Painting plastic...

Guess who?

Hey guys and gals, I have a really nice transmitter for my RC planes and quads that I would eventually like to add some airbrushed bling to. I would like to use acrylic paint when I do but how can I make sure it stays looking good after I paint it? I am guessing that some kind of clear coat but I do not know anything about what works best. I bet one or more of you do though so bring it on! Thanks

When I paint on plastic, and other substrates, I finish it using Rust-oleum 2x gloss....It is stinky stuff so make sure you mask up and spray in a well ventilated area. Start with 2 dust coats, then build to a flood coat. It is thin, so watch out for runs. On the average, I use about 6 coats to get the desired gloss. What I like about it, is that if done right, there is no need to cut and buff....You can get it (here in Ontario) at any Walmart. Canadian Tire or any home building stores...

And firstly make sure you clean it properly with suitable wax and grease remover, maybe a light scuff or the artwork will just peel off.

This is not planes but I read somewhere that original createx is used by RC enthusiasts to paint lexan car bodies. I'm guessing because its flexible it works better .

Thanks guys for the advice and for the Rustoleum clearcoat suggestion. I am also glad to hear that the original Createx paint is flexible. Here is a picture of my RC transmitter that I want to paint on.

Anything 2k clear coat is fine... Make sure that you degrease the trasmiter and make some tooth ( light scuff ) for better adhesion.... Remember first coat light mist...

I also found the Createx Auto-bourne sealers work great on plastic...I do a lot of plastic (acrylic) ornaments. Here is my prep...Clean with soap and water, rinse well. Degrease with alcohol (on rag). Lightly scuff with a red scotch pad. Make sure you scuff light enough that you do not gouge scratches but heavy enough to give a good smooth tooth for the sealer to hang on to....Clean using tack cloth and alcohol on rag to degrease...Spray 2-3 coats of sealer. Do not flood on all at once. Build a foundation. I can usually base, tape, stencil or whatever I am doing after about an hour...I will only scuff the sealer if it dries for 12-24 hours before I can continue with the project.
I have done xbox controllers the same way and they are bullet proof....
It is all about the prep. Nothing worst than putting time in a project just to have the adhesion fail close to the end.
And make sure you dust coat any type of clear coat on acrylic paint. To much too fast shocks the poo poo out of it. Been there, Done that....
I hope this helps....

Exactly that twood said !!!!

@twood, Thanks a lot for that information. I had wondered about those products and if they could be used in my application.

MARIOS said:

Anything 2k clear coat is fine... Make sure that you degrease the trasmiter and make some tooth ( light scuff ) for better adhesion.... Remember first coat light mist...

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Thanks for the advice!

Hey guys, I just want to let you know that I am sorry for the delayed responses you get occasionally. I use the Mozilla Thunderbird email client for all of my email accounts and they are originating in Microsoft Outlook which likes to send a lot of my stuff to the junk mail folder in Outlook, When it does that, it is not forwarded to Thunderbird so I don't always check Outlook as often as I probably should. I have tried to fix this but it does not work well.

graywoulf said:

Hey guys, I just want to let you know that I am sorry for the delayed responses you get occasionally. I use the Mozilla Thunderbird email client for all of my email accounts and they are originating in Microsoft Outlook which likes to send a lot of my stuff to the junk mail folder in Outlook, When it does that, it is not forwarded to Thunderbird so I don't always check Outlook as often as I probably should. I have tried to fix this but it does not work well.

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Easier just to pop in here and check ‘new posts’ or ‘recent activity’ at the top

graywoulf said:

Hey guys, I just want to let you know that I am sorry for the delayed responses you get occasionally. I use the Mozilla Thunderbird email client for all of my email accounts and they are originating in Microsoft Outlook which likes to send a lot of my stuff to the junk mail folder in Outlook, When it does that, it is not forwarded to Thunderbird so I don't always check Outlook as often as I probably should. I have tried to fix this but it does not work well.

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Live your life, man. Don't assume we are sitting here waiting for a reply. (Well, maybe a few of us are) Either way, we don't feel neglected. Just pop in when you can. Hey, remember life before the internet? You had to wait for things. I miss those times some days. (Now I sound like my dad) :sour:

Karl Becker said:

Live your life, man. Don't assume we are sitting here waiting for a reply. (Well, maybe a few of us are) Either way, we don't feel neglected. Just pop in when you can. Hey, remember life before the internet? You had to wait for things. I miss those times some days. (Now I sound like my dad) :sour:

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Life before the internet. Hmmm, well I still remember having only 2 channels to watch on a black and white TV. Then there were 15 cent hamburger at McDonald's. And being able to roam the neighborhood all by myself with nothing to worry about when I was 7. Now I sound like MY dad.

JackEb said:

Easier just to pop in here and check ‘new posts’ or ‘recent activity’ at the top.

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Point taken. I sometimes just leave the browser open on this site.

Touche.

Karl Becker said:

Live your life, man. Don't assume we are sitting here waiting for a reply. (Well, maybe a few of us are) Either way, we don't feel neglected. Just pop in when you can. Hey, remember life before the internet? You had to wait for things. I miss those times some days. (Now I sound like my dad) :sour:

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That’s the good thing with being global, there’s normally someone awake somewhere ready to at least bounce ideas off of even if they’re not confident enough to offer advice