Paint Job by step

[Piggy89373]

Well, I just finished a body, and decided to take pics along the way to help anyone who's willing to read on. I decided to paint this body for a buddy of mine in hopes of coaxing him back into racing. Some pics will have a portion of the front blacked out because he hasn't received the body just yet. Once he's given me his approval, I'll show how I did the script work on the front.

Disclaimer: I'm not the greatest painter, nor do I claim to be. There may be better techniques out there that make painting easier, clearer, better, etc., but this is how I did it. I made several mistakes so please don't point out any more for me. :D

To start with, you'll need some good safety equipment. Safety takes priority over all phases of this paint job. You do not have to have this same exact equipment, but equipment that meets or exceeds this is recommended. A good respiratory is a must. You only have two lungs and you really need both of them. Without proper respirators, you'll have need of RespirologyRC's services...and not for a mini-t body.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/942577/safety.JPG

Other good things to have prior to this a good set of cleaning brushes. These were purchased in a kit from Dixie Art.com and make cleanup quite nice.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/942577/cleaner.JPG

Of course, you'll need some form of masking. I used Bob Dively's. It's easy to apply and really makes life easy.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/942577/LM.JPG

Lastly, you'll need some other tools. A good hobby knife like an Xacto will help you tremendously. Also, a pipette can make adding alcohol to your paint mixture or assisting in cleanup a breeze. The smaller paint brush will help you remove dried paint from the needle of the airbrush without damaging the needles. The larger brush is used to apply the LM. The tweezers have a thousand and one uses from removing masking to removing any lint that stuck in the paint.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-1/942577/tools.JPG

[Piggy89373]

Sadly, I had already applied 4 coats of LM before I decided to take any pics. So, no pics of how to dip a brush into LM and brush it onto a body.

Notice the body is pre-trimmed. This will actually help you in painting some of the graphics to ensure maintain symetry.

I used a sharpie marker to draw on the outside of the body. If I need to remove marker, a little rubbing alcohol and a paper towel do wonders.

[Piggy89373]

Next, I cut the masking following the lines. A brand new x-acto blade works best. It's time consuming, but the slower you go the better things will turn out. Careful in cutting the masking so as you don't push to hard and score the lexan. If the lexan is scored too deeply, it'll split along that line during hard impact.

[Piggy89373]

The flag was downloaded from the internet. I resized it to suit my needs, and created a mirror copy for symmetry. I created reference marks on each using the wheel wells and bottom of the body. This allows me to line everything up perfectly.

Anyway, after cutting the masking, it's time to bring the tweezers to bear. I carefully peeled up the masking. Keeping the hobby knife nearby greatly assisted in making sure none of the surrounding masking peeled up accidentally.

For the fotos, I used the painting of the flag. I began by peeling up the areas to be painted black. After 3 light coats, I was satisfied with the opacity. After allowing for more than adequate time to dry (about 24 hours), I was ready to peel up the lighter areas.

[Piggy89373]

Here's where I cheated and used the computer print outs used for the mock up. I lined up the fotos on the outside this time and taped them down. This clearly defined the areas needed to shade for a decent looking wave appearance.

Using Pactra's transparent charcoal, I laid down 1 light coat along the shaded areas. Using the picture for reference, only certain small areas needed to be slightly darker. Those were taken care of by a second coat. I put no other coats down because I didn't want it looking too dark. The background for the shaded area is a pearl white, so any shadows would standly out very starkly.

[Piggy89373]

Once the shaded areas had dried completely, I sprayed the white checkered area with Faskolor's Pearl White. This gives the flag a silky look to it that works very well with the shaded area for realism. It took 3 light coats before I was satisfied with its opacity enough to back it with silver. All in all, it turned out exceptionally well for my first time at painting a checkered flag.

[Piggy89373]

The jagged lightening/rip things were easy to do. It was just a matter of peeling up the masking and spraying the edges in blue using a wide spray pattern. I used a dark blue and laid down a single coat. Once it was thoroughly dry, I mixed up Pactra's racing white with a drop or two of the dark blue. When mixed to an almost Robin egg blue, I sprayed the rest. Once satisfied it was thoroughly dry and nearly cured, I backed with silver.

I wanted to do some personalized headlights as well. It took me a couple of tries till I found out the reference points of the molded body. Using a straight edge helped outline and create a box around the headlight area. Using the straight edge again and I added the slight slant for the mean look. A little rounding of the edges and I was ready. I cut the masking and carefully peeled up the masking.

Once the masking was removed, I used a circle template to figure out how big I wanted the "eyes" to be. Using acetate (a transparent plastic sheet with an adhesive on one side), I marked out the circles and cut them out using scissors. I needed three different circles. One large one for the outer edge of the "eye", a slightly smaller one for the pupil, and a third for the second headlight.

