Painting the Blackfoot...

[Krankster82 22]

Hey guys, much to my enjoyment, I’m currently building a 2016 Blackfoot...can’t wait to get her finished up...I just wanted to gauge some opinion on painting this one. Obviously the body comes moulded in black plastic - I take it most people will clean, prime and then spray the body? I have seen videos where people just apply the decals without any painting etc but I’m pretty sure it’s worth doing the whole prep and paint thing on the model in order to get the best finish? I’m planning to do it box art colours so will be aiming to achieve the best ‘black’ finish. 

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any other handy painting tips for the Blackfoot! Thanks all! 👍🏼

 

[Lee76 638]

I’ve not seen the Blackfoot done, but I’ve watched a dozen or so videos of the sand scorcher being painted. Most are doing three coats of primer and plenty of wet’n’dry exactly like a full scale car, the final paint will take a good polish and buff and look much better than the moulded abs. Looking forward to seeing how you get on, good luck.

[87lc2 2663]

It does indeed look better with a proper coat of paint, but that's not to say you can't make it looks great without painting.  If you got a clean molded shell in your kit (no discoloration, etc), you can polish the black ABS just as you would paint and it will come out very nice.  I typically do this for runners as they're bound to get scuffed and scratched anyway.

For a nice paint job on ABS you need to prime (2-3 coats with wet sanding in between each coat), spray color (3 coats with wet sanding in between each coat), and then clear if desired.  Once the clear is set wet sand and then compound/polish as you would a 1:1 car for that mirror finish.  It's a ton of work and in my opinion really only worth it for a shelfer.  If you're going to run it and insist on painting you can prime, paint, clear and then just wet sand and buff the final coat and it will still come out very nice.  Will have some orange peel like a 1:1 car, nothing wrong with that.  

[Krankster82 22]

Great advice so far guys - thanks for that! 👍🏼

[Juggular 4964]

If you are going to paint it black, I would skip the priming.  

The reason for priming is to hide the body color (or to make the paint stick on a metal surface or to find flaws after sanding. None of which applies for black paint on a black plastic body).  If you wanted to paint the body yellow, for example, the black body will make the yellow paint look very dingy.  That's why people "prime" the body with "white primer."  To make the canvas white, so to speak, so the yellow color will pop.  

But if you are going to paint it black, making it white and then paint it black again is hardly logical, Captain (says Mr. Spock). 

If the paint chips, the white primer would get exposed, and you will see ugly chips in white.  If black paint gets chipped without primer under it, it's black against black, hardly noticeable.  That's why I'd paint it black without any primer.  

[Nobbi1977 1793]

How good are your painting skills?

a badly painted body will look worse than an unpainted one and it is a lot of work for little difference on a runner. 

[Krankster82 22]

6 hours ago, Juggular said:

If you are going to paint it black, I would skip the priming.  

The reason for priming is to hide the body color (or to make the paint stick on a metal surface or to find flaws after sanding. None of which applies for black paint on a black plastic body).  If you wanted to paint the body yellow, for example, the black body will make the yellow paint look very dingy.  That's why people "prime" the body with "white primer."  To make the canvas white, so to speak, so the yellow color will pop.  

But if you are going to paint it black, making it white and then paint it black again is hardly logical, Captain (says Mr. Spock). 

If the paint chips, the white primer would get exposed, and you will see ugly chips in white.  If black paint gets chipped without primer under it, it's black against black, hardly noticeable.  That's why I'd paint it black without any primer.  

Thanks Juggular, some good points there...would you still recommend washing and then fine sanding the body before painting? 

[Krankster82 22]

1 hour ago, Nobbi1977 said:

How good are your painting skills?

a badly painted body will look worse than an unpainted one and it is a lot of work for little difference on a runner. 

I’d say my painting skills are decent! Although I will run it, I’m not too hard on my cars and don’t batter them too much! I’d therefore like to get the best finish possible! 😄👍🏼

[Juggular 4964]

50 minutes ago, Krankster82 said:

...would you still recommend washing and then fine sanding the body before painting? 

For the most part, I put the shell in a plastic bag.  I take it out only when I paint.  To my eternal shame, half the times, I paint without washing.  But washing is definitely a good idea, because of the mold-release.  They don't apply mold release every time (which is why I've been fine, fortunately).  Unlike cheap Chinese stuff, I have not seen really oily body.  But washing is a good idea, just air dry.  Don't use paper towels, microfiber towels or anything.  They all leave lint.  Just blowing water droplets with a hair dryer (cold air), and letting it dry is enough.  I also paint without sanding, unless there is some imperfection.   

But if I touched it with oily hands, or if my wife touched it with her lotioned hands, or if I sanded any part, I'd definitely wash the body.  I also wash it, if I get a second-hand NIB kit.  (I don't know if the previous guy loved it so much he rubbed his oily face on it, or if he peeled an orange next to it, spraying orange oil all over it, or if his child licked it with a candy in her mouth, or if his cat shed hair on it, or flies kissed it multiple times and got killed on it... probably all of the above... )  

I think Tamiya spray paint is lacquer-based.  It sticks well and stays put for decades.  So I never felt any need to sand for the purpose of making the paint stick.  

 

 

[KEV THE REV 2319]

If you do go for only polish , there is a T-cut black liquid polish , it enhances black finishes . I've used it on plastic and of course my 1:1 car and it works great . Test it on the inside of your shell to see how you like it .

