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legau

Body painting questions

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Hey Guys,

i know there is hundred of topic about tips and tricks for the painting, and I read a lot of them. Anyhow, I still have unanswered questions and still want to have your recommendations.

i will prepare a Lancer Evo X body shell in a few days. I know exactly what I want as a color : the PS37 translucent red.

first question :

- I know I have to back With grey but I find the result really dark. What option do I have if i want a more flashy red ?

- the ps black is black and non metallic. Can I use the TS paint to have the metallic black ? Or any idea how to have a really shiny black?

- if I  want my hood and my roof black, and I use the ps37 red, how would you do the masking ? Because if I back with black, even on the grey, I fear the red will be darker, no?

- is it possible to do a carbon like paint for the hood ? 

Other questions, more recommendations actually :

- how do you finish the cutting of the shell ? I use a dremmel but the result is not perfect. Any other tips ?

- how do you cut it ? With cissors, knife or both ? What would be the best ?

- for the stickers, I read the water + soap technique. Any other good thing to know ?

- about the lights, do you have a kit you recommend to put led on the head and tail lights ?

i think that’s it for the moment, please don’t hesitate to tell your stories if you think that would help me ;)

Thanks

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The order of painting colors is extremely important. Generally you want to go darkest-to-lightest, and then back it with something really opaque. For what you're doing, I would say do the black areas first, then the red, and then back the whole thing in 2 coats of silver or white (not gray), and then another backer coat in black.  You know you're painting the inside of the body, not the outside, right?

Don't use the TS paint on a polycarbonate body; it doesn't flex and will just chip off. The black areas will be high-gloss like the rest of the body, as soon as you peel off the outer mask.

For the carbon-fiber look, I've seen it done with paint, actually. They laid that grippy rubber shelf stuff over the area as a mask, hit it with a light mist coat of silver, and then removed the mask and painted it black. The result was a pretty good imitation of woven carbon fiber. You may want to practice on a scrap of clear plastic (soda bottles are perfect for this) before trying it on your expensive body.

Otherwise, you can buy printed "carbon fiber" vinyl that looks good, too. If there's a sign shop nearby, maybe even ask them for a scrap piece?

Trimming: I use two tools - a pair of small curved scissors for wheel wells, and an X-Acto knife with a NEW blade for the straight areas. For straight lines, don't try to slice all the way through - just score a line and bend the material back; it will snap off. Body mount holes (if not pre-drilled) are best done with a drill or a hand reamer.

I'm terrible at decals, so I'll leave that advice to someone else...

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Yo!

My amateur level advice is as follows:

You don't have to back with grey at all -maybe silver if you want some metallic effect. Backing with White normally keeps a colour bright!

With painting start with the darkest colours first. This makes making much more of s pain sometimes but it's the only way to not have your colours dampened etc. 

For carbon parts I would pick out some carbon fibre vinyl and put it over the top of the body. Tamiya make some and so do HPI. Smooth it into the shame and trim with a sharp knife. 

I never got the hang of using scissors for a body. I always use a knife and clean up with sandpaper/maybe a file for detail.

 

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mbysxyk.jpg

Olfa is a Japanese brand.  It is better than X-acto, in my opinion.  

Curved areas like wheel wells, most everybody uses curved scissors.  

fONRBJE.jpg

As you guessed, masking on already painted area isn't a great idea. (Paint would be strong enough for masking tape if it had been dried for a week or so. But most people aren't that patient)  

So, as @markbt73 alluded already, you complete one area and move on to another section.  That way, you minimize masking on already painted area.  

On red: Most people would back it with silver after red, not dark colors like grey.  Whatever you spray after red will shown through. 

1) White will make it really bright (perhaps too bright? It depends on your taste)

2) Silver will make it a lot darker than white, but the red will be heavier and aged.  

3) Red will deepen the translucent red. 

Translucent red first, then hit it with regular red, or brighter red like Italian racing red. Or one of those sparkly reds.  The red will be deeper, I would assume.  I haven't done it myself, so I'm just guessing.  

You can even spray Blue, to make the color purple-ish, depending on the angle of view.  

 

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Thanks for the replies and tips.

