5LikesComing back after 5yrs, Help.LoL
05-16-2023, 02:09 PM
#1
Coming back after 5yrs, Help.LoL
pulled out my paints, getting back into RC But, i always used testors pactra racing paints ( i believe are lacquer based)which i thinned with paint thinner and they are discontinued.. Are there any other compatible paints out there that i can also use paint thinner with for Lexan bodies?? any and all suggestions would be appreciated
05-18-2023, 10:00 AM
#2
I’m afraid the writing has been on the Wall for enamels for years now - I switched to acrylics many years ago when even the bottled Pactra paints were starting to get harder to find. Right now, Tamiya and Duratrax are the only brands with non-acrylic paints formulated for use on Lexan, but you can only get those in spray cans.
I would consider transitioning to Acrylics… take a look at Createx, or Pro-Line/Parma Faskolor lines (IIRC, they are all ultimately made by Createx anyway). They are pretty much already thinned out to paint straight out of the bottle - I also recently tried Liquitex Soft body acrylics with their airbrush medium to good results. The color palettes are a bit “interesting” though, so expect to do a little color mixing here and there with those, depending on the colors you want.
One thing you MUST do with acrylics, especially for Nitro powered cars, is add a backer layer. For this I’m using the very last bit of Pactra cans I have, but I’ll eventually go to Tamiya/Duratrax to add an enamel backing that’s a little more fuel resistant.
I would consider transitioning to Acrylics… take a look at Createx, or Pro-Line/Parma Faskolor lines (IIRC, they are all ultimately made by Createx anyway). They are pretty much already thinned out to paint straight out of the bottle - I also recently tried Liquitex Soft body acrylics with their airbrush medium to good results. The color palettes are a bit “interesting” though, so expect to do a little color mixing here and there with those, depending on the colors you want.
One thing you MUST do with acrylics, especially for Nitro powered cars, is add a backer layer. For this I’m using the very last bit of Pactra cans I have, but I’ll eventually go to Tamiya/Duratrax to add an enamel backing that’s a little more fuel resistant.
05-18-2023, 11:10 AM
#4
I’m afraid the writing has been on the Wall for enamels for years now - I switched to acrylics many years ago when even the bottled Pactra paints were starting to get harder to find. Right now, Tamiya and Duratrax are the only brands with non-acrylic paints formulated for use on Lexan, but you can only get those in spray cans.
I would consider transitioning to Acrylics… take a look at Createx, or Pro-Line/Parma Faskolor lines (IIRC, they are all ultimately made by Createx anyway). They are pretty much already thinned out to paint straight out of the bottle - I also recently tried Liquitex Soft body acrylics with their airbrush medium to good results. The color palettes are a bit “interesting” though, so expect to do a little color mixing here and there with those, depending on the colors you want.
One thing you MUST do with acrylics, especially for Nitro powered cars, is add a backer layer. For this I’m using the very last bit of Pactra cans I have, but I’ll eventually go to Tamiya/Duratrax to add an enamel backing that’s a little more fuel resistant.
I would consider transitioning to Acrylics… take a look at Createx, or Pro-Line/Parma Faskolor lines (IIRC, they are all ultimately made by Createx anyway). They are pretty much already thinned out to paint straight out of the bottle - I also recently tried Liquitex Soft body acrylics with their airbrush medium to good results. The color palettes are a bit “interesting” though, so expect to do a little color mixing here and there with those, depending on the colors you want.
One thing you MUST do with acrylics, especially for Nitro powered cars, is add a backer layer. For this I’m using the very last bit of Pactra cans I have, but I’ll eventually go to Tamiya/Duratrax to add an enamel backing that’s a little more fuel resistant.
05-19-2023, 09:33 AM
#5
05-19-2023, 11:26 AM
#6
Normal Tamiya acrylics paints (X and XF series) are not made for our RC polycarbonate / lexan bodies but for their plastic models.
05-19-2023, 04:13 PM
#7
pulled out my paints, getting back into RC But, i always used testors pactra racing paints ( i believe are lacquer based)which i thinned with paint thinner and they are discontinued.. Are there any other compatible paints out there that i can also use paint thinner with for Lexan bodies?? any and all suggestions would be appreciated
05-26-2023, 02:08 PM
#8
I went with Createx bought at local hobby lobby and used distilled water to thin, Works Awesome... TY... thank god i still have my old metal flake i pre-mixed from back in the day.. Does Createx Have a Metal Flake, I cant seem to find it.. I spary metal flake on my main color area on my bodies before color, love the bass boat look. LOL
Last edited by jabroni racing; 05-26-2023 at 03:56 PM.
05-26-2023, 04:50 PM
#9
I went with Createx bought at local hobby lobby and used distilled water to thin, Works Awesome... TY... thank god i still have my old metal flake i pre-mixed from back in the day.. Does Createx Have a Metal Flake, I cant seem to find it.. I spary metal flake on my main color area on my bodies before color, love the bass boat look. LOL
A word of caution on using water to thin Createx paints. Use an extremely small amount - they recommend 10% per volume at most. It's better to use their 4011 reducer for what you need. It's in the TDS.
As for their flakes and pearls, it's on their website under the Wicked Colors line.
05-26-2023, 08:20 PM
#10
I had no issues when i thinned with distilled water, using a iwata with a little under 30psi. ration was more then 10%.. a few videos i saw was 3 drops water to 10 drops paint, i used that but went a little thinner with black for shadowing. Once i backed it, seems fine...
05-26-2023, 09:21 PM
#11
I had no issues when i thinned with distilled water, using a iwata with a little under 30psi. ration was more then 10%.. a few videos i saw was 3 drops water to 10 drops paint, i used that but went a little thinner with black for shadowing. Once i backed it, seems fine...
You're going to lose adhesion if you follow the video instead of Createx's TDS. They warn against going over 10%.
05-27-2023, 04:51 AM
#12
06-01-2023, 10:27 AM
#13
Tech Initiate
I've shot Createx and Autoair without an adhesion promoter and it seemed to work. Is the promoter needed for durability?
06-02-2023, 11:43 PM
#14
The technique that seems to be working for me is a light scuff on the body with the softest scotch-brite available, shoot two or three coats of UVLS clear and then the colours.