Airbrush Lexan Paint Recommendations

[granty]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some lexan airbrush paint and was wanting some recommendations?

I've used Spaz Stix before, I like they do flip paints and mirror chrome but to get a decent range from the US would cost a fair penny.

Do any other paint manufacturers do anything as good?

I've seen Createx comes highly recommended, but they don't quite get there with the colours for me.

 

Thanks,

 

James

[Tamiyacowboy]

 

Vallejo Model color !!! 

 

Vallejo model air !! 

 

Pactra ( but this does need thinning to a one to one - one to three ratio depending on your setup and spray tool) 

 

now vallejo model air is a waterbased acrylic so it removes very easy under the slightest scratch but shoot over it with the vallejo gloss - satin clearcoat solves that problem.
the model air range is more for military paint working.

Model color is the vallejo brand for acrylic car models ( the airfix -revvel like kits,) but it does work on lexan bodys you just need to dust coat it with around 5-6 coats building up slowly and letting it cure off for like 15 mins before each re-dust coat. 

Both model color and model air should NOT require thinning ( model air i know for a fact works right outta the bottle its what i use in my guns now and more easy to clean being a waterbase and not a thinner based paint, also less chance of it having problems with your plastics, ie melting them - clouding - whiting out and brittleness.

 

you can mix vallejo paints to make other colors, ie primary colors with secondary colors , red and blue to give a purple, but you control the color by adding more or less of each color to gain the strength required

Edited January 27, 2016 by Tamiyacowboy

[Deafty]

where on this site is the lexan airbrush paint please?

http://www.vallejo-farben.de/model-paints/page/f4.html

Edited January 27, 2016 by Deafty

[Deafty]

Ok,. thanks

[Pteppic]

Vallejo paint for Lexan is: http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/en_US/premium-rc-color/family/20

 

Buy mine from eModels in the UK.

[Deafty]

thanks.  Stupid it's not listed on the sister site.

 

So u use Vallejo then.  How do you find it?  and is it as strong bonding to the lexan like tamiya rattle cans are?

thanks for help

Edited January 28, 2016 by Deafty

[Bunny_Basher]

(Hard hat firmly on head)

 

...well, you could try Hobby craft acrylics.

Cheap as chips, big range of colours (even more if you are willing to mix your own).

Yes, you will have to be creative in thinning down the paints to suit your airbrush/preferred pressure, but that's half the fun

 

The hard hat is ready for all the 'experts' that will no doubt claim that you have to use 'special' paints blended especially for RC cars (and sold at 5x-10x the cost of craft paint!

If you are prepared to view a few YouTube vids on mixing and using craft paint in airbrushes, purchase some alcohol thinners, wetting agent, retarder and deionised water...you can mix up batches of paint equal in quality to the overpriced stuff sold by RC Hobby shops.

Edited January 29, 2016 by Bunny_Basher

[Bunny_Basher]

Try these

Solid colour acrylic

 

Or these

 

Metalic acrylic

 

Or these

 

Fluorescent acrylic

 

The are all sprayable in an airbrush, the metalic and fluorescents are really good for RC bodies, the solids for planes etc.

[Pteppic]

Firstly of all, I'm no airbrushing expert, currently doing my 4th and 5th bodies this way (both white and yellow so it makes sense).

 

The Vallejo sticks well to Lexan and once dries seems to be as flexible as the rattle can paint from Tamiya. It doesn't seem quite as resistant to rubbing or scatching (on the inside of the body) as the Tamiya stuff, but that could be because I'm not spraying it as thick as the cans did.

 

For example, my recently finished Tamiya Jimny (MF-01X) has suffered a little at the sides where the battery can move side to side and the leads rub on the body. However, all other areas are fine after running. Am currently wondering about using a Vallejo lacquer as a final coat to see if that dries harder. Have bought the semi-gloss but not had time to try it yet.