Yes it is silver and not grey, my bad. (Tamiya PS12).

i think it is metallic silver which gives the translucent red his shiny part.

I should test with white or red backing as you suggest. 

For the black, I still have no solution. I don’t like the simple black in the PS cans. I really want a metallic shiny black, but they don’t have that :-(

Any idea for a metallic black ?

 

 

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Trimming

There is no one way to do it perfectly. It's a combination ;)

  • For small areas not suited to curved scissors - use a scoring blade (very lightly!!) to score a line along the cutting groove printed on the body.
    • Score very lightly once. Then very lightly again along the same line. Then after a third time, you might be at the point where you can snap the lexan off.
  • For everything else, use Tamiya curved scissors as mentioned above.
  • After cutting, I also very gently sand paper along the edges to straighten out the cut - being careful not to rub the sand paper against the sides of the shell of course.

Decals

...are my favourite part. B)

  1. Trim the decal close to the graphic, and use proper Tamiya Decal scissors. They make a world of difference over regular scissors. https://www.umpretail.com/products/tamiya-decal-scissors
  2. Line the decal up in the place you want to put it, before peeling it. Get a feel for where it needs to go, before you do anything. Consider your life, your family, your job, and the universe....;) ....and refer to both the build manual and the Tamiya catalogue photos, for best/correct position.
  3. Choose a starting point for one particular edge of the decal - e.g. "the top left starts near X part of the body". Consider the start, direction and endpoint of the decal.
  4. Wipe the area where the decal needs to go (to remove your fingerprints), with a cloth carrying some surface cleaner - like Un-du. This is great and won't hurt lexan in any way. https://www.un-du.com/
  5. For large decals, peel the decal, and apply just the edge of the first corner where it needs to go - and decide if this is correct. If it is, roll the rest into place - smoothing out any bubbles as you go, to ensure they aren't caught underneath. You can use your fingers, for control.
  6. For small decals - use Tamiya decal tweezers. I prefer the angled ones. https://www.mightyape.com.au/product/tamiya-angled-tweezers/26074188

Matter of fact, I did a body last night.

Finishing off a new built vintage Super Shot. This will actually be a runner.

image.png.8d7dd6088995748b6856316425cb08c3.png

image.png.9cbd19c81d75053d3626424681410540.png

image.png.c12f9213b14ddf7342caf4d98c51c61c.png

 

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Hi.

I just would like to encourage you not to give up on Dremel just yet. I find it totally irreplaceable when it comes to finishing polycarbonite bodies.

I start with scissors (both straigth and curved) but only cutting to the final line if its easy enough to cut very accurately. Otherwise I leave a few millimeter extra.

The second step is drilling holes with specialized reamer like this https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/tools/rc-car-body-reamer/ (there are more economic versions available). The reamer is also used when cutting end points for rounded rectangles.

The third step is the Dremel work. I mostly use the sanding bands attached to the rubber drum. The larger band preferable but some smaller parts require the smaller drum. I use roughly half rotational speed and move the sanding band on body edge quite fast and as long way as possible each time. I keep the band in angle (just not 90 degrees) to the edge and keep switching from side to side to keep the annoying "melt" plastic flash in minimum. I have not had big issues with the protective film peeling off but anyhow in such cases masking tape fixes any problems easily.

The top edge of the sanding band can be used to create neat 90 degree angles in locations where scissors are not an option. The abrasive cutting wheels can be used finishing the rounded rectangles. Just go very careful with the wheels and also keep eye on the Dremel's socket itself does not accidentally touch the body when working very close to the body.

The fourth step is sanding all the edges to more smooth finish and removing the flash from Dremel work with 400 grit paper. You can go very easy with sanding, just 3-5 swipes should be enough for perfect edge.

Please see the attached picture for something that's next to impossible achive without Dremel or similar power tool.

dremelled avante.jpg

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9 hours ago, Gazebo said:


Hi.

I just would like to encourage you not to give up on Dremel just yet. I find it totally irreplaceable when it comes to finishing polycarbonite bodies.

I start with scissors (both straigth and curved) but only cutting to the final line if its easy enough to cut very accurately. Otherwise I leave a few millimeter extra.

