Best Way - RC Painting Tips

Things you'll need

If you are attempting your first RC painting project, choose a simple design. Stick with a one- or two-color paint scheme. You'll need to apply paint mask for each color, so more colors equals more masking.

Make sure to use paint designed for clear polycarbonate RC bodies. Pactra and Tamiya are popular brands found at most hobby shops. RC car paint is available in spray cans and in bottles for airbrushing. Stick to spray cans at first, but you may consider graduating to an airbrush in the future for more creative paint designs. Choose simple colors at first. Metallic, florescent and semi-translucent paints require special painting techniques and backing coats and should be considered only after you have painted a few bodies.

Although not totally necessary, scuffing the body will allow the paint to adhere better and prevent chipping or cracking when you crash your car. RC car bodies are painted from the inside---not the outside like plastic static models---so you need to scuff the inside of the body. A Scotch-Brite pad works well for this task, but make sure not to scuff the windows because you want those areas to remain perfectly clear.

Before you start painting, wash the body thoroughly with soap and water to remove leftover mold released from the manufacturing process and the grease from your fingers. Rinse the body well to get rid of all the soap, then dry it off with paper towels. The body must be completely dry before you apply the paint.

If the body that you selected is designed for your car or truck, it will probably have dimples that show you where to make the holes for the body posts and antenna. If not, you should pre-mount the body and use a marker to indicate where you need to make these holes.

Most bodies include precut window masks. Simply affix one end of the window mask to one corner of the window and line up the other end of the window mask to the other end of the window. Make sure the window mask lines up perfectly with the window moldings on all sides before you apply the window mask to the body. Don't worry about air bubbles unless they are on the edges of the mask. Work any air bubbles along the edges out with your fingers to prevent paint from running into the window areas when you apply the paint.

Darker colors should be applied first, so mask the sections of the body that will be receiving the lighter colors. Use quality masking tape; I found 3M's Blue Masking Tape bonds better to polycarbonate bodies than the tan-colored masking tape found at most hardware stores. 3M tape also prevents the paint from bleeding through the mask, and it doesn't leave a sticky residue when removed.

Before you apply the first coat, soak the can of paint in hot water to warm up the paint inside the can. This will thin out the paint and cause it to spray more consistently. Warming the inside of the body with a hair dryer will help the paint dry quicker, which will prevent the paint from running. Apply a very thin first coat of paint; you should be able to see through the body after the first coat. Applying too much paint will cause the paint to run and take too long to dry.

Allow the paint to dry completely before applying the final coats. You can use a hair dryer set on medium heat to speed up the drying process if you wish.

Once the paint has dried, apply a thin second coat. Repeat these steps for applying the subsequent coats. Three or four coats should do the job. You'll know when you're done when you hold the body up to a light source and no light can be seen through the body. Once the paint has dried, remove the masking tape and paint the rest of the body with the next color using these same techniques. Use the tip of a hobby knife to lift up an edge of the paint mask, then peel it away with your fingers. Remove any leftover tape residue with denatured alcohol.

Trimming polycarbonate bodies is easy with a good pair of curved body-trimming scissors. You can find a good set of body-trimming scissors at most hobby shops for under $10. Cut along the scribed lines on the wheel wells and you're done. Next, use a tapered reamer to punch out the body post holes and the hole for the antenna tube. If you don't have a reamer, you can make small guide holes with a hobby knife and use a power drill with a 1/8- to 1/4-inch drill bit to make the holes (the diameter of the body posts will determine the size of the drill bit). The colors will look dull until you remove the protective overspray film that's molded over the outside of the body. A beautiful shine will show through once the film is removed. Apply the decals that came with the body and you're done.