OK, never painted before, tips please

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Arrma RC's
  1. Typhon 3s
Hey guys, I have a Typhon 3S shell on its way and I'm gonna give spraying a go, just a single colour, nothing crazy and I'm looking for tips and tricks to get it looking good

What have you got for me, what should and shouldn't I be doing?

Thanks in advance
 
Assuming you are using rattle can polycarbonate spray? If so, do very fine coats to start, like so you can barely see it. After the second or third coat you can go on “heavier” - but the coats should still be pretty light. Allow each coat to fully dry before starting the next one, as impatient as you may be to crack on and do more, as it’ll stick better and hold up to scratches better.

I usually use a big empty cardboard box as a spray booth, to both protect the spray from any breeze and to stop the spray getting on anything in the garden!

Hold the can about 15cm away from the body as you spray, you don’t want to be too close or it’ll go on too thick and run. I find it easiest to do small bursts, moving my wrist to move the can across the body. Some recommend to start spraying off/away from the body and then move the can across the body and off the other side but I just made a mess doing this.

I saw someone, somewhere, suggest practising on a cut open empty coke bottle or similar, to get the hang of it. Sounds like a good idea, better than the 2 dodgy bodies I first painted lol.

I know you said you are only planning a single colour, but most will benefit from being backed with another colour, usually white, silver or black. Black will make the final colour darker and more muted, white and silver will be brighter. If you are going with a metallic colour definitely use white or silver.
 
Wash your hands first. Wash the inside good with a li dish soap, dry it off. Use a good polycarbonate paint and spray. Light coats it will probably take about 4 coats to get good opaque. Hold it up to the light to see areas that you missed Between coats. As the final coat I used the krylon fusions black or white depending on the color.
 
And for the spray can itself, shake the hell out of it for a minute or two before using to make sure it’s well mixed. Then when you have finished a coat, turn the can upside down and give it a squirt to clear the nozzle. Before you start the next coat give it a quick test spray on to something (like the cardboard box if you are using one) to make sure it’s still firing a fine mist of paint and not spitting or dripping out-if it is your going to need to clean the nozzle before using it again.
 
Place the cans in a little warm water for a few minutes before painting. I've read that this helps increase the pressure inside the can and produces a better spray/mist. Also, make sure you wipe the nozzle after each coat to stop it blocking up and causing paint splatters.

Finally, hold the shell up to the light after each coat to help see if you've missed a spot or there's any uneven coverage.
 
And for the spray can itself, shake the hell out of it for a minute or two before using to make sure it’s well mixed. Then when you have finished a coat, turn the can upside down and give it a squirt to clear the nozzle. Before you start the next coat give it a quick test spray on to something (like the cardboard box if you are using one) to make sure it’s still firing a fine mist of paint and not spitting or dripping out-if it is your going to need to clean the nozzle before using it again.
Amazing, thanks again
Place the cans in a little warm water for a few minutes before painting. I've read that this helps increase the pressure inside the can and produces a better spray/mist. Also, make sure you wipe the nozzle after each coat to stop it blocking up and causing paint splatters.

Finally, hold the shell up to the light after each coat to help see if you've missed a spot or there's any uneven coverage.
Great little tip, thank you
 
Good stuff! How about other things, like masking and lining out details? After it's done, will shoe goo ruin my lexan paint job?
 
No damage from shoegoo, just let it dry for 24h or whatever the minimum is for the specific paint. Make sure you do light coats.

You can circumvent the long wait times between coats by using a hairdryer as well. Paint, 30s-1min with hairdryer and next coat will work fine for single coats. Using stripes etc I'd let it cure for 24h.
 
Good stuff! How about other things, like masking and lining out details? After it's done, will shoe goo ruin my lexan paint job?
Use decent model masking tape like the stuff you can get from tamiya. I used household tape before, and even the quality decorators tape is rubbish and lifts leading to bleeds. Never had a problem when using tamiya tape. There's also an option to use liquid mask but never used personally.
 
No damage from shoegoo, just let it dry for 24h or whatever the minimum is for the specific paint. Make sure you do light coats.

You can circumvent the long wait times between coats by using a hairdryer as well. Paint, 30s-1min with hairdryer and next coat will work fine for single coats. Using stripes etc I'd let it cure for 24h.
Ooo never thought to do this! What sort of heat and power setting works best?
 
Hairdryer medium whatever that is 🙄
You can visibly see the color change from wet look to dry look. Treat it like you dry your hair, don't hold and burn. Does not work for the final dry, only between coats.
Maybe 30s for an entire body.
 
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