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Airbrushing Lexan RC Body

Paying Attention To Detail

By Chris Duzenberry

 

 

Some people may think that Painting a Lexan R/C body can be really easy. We have been painting r/c's now for 5 years and we beg to differ. Some manufacturers really go all out for the details when it comes to the bodies that they produce. In this example we will be using a new body that is produced by HPI Racing for this "How To Article." HPI really went all out when it came to the motor features, bumpers, and all other very detailed pieces of this car. Most good manufacturers include decals that are realistic. In this case we wanted them painted with no decal application. Looks cleaner and will last longer.

 

We will start off with a list of items that I used through out the job.
1. Iwata HPCS and Revolution airbrushes.
2. New #11 Xacto Blade
3. Grafix Frisket Film Matte in Color
4.Tamiya Lexan Acrylic Paints and thinner.
Gun Metal
Metallic Grey
Black

5. SpazStix Lacquer based paints
Liquid Metal Chrome
Hard Anodized Royal Blue
Aerosol Can of Body Prep
6. Createx Auto Air Black
7. 1 HPI Racing Elcamino Part #7177
8. Tracing Paper

 

Many times people will start by washing and scuffing the body using a mild dish soap and then scuff it using a Scotch Brite pad. In this case I washed the body using SpazStix Body prep in aerosol can. First spray the entire inner shell till it looks wet and then I rubbed it dry with a lint free cloth. The SpazStix Body Prep has a tendency to promote better adherence of the lacquer based paints to the lexan shells. Being that we are going for an anodized aluminum look with the main body color I did not want to scuff the body as this would show in the final product.

 

 

One of the first things to do would be to paint the gear for the motor and the belt. Being that I am going to paint these pieces with a brush I wanted them done first. Painting the dots for the gear with the Tamiya Aluminum paint and then the main gear is the gunmetal, then black for the belt. I did all of this freehand. With the lexan being formed in the shape it was easy for me. Some people may want to use a shaped shield.

 

 

Next I took frisket and my exacto and started cutting smaller pieces to lay into the shell . Frisket can be tricky when using with Lacquer based paints. They can sometimes cause the backing to come off the frisket. I use the method of painting and then once the paint has flashed I remove the frisket within a 10 - 15 minute time period. This keeps the frisket from loosing the backing and my lines stay also. I cut smaller pieces of the film to fit into the tight sections and then put them into the body basically covering the entire shell. I then set to work with my new #11 exacto blade. I started cutting very lightly the outline for the light bevels, the grill work, the engine work, the bed liner, and the rear lights and grill work. I also cut a section to protect the side exhaust pipes. Next I sat with pencil, paper and a ruler and started drawing the single wide racing strip that I wanted for the hood. Instead of the double as HPI makes for you in the decal package, I wanted the stripe to be painted. So We drew this on the tracing paper and cut it out around the perimeter of the drawing. I then cut the section for the motor to stick through and using scotch tape I adhered the picture to the shell. This will give me a reference for the stripe when I go to cut it from the frisket later.

 

 

 

 

 

I then decided on a plan for painting all of the items. I decided that painting the chrome details first and backing them would be my first steps. So I removed the chrome sections that I wanted painted and sprayed the Liquid metal in first. I also painted at this same time the extra bumper and hood scoop pieces. Once I painted three layers of the chrome and was happy with the coverage I then backed all of this with Auto Air Black. We use a Water based black for two reasons.

1. It seals to the chrome and allows the chrome to do a mirror like finish.

2. It protects the chrome and prevents foiling. You will get some foiling no matter what with the chrome. But with a proper backing of the water based paints it will help keep it from just flaking off the body. (Note: Did you know that you can change the properties of a chrome painted based on what you use as a backer or as a base?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the same time I was backing all of the chrome with the water based black I also painted the bed liner area, racing stripe and the front and back grill work. By planning ahead of time I was able to save some effort and time and shooting many areas at the same time. Let the black dry really well before moving on. I have found this to be a critical step before moving forward with the main body colors. I actually let is cure to the complete stage before moving forward.

 

 

Remove all masking and clean any over spray area that might have blown under. Even if I do not have over spray I still like to clean the next area again just to ensure there is no oils or other residue left behind. Remember you can never clean enough.



It has been a day and now I ready for the main body color. Using the SpazStix Hard Anodized blue I painted the entire body at 15 psi and using even slow layers build the paint. I paint 1 light coat and 1 wet coat and let that dry for 15 minutes. I then come back with the more progressive wet coats of the Anodized. You will notice after a while that putting more coats of the anodized on no longer changes the depth of the paint. You have really good coverage at this point and are now ready for the next step. Let this dry completely again before moving to the next step.

 

 

 

Using SpazStix Liquid Metal I now paint the entire inner body again with the chrome paint. Some people use airbrush paint. SpazStix has also now released the Liquid Metal in and aerosol can. One word of caution with the can. Be careful if you are going to cheat as it can BITE YOU!. The can sprays under much more pressure than and airbrush and can push the chrome right through the blue that you just painted and you will wind up with a runny nasty mess. This happens because the pressure and the chrome being a lacquer base also destabilizes the Anodized color a bit when spraying. So if using a can stay back and VERY light even coats you will be fine. I personally use the Airbrush and low PSI with even coats works fine. Once this is dry back the entire job with water based black as well. Let dry and cure.

Last step. I backed the entire job with SpazStix Gloss Black backer. This helps to seal the entire job, as well as protect from the nasty NITRO fuel that we all burn in these massive R/C Monster trucks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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