Painting lexan bodies 101b. Basic 2 color rattle can scheme

payaso · Post by **payaso** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:10 am

I wanted to get a new bashing body for my Revo, but not much out right now that works with the new design of it. (body wise)

I have a '73 Bronco for my Maxx, and it's a kick ass shell, and tough to boot, so I checked , and it looked like I could make it fit the Revo with minor mods. (mostly cutting).

Bought the new body, and thought that since I'll be painting anyways, I might as well take some in progress pics, and a how to of sorts..

This is just your basic 2 color race scheme. I was going to break out the air brush, and even had the flames all drawn up, but decided that it's just gonna get trashed, so basic and quick it is.

First thing you need to do is get your scissors out, and cut the bulk of the lexan off the bottom of the body like in the pics below. No need to try to get to the edges (rough cuts are ok) as you're just removing enough to fit the body to the truck/car.

I always prefer to fit the body to the truck it's going on before painting, cause it's easier to see where the mounting holes will be, and anything else that might need to be seen before hand. This particulay body was way off too, so it was a big help marking the body holes first. You can see they are way off from where HPI has them marked for the Maxx, and Savage.

Once you get you holes marked, and everything lined up, you can trim up the rest of your body, and finish the edges to get it ready for paint.

I use a dremel (and a bad ass fucker at that) to trim the rest of the way using a small drill bit, and just basically drawing where I want to cut leaving just a smal lip that I get with the sanding wheel.

After trimming with drill bit

And after sanding

Once you've sanded and got it the way you like it, it's time to wash it with warm soapy water. Make sure you clean the inside very well, as this is the suface that's getting painted.

Some people scuff the inside of the body to get the paint to adhere better, but I don't do this. I give it a good washing, and make sure it's really dry, and lint free.

Some bodies don't come with window masks, but this one did, so I applied those first.

Once you get the windows masked up to your liking, you move on to masking where the second color of paint will be. You'll notice that I covered my body holes from the outside. I do this cause sometimes when trimming the body, it causes the protective film to come up a bit on the edges, so I just put a bit a tape there just to prevent any leakage

Now it's time to lay your primary color. 2-3 coats should be enough, cause it's gonna get backed with the second color and 2-3 more coats, totaling 6= plenty

First color dry with masks removed. No bleeds so that's good

Time for the second color. I'm accenting it with "Pactra" Outlaw Black. First color is "Pactra" Daytona Yellow

Once the paint is dry, you can remove the remaining window masks. An X-acto blade will lift the corner nicely, then just peel it up.

With the window masks removed

Now that the painting is all done, and out of the way, you can apply the decals that come with the body. Use the chart in the package to see how they go on, or put em on how ever the hell you want.

Now you can go bash the shit right out of your new body, and look cool as shit doing it.

Remember if you are running a nitro vehicle to cut the venting hole in the windshield for cooling. I still have to cut mine.

silla

sg219 · Post by **sg219** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:35 am

Aren't we just full of information.

Great paint job.

I'm looking at the Dodge Pick-up body for my T-Maxx. Might go grab it on Friday.

I also need a shell really bad for the XXX.

Myself would have went with a nice shade of green instead of the yellow, but it's your ride.

My next project is to learn how to rebuild an engine. But the key to it is to have it run after I do it.

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:24 pm

I have a question for ya....

I know acrylic paint is not for lexan bodies, the slightest impact will knock the paint off. But what would happen if I painted my shell with acrylic and backed it with, let's saaay...white polycarbonate paint?
Would the paint still flake off? For me polycarbonate paint is very expensive so this method would be cheaper. I also don't want to waste my next shell trying it out for it not to work as shells are expensive for me too.

Thanx
Maxx

SuperFly · Post by **SuperFly** » Fri May 19, 2006 5:01 pm

Maxximum Attack wrote:I have a question for ya....

I know acrylic paint is not for lexan bodies, the slightest impact will knock the paint off. But what would happen if I painted my shell with acrylic and backed it with, let's saaay...white polycarbonate paint?
Would the paint still flake off? For me polycarbonate paint is very expensive so this method would be cheaper. I also don't want to waste my next shell trying it out for it not to work as shells are expensive for me too.

Thanx
Maxx

Someone that really knows should answer, but I don't think it would work. The reason the acrylic cracks off is that it isn't a solvent-based paint. The solvent-based paints like laquer kind of melt the plastic just a bit to create a chemical bond, where the acrylic paint just can't get as good of grip and is just sitting on the surface.

payaso · Post by **payaso** » Sat May 20, 2006 5:31 am

SuperFly wrote:
Maxximum Attack wrote:I have a question for ya....

I know acrylic paint is not for lexan bodies, the slightest impact will knock the paint off. But what would happen if I painted my shell with acrylic and backed it with, let's saaay...white polycarbonate paint?
Would the paint still flake off? For me polycarbonate paint is very expensive so this method would be cheaper. I also don't want to waste my next shell trying it out for it not to work as shells are expensive for me too.

Thanx
Maxx
Someone that really knows should answer, but I don't think it would work. The reason the acrylic cracks off is that it isn't a solvent-based paint. The solvent-based paints like laquer kind of melt the plastic just a bit to create a chemical bond, where the acrylic paint just can't get as good of grip and is just sitting on the surface.

That, and acrylic paint doesn't like to bend. It's fairly durable on a low flex surface though..

Sorry bro. It's not gonna suit you. If the base coat shatters/flakes off, it's taking whatever's on top. I thought I could get by with doing some acrylic racing stripes, but that little bit spider webbed the first impact....lol

Your best bet is just to buy the pricey shit my man.

The cheapest route is usually the most expensive one in the end.. Not sure if that made sense. I just got home from work.

silla

Maxximum Attack · Post by **Maxximum Attack** » Sat May 20, 2006 8:18 am

payaso wrote:...The cheapest route is usually the most expensive one in the end...

Made perfect sense.

Thank you

Maxx

hogjowlz · Post by **hogjowlz** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:11 pm

what kina angle are you spraying from?

payaso · Post by **payaso** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:53 pm

if the can fits in the body, I'll spray straight on, but if it's a tight fit, I do up to a 90 degree. That can cause some runs though. Not a big deal since it's painted from the bottom, but can affect the next coat/color.

The angle of the dangle = the sum of the cum....

silla

Murdoch · Post by **Murdoch** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:10 pm

yea i've been doin a few different angles.. straight on, firin down, and pointing up. I just gotta be careful with the down tho so I don't get any runs.

I finished the new body tonight but I had a look at the pics that I snapped.. and said 'hell no, i'm not gonna post these. way too dark'.