Painting Lexan Body

[Porsche 928_gts_02 1]

Hello,

I have a new Lexan body, Ferarri 360 F1 for a Tamiya Chasis. I am a newbie when it comes to painting a clear Lexan body. How do I do this, what kinda paint, airbrust or spray, etc. Any links to a 'hot to' would be great.

Also, how do I cut the stupid thing without making look like I hacked it up?

[BiggusDitchus 38]

With regards to painting I normally rub the shell down with very very fine wet and dry (not the windows) to give a key for paint to stick to(you wont see it when it is painted) then wash the shell with a weak solution of washing up liquid and water then thoroughly rinse it... and dry it, then mask off any bits you dont want to paint(windows etc).

Then it is just a matter of spraying a light coat of paint, let it dry and then spray another light coat of paint.... and carry this on till you get a good coverage.. it doesnt need to be thick. The most important thing tho is many light coats is better than one thick one. Some colours need backing off with white, ie. flourescent and candy colours or you can get different effects by backing them off in another colour.

The paint to use is a specially formulated paint for lexan... Tamiya produce some as does pactra and custom colour. Your local hobby store will be able to help you.. It can be bought in aerosol or in little pots for airbrushing.

For cutting out I normally score the lexan with a scalpel and then bend it (it should break where the score is) again a couple of passes with the knife should do the trick first, and a smooth arch around the wheel arches is best as it avoids cracking during use of car.

Curved scissors are also available if you prefer for doing wheelarches and you can also get a hole cutter(a bit like a pair of compasses with a blade instead of a pencil) with this you will get a perfectly smooth circle for wheelarches.

Hope this helps[]

[TWO STAR 0]

for cutting out i use a sharp xacto blade and do a rough cut about

1/8" to the wheelwell then i use a sanding drum in my drill press and just hog out the rest.....the results are great you end up with a perfect wheelwell.

[bholio 0]

I use a big straight scissor to cut all of the straight lines and gradual curves. I cut the wheel wells, and any tight turns roughly, and away from the line and the finish them off with a dremel.

[Pointy 0]

So paint first and then cut? Won't the cutting blister the paint? Or is the paint a bit flexible?

Also a newbie in Lexan []

[Zeemax 0]

Cut 1st then Paint

[Bibbo 3]

Well, I cut it out first, using straight and curved scissors and a sanding block. If you use power tools be careful not to get carried away and grind too much off. Then give a good wash and dry. I dry mine in the airing ( near the hot water tank ) cupboard for a while.

Paint darker colours first because if you put dark over the top of the lighter colours it affects the end result, they will be darker. ( it's all backwards because you are painting inside out ).

Mask off any windows or lines very carefully. ALWAYS use Tamiya masking tape. You won't get a good sharp line with normal tape and the paint will bleed under it. Spary light coats and build them up. Light coats of Tamiya paint drys in a few minutes so it's not painstaking. Look through the body at a light so that you can see how even the layers are.

With all painting it is the preparation that makes the difference from bad and good paint finishes. With Lexan bodies it's the preparation thats MOST important because you can't really do anything about it once you have started spraying, your painting ability is not really an issue here if your prep was good. With poly bodies it's opposite, because it's possible to repair mistakes much more easily, the actual spraying technic is more important for a good result.

One thing to remember is leave the protective film on the outside of the body until you have finished because it keeps all the over spray off.

[]For the best result always take the protective film off after you have finished!!...LOL You would be amazed at the amount of people who don't know it's on there!!...LOVL[]

[ShenUK 1]

Tell me about it i have 2 cars painted with the decals on and still with the protective film crazy [] and it wasn't me that did it lol

i'm about to be painting some bodys thanks for the tip's

[BalmyBaldwin 0]

This may be obvious, but I thought it was worth saying - Paint on the inside of the Lexan, so any slight scratches don't take paint off AND it looks nice'n shiney too[^]