The second step is drilling holes with specialized reamer like this https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/tools/rc-car-body-reamer/ (there are more economic versions available). The reamer is also used when cutting end points for rounded rectangles.

The third step is the Dremel work. I mostly use the sanding bands attached to the rubber drum. The larger band preferable but some smaller parts require the smaller drum. I use roughly half rotational speed and move the sanding band on body edge quite fast and as long way as possible each time. I keep the band in angle (just not 90 degrees) to the edge and keep switching from side to side to keep the annoying "melt" plastic flash in minimum. I have not had big issues with the protective film peeling off but anyhow in such cases masking tape fixes any problems easily.

The top edge of the sanding band can be used to create neat 90 degree angles in locations where scissors are not an option. The abrasive cutting wheels can be used finishing the rounded rectangles. Just go very careful with the wheels and also keep eye on the Dremel's socket itself does not accidentally touch the body when working very close to the body.

The fourth step is sanding all the edges to more smooth finish and removing the flash from Dremel work with 400 grit paper. You can go very easy with sanding, just 3-5 swipes should be enough for perfect edge.

Please see the attached picture for something that's next to impossible achive without Dremel or similar power tool.

dremelled avante.jpg

No I don’t give up on Dremel at all. I love this tool and I use it with several different heads. The same as yours for the gross work, and the one that really polish to finish. The result is pretty neat but of course you still have to correctly cut initially. 

I started the painting of the lancer today. I finally didn’t find a black metallic paint so I gave up on black for the hood and roof. However, I use the ps37 translucent red with another silver, semi metallic anodised. I have to check for the number. We will see for the result since it is my first translucent paint. 

To be honest, I am not aiming the queen shelf one. Just a correct painting that reflects a potential existing model, that’s it.

i also bought the led lights :-) I will post some pictures of the project. 

I can already tell that this can spray are really ****ty, I already have “spits” in the paint at some places, just because the can was not totally straight. Well, I knew that but translucent is not that kind of paint that forgives. Anyway, she will ride sooner than expected ;)

i look forward to see the final result with a black backing for the bumpers and the air entries on the hood. 

Cheers

 

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Here is a pic of the body with 3 layers of red and 3 of silver (ps48). 2B092538-8D85-435A-97C3-E523ACB647E4.thumb.jpeg.5a20f75e6b00442730eed936f101c7f0.jpeg

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4 hours ago, legau said:

I can already tell that this can spray are really ****ty, I already have “spits” in the paint at some places, just because the can was not totally straight.

You probably already did this, but I just want to add a last snippet of (probably obvious) advice for others, especially newcomers...

Always use brand new spray cans at the beginning of any valuable project. No sense re-using a previously used can to try to get the last bit of paint out of it....on a model worth hundreds (or maybe thousands) of dollars. It's not worth the risk ^_^

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Paint is dry, removing the plastic cover. I’m happy with the result. The only bad point is the holes in the body for the support. I know tamiya has some tools but anyway, it is never easy to do it correctly, even on genuine body. 

D5B18F8B-ED18-484E-803D-0A1A11DBC4E2.jpeg

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9 minutes ago, legau said:

Paint is dry, removing the plastic cover. I’m happy with the result. The only bad point is the holes in the body for the support. I know tamiya has some tools but anyway, it is never easy to do it correctly, even on genuine body. 

That looks a nice shade of red:wub: 

Whats your plan for the windows? Are you putting the stickers over them, cutting out the frames, or something else?

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2 minutes ago, jupitertwo said:

That looks a nice shade of red:wub: 

Whats your plan for the windows? Are you putting the stickers over them, cutting out the frames, or something else?

For the windows, I will just remove the masking, on the front there is some stickers I will use, same for the rear. Nothing on the sides, but there is 2 mirrors each side so result should be nice. 

I already cut out the masking for the side windows, normallly it was in one block. 

I bought the leds for the lights, and now I’ll wait 2 days for the paint to be very dry to install the accessories (wipers, mirrors, lights, diffuser, spoiler...), then the lights, then the stickers.

next episode in a week ;)

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