supamagician

iTrader: (7)

How many of you guys have painted Mini-Z bodies? How have you guys painted these? They are hardbodies right?

RCpaintlabs

iTrader: (10)

Most of them are a type of styrene plastic. Basically the same stuff hard plastic Tamiya bodies are. You'll want to use a paint made for plastic models. Tamiya makes really good paints that adhere to the plastic really well and aren't heavy. They'll allow the bodies details to show with out being covered/filled with paint. Just make sure you clean the body and primer it well. The start of a good paint job on a hard plastic shell begins with preparation. If you have a body that's already painted you can strip the body using degreaser that you can buy at any auto parts store. I prefer Purple Power for stripping plastic bodies. Just fill a container with the degreaser big enough to submerge the body in. Then let it sit for a few hours checking it once in a while to see how it's going. Once all the paint has been stripped you can sand it with 300 grit paper lightly and primer it. Then wet sand the primer with 1200 grit and start laying down your colors. I wrote a How-To article in Xtreme RC Cars magazine a couple of issues ago (I think issue 175) about this very subject.

supamagician

iTrader: (7)

What about the actual painting/masking part? How would that work?

RCpaintlabs

iTrader: (10)

If you're going to use masking tape, I highly recommend using Tamiya brand tapes. They are excellent. You just mask as you would a plastic model. To lay down the colors use light coats and build up the color with a few coats. This will ensure you don't get runs or orange peel.

jonmills

iTrader: (2)

1200 seems a bit on the light side to use use as a key for the paint.
i would go with 600 personally.

RCpaintlabs

iTrader: (10)

I've used heavier paper before and it left a few slight marks that showed through the paint (Tamiya paints are pretty thin). It might have been the type of paper I used. But I just use it to take the roughness of the primer off from being sprayed. Basically just wet sanding the primer to take the edge off before laying down the color. Then I wet sand the color as well before clear coating. Then wet sand the clear coat before buffing. Probably a bit extreme but that's just the way I do it and get good results. I'm sure there are probably better ways to do it.

What kind of paper do you use?

MikeXray

iTrader: (73)

I've painted quite a few, and I have to say lexan is easier you can see them in my gallery. I use faskolor, but it really doesn't bond with the plastic, the clear is really the only thing keeping it safe. Pactra sticks well, but I don't have a lot of it.

supamagician

iTrader: (7)

Can you guys post up some pics?

jonmills

iTrader: (2)

ive been using 3m wet/dry paper.