 

The big advantages for me of airbrushing with with the Vallejo paints are that I can spray indoors (much less smell) and I can spray in the winter as I do need +15DegC outside to spray.

 

Not sure about using the Baker Ross type acrylics, my daughter uses them and sometimes they don't stick that well to paper so you'd have to be adding a suitable chemical to make it bond with the lexan. Also no idea how flexible they would dry. But you are right, with correct thinning they could be put through an airbrush. The major issue with painting lexan seems to be making the paint stick.

[Deafty]

1st off:  SORRY OP for the hijack but we haven't seen you since.

 

Ok: Thanks for the replies guys.  I am yet to own an airbrush but really do see the benefit of one (or more ) as you mentioned Peteppic.  I will also add that more control of the application really does appeal.  I have managed some complicated effects with a rattle can but it's just a PITA to achieve. I see an airbrush as a more effective tool.  Later if I enjoy the process I can explore the art of airbrushing

 

For me it is highly important and effectively priority to have my paint hold up and stick well.  I also think that the result of airbrushing will be thinner coats that scratch easier so backing I guess is more important than rattle cans.

 

Though I can go with other brands, I have not heard of Vallejo and find it actually priced very well and available locally

 

If possible guys can we move on to things like spraying liquid mask ( I use Bitty desgin at the mo) and backing coats.  What size needle you would use in these instances ?

[granty]

Sorry I am here just reading replies and they are appreciated! I wish another company would do flip paint!

I'm going to look into Vallejo if they're competitively priced. Their fluorescent colours look good.

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[Tamiyacowboy]

 

ANY PAINT WILL SPRAY. but thats all down to nozzle size and the particles in the paint itself.

Go grab a glass of milk, just fill it up so you have a couple cm in the bottom, tilt the glass as if your was to pour out the milk.
then let it slosh back into the bottom of glass. DO YOU SEE THAT WHITE thin sheen layer on the side of the glass, well thats what your paint needs to be like, between watery and milk texture..

grab your paint pop say 20 dropplets into a pot, take your thinners ( water if its waterbased - paint thinner if its  a smelly paint )
add the thinner a tiny bit at a time until when you slosh like the milk you get that sheen on the glass. thats how you want your paint for airbrushing.
not like water , but more like milk.

Vallejo rubs/chips if you DO NOT SEAL IT. so when your done with the bodyshell, and before you yank away that plastic protector, grab some clearcoat finish (varnish) and give it a couple spray coats inside , its gonna help protect from chipping and rubbing  

(your spraying inside out , so instead of spaying model with a clearcoat, we just blast the inside a couple times to help).
if your body was a hard plastic body like the old tamiya ones, you would spray the outside, then finish automotive style adding a sealer clear coat,
this protects the paint from dings bashes and scrapes

 

BEST PAINT on my list = PACTRA its a thinner based paint and requires work before it goes into the gun, ie thinning down and mixing well. but it shoots lovely but quick.
Vallejo is my second on list yes both can be expensive but shop around colorkote is another one can use or even artfx found in art shops. all paints need sealing for optimal use.

in lexan bodys we tend to skip the final clearcoatas the paint is on the inside of shell BUT stones will chip it, a battery or a wire may rub and it WILL remove your paint you laided down so you will eather back coat it or clearcoat it .

Clearcoat = a fine shiney to satin finish that is transparent, and protects from dings and chips.

backing coat = a layer of paint used to act like a protector (DO NOT USE BLACK!!) the painter needs careful choice here. as paint can and will change color.

red backed with black, what happens is the black dulls down the red making it a bloody red aka dirty red.
red backed with white what happens here is the white refelcts the red back, but it can lighten the red color a tiny bit from red to a pinkish red.
to overcome this problem you PRACTICE, i use those clear cake tubs from asda and sainsburys ( oh yeah they are naughty and nice, but makes for a great practice plastic to, its clear and lexan ) . so practice first, lay your last color onto a practice tub then back it off with a differnt color, a white - a black - a yellow - a gray - a silver.
see how that backing coat affects the color of the top coat.

paint reflects light and absorbs other colors but bounces back the primary color it is. a backing color helps this to a white will reflect all light back, a black will block it and dull it.
a yellow may brighten or dullen and a gray is nuetral (semi shade down-up)

[Bunny_Basher]

If you get the right mix of acrylic paint, fluid retarder, wetting agent, alcohol, water craft acrylic will give a good finish on polycarbonate/Lexan.

