Painting polycarb driver figure body

[burakol]

I know i should be using a PC paint but will an acrylic paint work, or will it just flake off?? 

[alvinlwh]

.

[Willy iine]

Some of my lexan paints are acrylic based.  However as alvinlwh said, I would stay away from, Tamiya acrylics for that especially if brush painting.  

[burakol]

I have a vintage Wild One that needs to be painted. 

If I remember, my Terra Scorcher also had a molded figure from polycarbonate shell and I may have used an acrylic pen for it which I painted on the outside... I guess I have to look at it again and see if it held fine... however this time, I do plan on using a brush and actual acrylic paint... 

[Willy iine]

On 9/23/2021 at 7:59 PM, burakol said:

I have a vintage Wild One that needs to be painted. 

If I remember, my Terra Scorcher also had a molded figure from polycarbonate shell and I may have used an acrylic pen for it which I painted on the outside... I guess I have to look at it again and see if it held fine... however this time, I do plan on using a brush and actual acrylic paint... 

I think if the acrylic is thick enough it can work.  And since the driver is inside a cage, no issue with direct hit unless you drove your car into a bush.. 

[taffer]

My terra scorcher driver I painted with tamiya acrylics but also did a final matte seal with PS clear, all good so far

[Grastens]

I actually painted a polycarbonate driver figure by starting with a coat of PS-55 Flat Clear, and then painting on the acrylics. The PS-55 keys the surface of the material, which allows the other paint to adhere to it better.

More recently, on a Terra Scorcher, I used PS-5 Black on the figure (which was part of a chassis cover, painted on the outside) and then painted regular acrylics on top. Granted, the driver figure is not really a load-bearing member, but the result is still free of flaking or chips!

[SuperChamp82]

+1 re @Grastens advice 

PS paint also absorbs any underlying flex w/o cracking the acrylic 

[burakol]

Thanks. I will try to paint my Wild One tomorrow and see how it goes. Ive decided to just use a regular acrylic paint without any type of prepainting whatsoever… i kust need to make sure surface is clean before i start brushing the paint. I recognize that it will take a few coats to fully cover the polycarb shell.

[alvinlwh]

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[burakol]

On 10/17/2021 at 9:58 PM, alvinlwh said:

When you say "regular" acrylic paint, what do you mean? Tamiya X/XF? Mr hobby C? Both these (and a hand full of others) are not true acrylics and should not be used. 

 

just a set of acrylic paint i have in my classroom; no name brand... it looks like it is adhering ok. I just had to put multple coats and let it air dry. I applied the paint on the underside of the shell where it will be less prone to surface scratching.. I'l' post a photo when I'm done. 

[alvinlwh]

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[Albert Attaboy]

On 10/18/2021 at 3:58 AM, alvinlwh said:

When you say "regular" acrylic paint, what do you mean? Tamiya X/XF? Mr hobby C? Both these (and a hand full of others) are not true acrylics and should not be used.

Why is that?

Never had an issue with Tamiya X/XF paints for polycarbonate cockpits/drivers.

[alvinlwh]

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