With the engine-performance upgrades complete, host Chris Chianelli turns to RC specialist Mike Ogle for some professional advice on creating custom paint jobs for RC racers.
Important: This demonstration shows the basic instructions for custom painting of a particular body style of RC racer. There may be variations in painting techniques depending on the particular model or materials. Read and carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions that come with your RC model, whether it is this particular model or another. Additional information can be found in the model manufacturer's and paint manufacturer's instructions.
Materials: Clear Lexan (polycarbonate) body
Lexan-compatible paints
Airbrush
Hobby paintbrushes
Masking tape
Old toothbrush; cotton swabs
General Tips: - Pre-plan what color schemes and patterns you want before you begin work. The materials you purchase at the hobby center will be determined by the style that you're going for.
- The RC-10 comes with a prepainted body (figure A). You may prefer to replace it right away with a custom-painted body, or you may want to later on because of scratches and dings caused by racing damage.
- When you purchase a replacement body from the hobby shop, it comes as a molded clear shell (figure B). The shell is made from Lexan, a flexible and impact-resistant polycarbonate. The shells are painted from the inside, so the paint itself is protected from damage by the clear plastic shell.
- When you go to the body shop, be sure to purchase a paint that's formulated specifically for use with Lexan bodies. These specialized paints are made to retain flexibility after they're applied so that they can flex with the plastic body without cracking. The paint comes in various forms including liquid, spray and specialized airbrush paints (figure C). The most professional-looking techniques can be achieved using an airbrush.
- Before you begin painting, clean the inside of the clear body using a soft cloth and denatured alcohol or household cleaner. This will remove any dust or mold residue that might impede the paint from adhering to the surace.
- Apply vinyl paint masks to the inside of the body to protect the areas that will remain unpainted -- i.e., the windshield and windows.
Lightning-Bolt Technique - To create a lightning-bolt effect with paint, begin by hand-painting lightning bolts down the center and sides of the body using a long-bristled hobby paintbrush and white paint. Avoid painting straight lines, but make them jagged and irregular like a bolt of electricity.
- Using the same color paint in an airbrush, create a "burst" where the lightning bolts meet (figure D).
- To create white "sparks," apply white paint to the bristles of an old toothbrush, and run your thumb across the bristles to flick paint onto the interior surface (figure E).
- Highlight the lightning bolt by silhouetting it against light-blue paint applied with an airbrush (figure F).
- Finish off the paint job by applying a coat of dark blue or black to simulate a night sky (figure G).
- The combined result of these techniques is a distinctive lightning-strike effect (figure H).
Tear-Away Technique - For a two-color tear-away look, begin by tearing masking tape into jagged, irregular strips of varying size.
- Place the strips somewhat haphazardly in the center section of the shell interior to create a "ripped" looking pattern.
- Using the airbrush, spray a light coating of orange around the torn edges to highlight it.
- Spray the rest of the body with the main body color. In our case, the main color was yellow (figure I).
- Once the paint dries, remove the masking tape to reveal the unpainted "torn" areas (figure J).
- Add a shadow to the outside edges of the tear using black paint. Using the toothbrush technique described earlier, flick black paint into the interior for variation.
- Finish off by spraying the unpainted areas with a contrasting red (figure K).
- Once the paint dries, the end result is a dynamic tear-away look (figure L ).
Floating Shapes Technique - To create geometric shapes that appear to "float" above the painted surface, begin by placing adhesive geometric masks (precut decals or do-it-yourself shapes cut from masking tape) in a pattern of your own design on the interior surface (figure M).
- Once the masking stickers are all applied, create a shadow around each one by airbrushing a light coating underneath and around the edges of each (figure N). The shadows will help create the illusion of the floating shapes.
- Add some freeform flecks and patterns by flicking paint onto the interior with a cotton swab.
- Spray the interior with the main body color. In our case, the main color was a tangerine-orange (figure O).
- Remove the masks, and spray around the inner edges of the clear shapes using a rich dark color. In our case, red and blue were used for this step. If you like, accent each shape by hand-painting on white highlighting.
- The result of these techniques is a pattern of shapes that look as if they're floating above the surface (figure P.
Especially for DIY Radio Control Hobbies, Ogle created a custom paint job for our racer that combined all of the techniques shown in this segment on a single vehicle (figure Q).
In the segment that follows, Chianelli gets some advice from an avid RC hobbyist on selecting racing tires.
RESOURCES :
Badger Air-Brushes
Badger Airbrush Company
Franklin Park, IL 60131
Phone: 847-678-3104
Fax: 847-671-4352
Email: info@badger-airbrush.com
Website: www.badger-airbrush.com/
Parma Faskolor Paints
Testors Paints
The Testor Corp. (Visions, Aztek)
Rockford, IL 61104
Phone: 815-962-6654
Fax: 815-962-7401
Email: testors@testors.com
Website: www.testors.com
Team Associated
Team Associated
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-850-9342
Fax: 714-850-1744
Website: www.teamassociated.com
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