I outlined on one side where I wanted the eyes to be centered. With adhesive circles, it's easy to reposition them where I need them.

[Piggy89373]

Using the marks on the outside, I positioned the large adhesive circle. Rough guesstimating, I plopped on the other side and readjusted as necessary. I repeated the whole process for the second headlight.

Once satisfied, I made sure the edges of the acetate were pressed firmly against the lexan. I created a hard edge along the top of the "eye" using a piece of acetate lined up near the top of the eye and sprayed a mix of black and charcoal. Going back to just the transparent charcoal, I traced the edges of the circles and the edge of the eyes using a medium spray pattern.

When done and dried, I removed the acetate and did a small victory dance. It was my first attempt at doing this type of headlights.

[Piggy89373]

Next, I stuck the middle sized adhesive circle on the center of each eye. Once satisfied and sure the edges were firmly pressed against the lexan, it was back to the Faskolor Pearl White. I thinned it down a bit to help spray a smaller pattern.

It took several coats, but was worth it. The white part of the eye took a good three coats. The smaller headlight was done by following the inside edge of the circle. I didn't want it too opaque so I only used 2 coats. The areas outside of the eye and smaller headlight were also touched with the white. After it was thoroughly dry (about 12 hours time), I backed the white part of the eye with silver. I didn't touch the smaller headlight with the silver. Once that was dry, I peeled off the adhesive circle and shot a quick coat of black that made everything stand out quite starkly. Back to the victory dance.

Once dry, it was time for the rest of the body. So, peeled up the masking and enjoyed the view.

[Piggy89373]

On a quick note, when peeling up the masking, sometimes a ridge of paint will be present. Often with this ridge is a small flap of paint. A regular wooden toothpick here works wonders. CAREFULLY using the point of it, GENTLY scrape away the flaps of paint. Usually, the flaps will come off with little or no problems. If you have a small bleed over of paint, this trick will help remove and reshape your graphics. The wood is soft enough not to gouge the lexan and hard enough to remove the paint.

[Piggy89373]

I wanted to add a bit more to this than just a regular color. I took a page out of CharlieB's book and went for the screaming faces. I knew the outside color would be gold for good visibility on the track. I wanted something that would be really sublte that required a bit more observation than a glance. I chose Faskolor Orange for the faces.

Using the acetate, I drew out the faces using a sharpie. Next, I pulled out the Xacto and cut away the blackened area. Scissors separated each of the faces into squares easy enough to maneuver around.

[Piggy89373]

Next, I placed each face on the body and misted a very light coat of Faskolor Orange. The effect would almost be a ghosting image. Along with the faces, I free sprayed a very fine and light twirling mist effect. It blended in the faces a bit more and created a nice effect.

[Piggy89373]

Once allowed to dry thoroughly, it was time for the gold. Pactra makes a nice Pearl Gold that worked well for this. For large coverage areas, I lightly misted a coat and let it dry thoroughly...very thoroughly. The first coat or two is one of the most important because it's the foundation for a good paint job. Here is two coats of the gold.

[Piggy89373]

I try to allow as much time as possible between each coat to maximize both the drying time and the curing time of the paints. Here is about 4 coats and it's almost ready for backing with silver. In total, it took about 5 thin coats to achieve the effect I was after.

After I backed it with silver and allowed it to dry thoroughly as well, I gave a good coat of Fascoat for some protection against nitro and the elements.

[Piggy89373]

Lastly, I removed the window masking and the overspray film. Quick work with the body reamer and here's the final result. Overall, I'm fairly satisfied with it. It was almost a hastily done job, but I wanted something for my buddy that'd be highly visible but look decent.

[Piggy89373]

Here's the side view. The checkered flag looks good and crisp.

[Piggy89373]

And, the other side.

[Piggy89373]

Hope this helps some folks out. Like I said in the disclaimer, I'm not the greatest painter, but I have good notes. All of the stuff I posted is easy to do and utilizes stuff that's either readily available or easily bought for a buck or two at the arts and crafts store.

[Silent Scope]

It looks really nice!! I have to get a airbrush sometime!!!!

[FESTER2004]

piggy, u did a awesome job painting, truck looks mean,lol.....i better stay out of its way, lol

i hope yr friend comes back into rc's

[FESTER2004]

also "save" the pics n enter it in Septembers contest,ok?

[LEADFOOT]

cool write-up pig.

I can't see the faces though. Nice job on the flag.

[Piggy89373]

Thanks for words of encouragement.

Lead, the faces are there, just a bit hard to see. The non-metallic orange against the gold really shows up in the sun. It's almost too subtle to show up in my darkened basement. I hadn't planned on them being that subtle, but I was pleasantly surprised they did. Thanks for the compliments.