Depending on the colour/effect you are after it may require more than one (or even 2) coats. 

As already suggested, to increase durability you need to back up the finish paint and here I would suggest you may want to use a solvent based paint, but a non solvent acrylic will work.

No spray applied paint will be 100% resistant to abrasion or mechanical scratching.

Water based acrylic is much easier to remove if you cock up a spray job or want to change in the future

[Deafty]

Yeah but lexan paints are formulated to 'etch' into the lexan plastic  (I need this).  Is there an additive for std acryls that can be used for this purpose?  I am happy however to buy the correct paint for the purpose but was curious.

[Bunny_Basher]

4 hours ago, Deafty said:

Yeah but lexan paints are formulated to 'etch' into the lexan plastic 

 

Ummm, no they are not.

 

Some airbrush paints are solvent based, its nothing to do with etching, it just used to speed up the drying process. Prob is, these paints stink, are hazardous if breathed in, are a bugger to clean out of your airbrush and IMHO totally unnecessary when spraying RC car size jobs.

Water based acrylic on the other hand can be used in a domestic environment, are easy to clean from airbrushes and can (if you use a hairdryer or similar) can be overcoated as quick as a solvent based acrylic paint.

Most people I know who airbrush car bodies etc give the surface a slight rub over with a plastic kitchen scourer to create a mechanical key for the paint. (You can't see the swirls/scratches once painted).

I really really don't recomend using an etching primer or similar when reverse painting a Lexan RC car body!

[Tamiyacowboy]

paints will bleed the color into the plastic aka stain it. a stain is harder to remove.

once painted the paint sucks an sticks to the plastic, yes some paint can etch itself into a metalic surface etc etc, but our acrylics are a little different.

think kiddies glue, water it down, let it dry out and you have a rubber like skin, some things it bonds to really well and others it does not ( can be removed with little or some rubbing), thats what our acrylic is like, a very fine dust pigment is ground up to a very fine powder, then an acrylic polymer is added to bond and wet the color dye powder. when the mix drys out it become a rubber like layer thats colored, and sticks to certain things ( why tamiya paints have two types, one for soft plastics one for hard plastics ).

thinner based is more smelly but evaporates off quicker hence drys to a tack quicker, ideal in automotive work outside spraying etc etc.
waterbased is the same but its longer drying off and not so good outside if it starts raining once tack dry ( it runs off and washes out  unless its fully dry aka cured).

Probelm is this, WEATHER AND YOU.

humans want things right awaym but paint is not like that, a good sprayer will not let you have your car back a day after its sprayed, the motor will sit and cure up in the bay with some heat sources, to help it fully cure, some paints can take a couple weeks to harden off fully ie leave no fingernail mark when pushed onto surface paint. colder the weather the longer the drying, wetter the weather the longer the drying, i try to leave around two days before i play with a painted shell.

