Paint Bleed 😠

[mr crispy 2297]

Had a real mare of a bleed on my Mitsubishi Evo VI bodyshell today. I'd prep'd it well, cleaned, fully dried, masked up with decent Tamiya paint on the mask lines and backed up the rest with DIY tape and cling film. Made sure all the Tamiya tape was fully rubbed down and lined up.

For some reason I decided I didn't need to warm the spray can like I usually do when painting hard bodies (stand it in a pot of warm water to raise the pressure and get a finer spray). Thinking about it I also didn't shake the can for long to mix up the paint. I did a few light misting coats to seal in the mask and they dried fine. But when I laid down a heavier coat I noticed the paint was a bit more watery then I'd expect. Stupidly I went over it again and left to dry.

Going back to apply some more costs I noticed the initial misting coats had almost gone in patches and where the paint had pooled and bubbled it had gaps. That's when the alarm bells rang. I couldn't see any runs at that point so carried on backing it up to get a nice opaque white colour.

Once it was dry I found the runs... my guess is the heavier coats dissolved the misting layers and if it wasn't properly mixed, the solvent (?) in the paint then leached into the tape in the weakest places and soaked right under the DIY tape too!

Here's the results 😔

Terrible and right on the flippin bonnet too! Now I know all is not lost. In the past I've used cellulose thinners on ploycarb to remove unwanted paint but the stuff I currently have eats PC plastic! So can anyone suggest the best method to clean up the paint runs? It was Fastrax PC spray paint.

Nic

P.S. Note to self: Don't scrimp on half the paint prep in future you numpty! 😠

[mongoose1983 3362]

That is unfortunate indeed. I hope you can fix it!

Have you considered to use Humbrol Maskol for the lines, combined with tape for larger areas?

Best of luck!

[pizzachaude 130]

Tamiya polycarbonate paint cleaner, ever since I started using that stuff I swear I will never use anything else. Safest for lexan!!

[Incredible_Serious 108]

Tamiya polycarbonate paint cleaner, ever since I started using that stuff I swear I will never use anything else. Safest for lexan!!

What he said..... after every paint job where I stuff up the lines (note I say WHEN, not IF), I get in there with a cotton bud or something and the Tamiya Polycarb Cleaner. The sooner the better, as the paint is a little softer before it fully cures.

Alex

[salvine 129]

I have also used lacquer thinner with no issues. I highly rec testing it of course as not all are created equal. The brand I have works fine. Take paint right off and no damage to lexan.

[mr crispy 2297]

Thanks guys, I'll check out those products. Feel like a right novice 😕

[MadInventor 3888]

If all else fails I'd try a wet sand with some very fine wet 'n' dry.

[XV Pilot 1937]

Alternatively you could change your plans regarding the colour scheme.

They look good in white!

[GregM 1113]

Some information about polycarbonate paint removal:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77021&p=592667

I hope this helps.

Cheers, GregM

[tagnut69 4]

Had the same thing happen on my mf01x, nail varnish remover on a cotton bud worked a treat.

[Darat76 267]

After getting some bleeds on a body I painted, I was told by the retailer of the kit I had built that a little bit of nitro fuel on a cotton bud will take it off, provided it hasn't fully cured

[Tamiyabigstuff 880]

I've painted a few polycarbonate bodies and even with careful masking, making sure the tape is well stuck down on sharp curves there is usually some bleed somewhere.

I've found using a very sharp pointed modelling knife to lightly trim the unwanted paint and then carefully 'picking' at the excess paint with the point of the blade works for me.

Best done before the paint has fully cured.

Lexan is pretty tough and the fine scratches, if any, really don't show and in any case vanish completely when colour is applied over it.

PC spray paint is quite thin and prone to runs if applied too thickly - I think we all get a bit 'keen' to get our model painted quickly but several thin coats works best.

Good preparation & plenty of patience is the key !

[Byteme909 27]

may I ask what color you are painting the rest of the car? it looks like you are trying to do the WRC scheme of red/white which means you should have laid down the red first before the white. the way you started this body it is highly possible that the red will show through under your white coat. rule of thumb for polycarb bodies is the opposite of painting hard bodies; you would want to go dark to light instead of light to dark.

[mr crispy 2297]

Yeah I had considered that but I didn't want the white interior that will leave as I'm hoping to go with a full cockpit. That's why I laid down such a heavy white coat. I figured I'd lightly mask over the white arears once fully dry and go over with the red to "hopefully" avoid any pinking or the two colours running into each other.

[Byteme909 27]

full cockpit with red would not be a problem. all you would have to do is lay down the red first with the white areas masked, then re-mask the interior that you don't want white paint to hit, spray the previously masked area in white and you should have the result and paint scheme you were looking for. only thing to be careful with is masking off areas previously painting because you can accidentally lift the paint off if your masking tape is too strong.

also the areas where the white bled are deeper channels in the body; its very difficult to get the tape to conform to those types of curvatures. personally I've went as far as using electrical tape because it tends to be very rubbery and sticky and conforms well to tight areas without bubbling. but electrical tape tends to be very thick so you have to trim before use.

[Darat76 267]

You could try some liquid mask, you prep the body just like you would for painting, spray the mask on, draw the design you want on the protective film then carefully put the cutlines in the mask. Trick is, when doing the cut lines to peel out the unneeded mask, you can't press to hard, or you will score the body, which won't be visible once painted, but will create a weak spot in the body.

you should always paint your dark colors first, no matter how much paint you put on, it will still show through the color underneath. I recently painted a body, did a very basic red with silver stripes paint job on it, I did 2 light coats, 1 medium coat, and 1 thick coat of red, before I applied the silver I could still see through the red, I then removed the masking tape for the stripes, applied the silver, I couldn't see through the red after this, but I could see through the silver, i then backed it with 2 coats of white, removed the window masks and protective film, and find I had some minor bleeds here and there. Wasn't happy about the bleeds, but was happy overall as it was my first attempt at painting a body.