[Peter_B 997]

Here's a pic of my Blackfoot. Vintage chassis with a re-release body. It had the full, washing, priming, sanding, painting, polishing treatment.

Not by me I should add @jonboy1 is responsible for it.

And just for the sake of it, here's my Monster Beetle as well. Also painted by @jonboy1

[Theibault 1535]

So my BF is a heavy runner. As such, I didn't want to spend all that time with paint and prep like I did with my MB. I just sprayed a couple light coats of clear over the black plastic, did the trim in silver and sticker'd it. From more than 2 feet, you can't tell the difference. Here's a pic, it's super dirty so not as shiny as when I get it cleaned lol.

 

[motoguy 1]

11 hours ago, Theibault said:

So my BF is a heavy runner. As such, I didn't want to spend all that time with paint and prep like I did with my MB. I just sprayed a couple light coats of clear over the black plastic, did the trim in silver and sticker'd it. From more than 2 feet, you can't tell the difference. Here's a pic, it's super dirty so not as shiny as when I get it cleaned lol.

 

 

Perfect.  I think this is exactly what I'll do for my runner re-re as well.  I want it to look nice, but it's going to get beat a little, so no reason to invest too much time.

[Krankster82 22]

Hi, Merry Christmas all!!!

Does anyone know why in the Blackfoot 2016 instructions it says to paint the whole body gloss black to start and then to mask off the whole body to paint the bed flat black? 

I’m thinking it will be easier to paint the bed first, and then mask that off and then paint the main body section gloss? 

I think this would be an easier approach to get the same result? Any thoughts? 

[Shodog 1835]

If it’s going to be a runner then skip the paint because the body is going to get scraped and dinged

For shelf queen you should paint it because every time you pass it you’ll recall how you didn’t go the extra on it. 

Several great tutorials out there to help you paint it.  My thoughts is that you should always prime. Times when I didn’t, the paint pulled away from the body lines making the paint look thin in that area.  Here are some shots of mine during the paint process  

 

[Krankster82 22]

3 hours ago, Shodog said:

If it’s going to be a runner then skip the paint because the body is going to get scraped and dinged

For shelf queen you should paint it because every time you pass it you’ll recall how you didn’t go the extra on it. 

Several great tutorials out there to help you paint it.  My thoughts is that you should always prime. Times when I didn’t, the paint pulled away from the body lines making the paint look thin in that area.  Here are some shots of mine during the paint process  

 

Wow! Your truck looks awesome! Great looking paint job! 

Ah man, I was going to prime before painting but the majority of people have said not to bother as I’m going to be painting black onto the already black moulded body.

Not quite sure what to do as I’ve been getting conflicting advice! 😂

Thanks for your advice though! 👍🏼

[Nobbi1977 1793]

If in doubt then prime. Do it gray and then a dust coat of black. When you flat it back you will see and low spots.

Black shows every mark and imperfection. 

[Theibault 1535]

1 hour ago, Krankster82 said:

Wow! Your truck looks awesome! Great looking paint job! 

Ah man, I was going to prime before painting but the majority of people have said not to bother as I’m going to be painting black onto the already black moulded body.

Not quite sure what to do as I’ve been getting conflicting advice! 😂

Thanks for your advice though! 👍🏼

If you are putting paint on the body, always prime. Otherwise you'll slowly watch your paint come off in little patches from running lol.

[Krankster82 22]

Thanks guys! I should have stuck to my initial plan of priming then! Ah well, looks like another trip to the model shop today! At least I haven’t made a start yet and cocked anything up! 😂👍🏼

[Theibault 1535]

I will say one last thing about painting hard bodies. It's very easy to go down the slippery slope of trying to get the "perfect" paint job. That's all well and good for a shelf queen or for photography, but as a runner, don't kill yourself painting it lol. You can't see imperfections in a paint job from more than 2 feet away and if it's going to be run, it'll get scratched up it's first time out. Just aim to make it look how you want it to look and don't worry about 4 coats, wet sanding, 4 coats clear, more wet sanding and so on lol. Just get her painted up and go have fun with it!

[Krankster82 22]

Yeah, I agree, good advice! I obviously want it to look good as I do have my models on display but you’re right, I run them so will get some scuffs and scratches. Getting the best paint job I can is just for my own OCD and enjoyment basically!

Just out of interest, what models do you have? Have you got quite a big collection? 

[KEV THE REV 2319]

If you have a good wet spraying technique then you can get a good final finish right out of the can for a runner :)

[SuperChamp82 743]

Agree with @Shodog + @KEV THE REV - can or none for a runner. 

Factory ‘glass’ finishes with lacquered decals + detailing for shelfers take a very long time to get right.

PM me if you’re interested.

[Theibault 1535]

2 hours ago, Krankster82 said:

Yeah, I agree, good advice! I obviously want it to look good as I do have my models on display but you’re right, I run them so will get some scuffs and scratches. Getting the best paint job I can is just for my own OCD and enjoyment basically!

Just out of interest, what models do you have? Have you got quite a big collection? 

I have a few RCs.

[SuperChamp82 743]

Agree with @Shodog + @KEV THE REV - can or none for a runner. 

Factory ‘glass’ finishes with lacquered decals + detailing for shelfers take a very long time to get right.

PM me if you’re interested.