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Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric paint

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I've done a plastic shell recently using clear coat adhesion promotor and automotive enamel and lacquer paints -- both of which are now beginning to chip after a few impacts. :o (Dissappointed, but looking forward to doing the shell all over again or buying another shell.)

But what about Dupiicolor Vinyl and Fabric coating?

This paint is supposed to be very flexible and one source says it doesn't chip or crack on RC shells.

Anyone have experience using it?

Please note: I'm looking for opinions from those who have actually used the paint on Lexan. I'm not looking for "Just use PS spray" rejoinders.

Thanks.

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For the record: Yesterday I finished re-painting my Lunchbox with Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric paint, which so far is holding up great. I used Gloss Black and Vinyl Red.

I pretested the paint on those difficult to open, clear plastic that often packages electronic devices, in my case a bluetooth-to-usb adaptor.

On that plastic, the paint was smooth and felt like it was a part of the plastic, and did not chip or seperate, no matter how much I bent it. So I figure the paint won't with the Lexan. And so far my LB has had a few rollovers with no starbursts or cracks or chips -- totally unlike the automotive paints that I used that seperated and cracked on the first impact.

I did also use Rustoleum Acrylic Laquer Gold Metallic paint, which is basically the same type of paint as the automotive lacquers that I used and chipped off. But it held up without a problem so I reused it for the smaller bumper areas.

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I'm thinking of painting the actual bumper of the Lunchbox from black to gold too. Should be fun, if I decide to do it.

BTW, getting off the first paint job was a huge PIA. I had to use Dot4 brake fluid and then even after that a lot scrubbing was involved as the enamel black that I used didn't dissolve the way the lacquer paint did. But all's well now. The fabric paint is proving to be a good alternative. But we'll see. -- I'll update this thread if that paint ever does crack, chip, or seperate.

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These things are easy to paint and quick to dry, my LB with bumper spray-painted gold:

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I do recommend Rustoleum Metallic lacquer paints, considering they wear well under flex. I'm guessing the paint consists of tiny specks of metal, which makes it malleable to contours and surface changes.

I think I like the bumper gold.

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Could you let us posted on how well it holds up after a bit more bashing? I would have thought that it would be too flexible and therefore easily get marred whenever anything inside touched it. If you end up doing another, there are some excellent lexan paints available from a whole host of manufacturers. Not entirely surprised you had issues with Enamel and Lacquer paints. They are very brittle after they fully harden and can't handle the amount of flex you get from Lexan. Anyway, would be interested in how the fabric and vinyl paints you have used hold up over time.

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Hi.

I'm certain about it now. If you don't feel like buying small cans of hobby paint specifically, or if you don't have access to them, then the Vinyl paint is a good alternative and can be found in many auto parts places.

Anyway, to test the shell out more, after work, I bashed this thing HARD but not for too long, about 20 minutes, I'd say. But during those 20 minutes my Lunchbox was doing a lot of somersaults and front flips and such and landing on all 4s. - I love my backyard for bashing, and when I have the smaller Traxxas Jato Victory tires on, my Lunch Box is fun to drive in a distinct way considering that pebbles become like little ramps in themselves. It's nice but I don't recommend it if your dampers suck.

The result after the bash: No chipping or seperation. I'm pretty sure at this point, what I need to worry about, is not the paint, but the **** Lexan itself, considering there's now two small tears in the Lexan on the exact same spot in the opposite sides of the body. I'll have to looking into fortifying the inside with Shoe Goo that everyone seems to use. But bashing is why I bought the lexan in the first place, so I don't mind. I feel liberated now. :)

What the paint looks like after the bash and with a little dry paper towel wipe down (note: I ran through a 4 inch puddle of mud accidentally, so there are some specks of dry mud water on the inside of the shell that you'll see):

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Vinyl & Fabric Paint is definitely recommended! The only thing about it is that you're not going to get the broad and fancy array of colors. I think my parts store only had burgundy red, some sort of blue, gloss black, flat black, and vinyl red, and maybe white. The choices are going to be limited.

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the solvent added to paint to make it adhere to lexan and stay there is MEK Methyl Ethyl Ketone. some enamels and laquers don't have enough added or none at all. i use nothing but PPG or dupont urethane base coats on all my lexan bodys and have for over 20 years with ZERO problems with flaking off. Some rattle cans now on the market do have enough MEK a couple i know people who have used that work are Krylon Fusion and Rustoleum "Painters Touch". do you have to uses tiny cans of hobby lexan paint to paint a body? No! however i feel spending $25-$35.00 on a body to experemnt with to save a couple bucks is crazy but thats just me. :mellow:

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I paid 20 us dollars for the body, and 12 dollars for the two cans of fabric paint. The gold Rustoleum I believe was 5 dollars.

The automotive paints that I bought and wasted on the body the first time around can be used for other stuff. Knowing myself, I'll find a use for the two cans of paint eventually. Indeed, I'll be using the black enamel soon enough, as soon I get around to working on the minor rust problem going on the power booster of my car, rusting probably due to the brake fluid spillage by the master cylinder that I had to replace and bleed while on the car, rather than on the bench, a few months back.

Vinyl and Fabric coating paint is for painting dashboards, vinyll or fabric seats, which explains why they are so flexible. I'm not sure if they have any MEK in them, though, but that's an interesting bit of information.

I'll be using the Vinyl red that I have to paint over two old kitchen chairs that I have. That's the amusing part of this hobby. I never really painted before, and now I feel like I've got a good base of experience to paint other things, all due to RC.

How much do hobby stores sell cans of paint for the Lexan? I have a Baldre DB01 coming in and I'm going to try to step up my game as a painter and would be interested in using the more esoteric colors. I'll need better masking tape. I had some bleed problems with the Lunchbox.

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the hobby store paints are not all that pricey to be honest and do go a long way with tons of fancy pearls ,metalics to pick from,for the headaches using the polycarb paints are the way to go IMHO. Unless you have access to urethane base coats and a airbrush or use the polycarb paints in hobby stores you will be limited to colors as well.

The polycarb paints are made just for that purpose all these other hardware/corner auto store paints are not. But hey there is nothing wrong with being a trailblazer. :mellow:

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But hey there is nothing wrong with being a trailblazer. :D

Of course not! To be honest, that's what makes this hobby so fun. A lot of it is educational. Either you're learning how to paint. Or you're learning about different kinds of paint. Or you're learning about different types of power sources and batteries. Or you're learning how to build. Or you're thinking outside of the box for the sake of solving problems and making a home-made modification to your car. :blink:

I think that's the essence of why people like RC and Tamiya so much. As a whole, Tamiya model kits tend to push people to learn and build rather than just plug and play. And, relative to the stuff that a few of my acquaintances do -- for example, swapping V8 engines into their small passenger cars for fun -- it's a lot cheaper and easier.

--

More bashing done and for some odd reason my LB has the tendency to land on all 4s after rolls, lately, but no seperation. No chips. That's a given now. The paint doesn't seperate when you paint it on fabric and sit on it. So why would it chip on an RC car? The only reason I had my doubts is the thick number of coats that I used.

The body itself now has a lot more scratches and a few scuffs now. -- But I call that character, a proper basher. ;)

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you can use 3m blue fine line tape for clean tape line it comes in many different widths. you can find it at automotive supply stores.(not the blue at a hardware store either)

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