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burakol

Painting polycarb driver figure body

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2 hours ago, burakol said:

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

From what I know, do not use Tamiya XF or Mr Hobby H acrylic but "pure/real" acrylic like Vallejo or Mig. 

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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.  

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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... 

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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.. :blink:

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

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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!

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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.

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21 hours ago, burakol said:

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.

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. 

If you are referring to Vallejo, Mig, Revell Aqua, then they will work but they are rather weak. Make sure you back them with primer followed by clear. (I am assuming you are painting from the inside. If outside, primer > finish color > clear. 

This is painted a mixture of acrylic paint markers, Vallejo, Revell Aqua backed with Vallejo Air Black followed by Vallejo silver primer (just what I have to hand) and then sealed with Vallejo clear. 

The actual head is normal PS so was primed with Mr Surfacer and finished with Mr Color C, Vallejo Game, paint markers and fineliners. 

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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. 

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22 minutes ago, burakol said:

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. 

Yes, no name or craft acrylics are "true acrylic" and should work. Just that some are far too thick for spraying and require lots of thinning down. And some modellers turn their noses up at them! Personally, I use them for texturing my dioramas as they are cheaper than model texture agents. 

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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.

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48 minutes ago, Albert Attaboy said:

Why is that?

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

It had been discussed to death and cause for many flame war over at the static model forums.

Tamiya acrylic dry hard and is not as flexible as, say Vallejo acrylic. Therefore shocks or flex can cause it to flake off, as seen on many forum posts including this forum. I had personally tested this on tank tracks were XF56 came straight off completely while Vallejo stayed on. That is an extreme test but it shows the difference in flexibility and adhesion between the two. 

If you never had a problem, good for you. 

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