Thin coats, so thin you can still see hand through it after three coats. but by the fifth coat it will be covered with a very fine layer but still be see through upto sunlight.
the aim is a thing fine layer that shows the color but ADDS MINIMUM WEIGHT , do it right 1 400ml spray can can do near on three bodys in a single color. 
Just remember thin is good , thick is more weight to carry around

[fatboyneil]

In reply to original question there's loads of paints available faskolour paints for one then there's createx three or four different ranges loads of candys and a couple of flick paints available auto air are widely used on 1/1 cars and bikes if your after scale metal effects look at alclad2 paints their chrome for lexen is considered way better than spaz stix for uk store I'm trying these next order https://airbrushes.com/index.php?osCsid=e2a8t6q78ekcsal9urdju6er83 they offer full range of the createx paints the wicked detail and auto air if you can't find the paint you want from here or spaz stix or alclad then you have to look at trying acrylics backed with polycarbonate spray cans the possibilities are endless 

oh and spraying liquid mask not possible with small airbrush compressors or airbrush you need hvlp gun and upto 6 bar+ compressor 

[granty]

I ended up going with the createx wicked pearl. I bought their matte top coat (it was described as clear coat) but on arriving I'm not sure it's the right thing for the job.

What clear coat is best?

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[Tamiyacowboy]

your spraying the internal on lexan bodys , so that means the clearcoat dont matter, gloss satin or matt you aint gonna be seeing it.

the shine comes from the lexan's external so you DO NOT spray the outside. the clearcoat on the inside is just a cover to stop - prevent chipping of the color layers or rubbing of the color layers from internal parts on the chassis. 

main areas are the side skirts - front-rear bumper areas - around the body mount holes ( these are the most worn) , other areas are where battery wires-esc-motor wires can rub on the paintwork and in the wheel arches from stone chippings and the tires rubbing the body shell, the clear coat or what we call a backing coat is to help prevent this and protect that nice color layer.

matt-gloss-satin main colors will be a little different, they will have some dulling or shining effect but most of the glean comes from the lexan plastic finish. before painting they look dull - after painting they look dull, its only when the protective film peel is removed from the outer shell area the shine and sheen comes, a matt paint will dullen down that overall glossy look but it will still be there somewhat

Edited February 18, 2016 by Tamiyacowboy

[granty]

Oh right. I was under the impression go put a backing coat on and then a clear coat as like a laquer to prevent chipping etc. My last paint job started to chip despite being backed with black.

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[Bunny_Basher]

Best protection is ShoeGoo & plasterers joint reinforcing mesh

 

Finish your paint job, incl backing coat(s),  then apply mechanical protection to stop scratching/impact damage. Also reinforces the shell against splits and cracking

 

Unless you use something like a sprayed plastic coating (i.e. Line-X or similar), no paint finish is going to survive the general wear and tear our RC cars are subjected to.

[poolmantaylor]

Hi guys i am now getting into painting my bodies using lexan paint. Has anyone used this paint and how do i thinning it using wate?? 

[oscarreece]

On 27/01/2016 at 21:32, Tamiyacowboy said:

 

Vallejo Model color !!! 

 

Vallejo model air !! 

 

Pactra ( but this does need thinning to a one to one - one to three ratio depending on your setup and spray tool) 

 

now vallejo model air is a waterbased acrylic so it removes very easy under the slightest scratch but shoot over it with the vallejo gloss - satin clearcoat solves that problem.
the model air range is more for military paint working.

Model color is the vallejo brand for acrylic car models ( the airfix -revvel like kits,) but it does work on lexan bodys you just need to dust coat it with around 5-6 coats building up slowly and letting it cure off for like 15 mins before each re-dust coat. 

Both model color and model air should NOT require thinning ( model air i know for a fact works right outta the bottle its what i use in my guns now and more easy to clean being a waterbase and not a thinner based paint, also less chance of it having problems with your plastics, ie melting them - clouding - whiting out and brittleness.

 

you can mix vallejo paints to make other colors, ie primary colors with secondary colors How to thin acrylic paint for airbrushing , red and blue to give a purple, but you control the color by adding more or less of each color to gain the strength required

Hi, i just got me Harder & Steenbeck airbrush and im eager to start on my shells..but im kinda confused which paint is suitable for lexan,read a whole lot of reviews on faskolor,createx,spazstix etc..pros and cons here n there..can anyone point me in the right direction pls..any advise is appreciated..thank you..

Edited March 28 by oscarreece