Fes, this buddy of mine is into RC, he's a mod on another forum. He just hasn't raced this year. He's had some major family medical problems over the past 2 years, and it's really taken a toll on him. This is to try and get his mind off his troubles for a bit and get him into racing again.

Silent, yeah, you should get an airbrush. ;) :D It's not as tough as you think.

[Silent Scope]

I really appreciate what you did for your friend :)

[dyslexic]

great write up piggy, wish I had the pataince to try a step by step like that.

any chance you can get a better shot of the faces?

[Piggy89373]

I'll see what I can get tonight. I'll try and set everything up in the sun and get some good pics.

Silent, thanks. It's not about me, it's about keeping a guy in RC.

[FESTER2004]

yeah thats cool what u did for yr friend.

i things get better for him!

[SNEEZER]

Piggy nice Step by Step, very helpful even for a regular painter like me!
Ill post later next week a step by step of a body im doing right know.

[LEADFOOT]

DO you really wear the respirator and goofy goggles?...it's Faskolor for cryin out loud!

[Piggy89373]

Yes, I do wear that big respirator and those goofy goggles, even if I'm spraying acrylics for ceramics. Bottom line is, you're suspending paint particles in air that can collect in the lungs. There's a popular painter who now only posts once a month or so on here who has some paint in his lungs from the airborne paint. I've had these lungs for 35 years now, and I've kinda gotten used to them. I'm not willing to have to see someone like RespirologyRC and hope his MD skills are better than his painting skills.

Goggles, you betcha. I mix paint in the paint cup of the brush using toothpicks. Occasionally, a small drop will shoot out. Ever get a drop of alcohol in your eyes? It sucks royally. Going back to the paint particles suspended in air, I'd rather have them collect on the glasses than in my eyes.

<Disclaimer: not knocking RespirologyRC, just making a point>

Sneeze, thanks man. Looking forward to seeing what you put forth. I'm hoping that a hack doing this thread would prompt some of the really good painters on here to share some of their secrets....ahem...Leadfoot....Adrcracing

[Silent Scope]

I really like how you did the flags .. its a really good idea! I think ill ask santa for a airbrush!!

[SteveK]

Word up Piggy: Use a respirator for painting ANYHTING. Don't think you need to? Paint something black for a few minutes without one, then blow your nose and see what can be making it's way into your lungs.

[LEADFOOT]

if you can see it in your boogs then it obviously didn't make it into your lungs...that's what nose hairs are for!

[Piggy89373]

Actually, I think only the heavier paint particles collect on the nose hairs, the lighter stuff still makes it past and collects in the lungs. Ask HM sometime about it.

Anyway, here's some of the pics of the faces that were requested. Some are easier to see than others, it was a matter of getting the light just right.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a149/Piggy89373/face5.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a149/Piggy89373/face9.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a149/Piggy89373/face7.jpg

[dyslexic]

nice when you said subtle you weren't kidding.
looking good

[abraksith]

Wow, piggy, just to reiterate, a great job. Both on the car and the tutorial, should be a monthly feature by one of the big dogs hehe. Imma have to try out the Ghostface technique once i get an airbrush.

[kitty]

Great tutorial, Piggy! I really like how you included important materials needed, especially the respirator. You were the one who answered a lot of my questions while I was looking at different respirators and for that I thank you.

Leadfoot: nose hairs don't filter out small particles. In fact, they do not filter out all of the larger ones either. Also keep in mind that everyone is made differently and even someone with a serious set of nose whiskers will be prone to getting paint in their lungs.

If you've ever been out roosting dirt with a monster truck on a dry day, you might remember hocking up some serious lung oysters. Dirt comes back out; some paint will, but not all of it. I'd much rather err on the safe side and use a quality respirator than to take a chance of having painted lungs by the time I'm 50 years old.

[LEADFOOT]

I know, I know...I'm just "joshin'" him ;)

[jimbow]

nice guide, pigster. ;)

I nominate this thread for a permanent sticky.

[Piggy89373]

Kitty, no need to thank me. Just paint a body and show it off, that'll be thanks enough.

Thanks, Jimbow.

Lidz, I knew better coming from you. Figuring as much as you paint and different paints used, I figured you use a pretty decent respirator no matter what you paint. If not, I hope you do now.

[jimbow]

i've only sprayed 2 bodies with some rattle cans, so it wasnt really worth buying a respirator since it took maybe 10 minutes collectively per body. But i did spray outside, with one of those surgeons masks. Is this an acceptable solution for the future? (1 more body MAYBE)

[Piggy89373]

Jimbow, since you're spraying outside with it, you should be ok with the cheap mask. Just be sure to always spray down wind so it doesn't blow back on to you.

[2ndGeneration]

This has been a great help and an eyeopener, you underestimate your skills.