the tape left where it didn’t bleed.

Tamiya paint remover and Tamiya Triangle Cotton Swabs will do a great job if your hand is steady enough for it.  They have a fine point and are very firm..... combined with the effectiveness of the tamiya paint remover, it's quite effective.  But expensive...

[DTSCB 85]

14 minutes ago, bRIBEGuy said:

Tamiya paint remover and Tamiya Triangle Cotton Swabs will do a great job if your hand is steady enough for it.  They have a fine point and are very firm..... combined with the effectiveness of the tamiya paint remover, it's quite effective.  But expensive...

This paint remover?  https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87183/index.htm

It does say this "Not for use on ABS resin."  I think my black bodies are ABS, no?

 

[bRIBEGuy 2547]

11 minutes ago, DTSCB said:

This paint remover?  https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87183/index.htm

It does say this "Not for use on ABS resin."  I think my black bodies are ABS, no?

 

That's the stuff.

Your bodies will likely be polystyrene.  It's a misnomer that everyone refers to hardbodies as ABS.  Look on the inside of the body, there will be a stamp that says PS (I think it's on the underside of the bed on the Pumpkin).  That denotes material.  ABS = ABS.  PS = Polystyrene.  PC = Polycarbonate.