What paint for airbrushing a polycarbonate body?

[AndyjcClod 389]

I have treated myself to an airbrush and am after some advice on what paint I should use for airbrushing a polycarbonate body?

I have loads of tamiya glass pots of acrylic but I am guessing they wont be suitable?

[njmlondon 570]

You are correct that the acrylic paint is not really suitable. Unfortunately it does not flex and lexan bodies always flex, so all it does is crack and peel.

Unfortunately Tamiya stopped selling their PS (Polycarb) paints in jars and I do not know of anybody who still makes them.

What I did was buy the PS spray can, then spray the paint into a jar and then use it. Worked perfectly. Only really worth the effort though for painting small details where a spray can is total overkill.

[Gnarly Old Dog 4]

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.

[mongoose1983 3335]

Parma Faskolor. Not only it is good paint, but it's also cheap.

[TheManOfBronze 27]

If the Tamiya PS paints in the cans are the same as in the jars, you can decant them like njmlondon suggests. I do this a lot to airbrush with the TS lacquers.

Couple of things to watch out for though - if you decant into a jar, leave the paint to outgas for a while (maybe overnight) without touching the jar and without screwing a lid on tight. It doesn't take much for it to boil at room temperature and go everywhere. After that it's just paint and you can use it like normal. It shouldn't need thinning at all since the consistency from the shaken can is just right for spraying.

For small quantities it's easiest to decant straight into the AB cup. I spray about two short squirts into mine (any more will go all over) and paint with it, then repeat. I tried doing things with straws to make it neater (like WD-40 cans) but basically whatever you do is (potentially) messy, and going direct into the cup wastes less paint. You don't need to wait for it to outgas if you do this, you can paint straight away since the AB cup is open and the quantities are small.

HTH,

Will

[Model Gear Solid 1]

Anyone tried the Proline Airbrush stuff?

https://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/paint/000100220026?brand_sort=&product_sort=&product_show=100#jump

[Raman36 1655]

17 hours ago, Model Gear Solid said:

Anyone tried the Proline Airbrush stuff?

https://www.cmldistribution.co.uk/paint/000100220026?brand_sort=&product_sort=&product_show=100#jump

Proline paint is by Createx. They made them easier to use than normal Createx by making them ready to spray from bottle. I still find the need to thin it, as I live in warmer climate.

The proline stuff is very good. If you mess up, you can start over my using alcohol to remove and restart 

[No Slack 454]

Vallejo also has a range of RC paint. Never used it though. Is this paint usable to airbrush a polycarbonate body?

[bRIBEGuy 3034]

+1 for Parma Faskolor as well.  I'd be hard pressed to use anything other than a water based paint in an airbrush now!  As others have mentioned, most need to be thinned or sprayed at higher pressure.  It has become oddly hard to find here (Canada), so I'm considering trying ProLine/Createx as I have heard it is very similar.

[WillyChang 1814]

Haven’t seen restock of fascolor downunder for many yrs now. 

Some shops have remnants of Proline (I think) but they’re crazy ex & stock looks years stale too. 
 

The fellas at LHS these days are using Vallejo Premium (seems to stick well enough to lexan, no sign of peeling even with their on track antics) or SMS lacquer with a touch of SMS Flex Additive. 

SMS has a huge range from metallics & pearls to crazy flips. 

[rwordenjr 1890]

On 10/3/2022 at 7:06 AM, Raman36 said:

Proline paint is by Createx. They made them easier to use than normal Createx by making them ready to spray from bottle. I still find the need to thin it, as I live in warmer climate.

The proline stuff is very good. If you mess up, you can start over my using alcohol to remove and restart 

Been pretty disappointed with proline. the paint scratches off just by putting body on and off. have you heard of people sealing that proline paint with something? also, any idea of a non acrylic airbush paint for rc cars? i just dont think the acrylic is as durable as other paints