Tips to stop paint from cracking

[sLiTcH]

I would like toknow if you guys have any tips on how to start paint from cracking. I don't want any tips on how to paint I have them all it's bcause somebody painted a fancy body for me and i really think that the paint won't last long but I would like to race it. I've heard to put shoe goo but how and where.

If you have any other tips i'd really like to see them.

Thanks

[flsurf420]

dont paint too much at one time and dont paint in the cold

[Got Speed]

Lol, wish I knew about painting in the cold a couple of weeks ago. My paint "bubbled" on. It looks really bad.

[Ideal]

1) Before you paint the body, make sure it's properly cleaned off. Use either warm water and dishwash liquid, or zippo lighter fuel will also work well.

2) When I paint I always back up the paint with a good layer of either white or silver, depending on what color the body is.

The most important bit is making sure the body is properly cleaned. Even though it may look clean, it may not be. When you touch something, you smear fat onto it - yes, that is how the cops can tell fingerprints - because you actually have fat on your skin, so when you're done with fiddling with the masking tape and everything, you will have smeared fat all over the body. You can't see that it's there, but it IS.
I usually first clean of the body with warm water and dishwash liquid (you know, that green stuff), then after I've put paint masks on, I then use a cloth or some tissue with zippo lighter fuel.

What brand of paint you use also affects this. In my experience I've always been quite happy with both Pactra and Tamiya. (Don't combine two different brands of paint, you never know if they'll react to eachother and maybe corrode through the body!)

The only negative part about Tamiya's spray cans is that they don't have that many unusual colors, they're mostly just plain ones.

[sLiTcH]

Thanks for your painting tips guys but I said that I oly needed tips to protectthe paint. Because somebody painted one for me and i'm pretty sure the paint wont hold long.

So if you have any tips on how to protect paint please post it.

Thanks anyways guys for your tips

[Gutter Ball]

Hmmm, other than not crashing or having other people crash you...it's gonna be hard to keep your body in prestine condition. What I do is put fibre tape on areas that make contact with the chasis. I put a few strips on the sides, the front bumpter area and around where the shock towers hit.

[HauntedMyst]

Is the paint cracking, as in forming lines of cracks or chipping and falling off the body? They are 2 different things. If it is cracking, then you are spraying it on too thick, too few coats being sprayed too heavily. You need to make sure you spray thin even coats and let them dry between them. If the paint is chipping, you can help stop that by sanding the body with 400 to 800 grit sand paper before you wash it (you still have to wash it completely). This will give the paint more bite into the lexan. If the body is cracking, you can use fiber tape as Gutter describes, or smear some shoo goo on it around the flex points.

[Matt (aka R/C)]

Hey HauntedMyst, this is such a good acticle for painting, im about to do my first paint job(a nissan 350Z)! Thanks for the help!

http://www.rctech.net/articles/painting_hauntedmyst.shtml

Matt

[HauntedMyst]

Thanks Matt!

[rocknbil]

Well the best thing to preven paint from cracking is proper prepping of the surface, including scuffing the inside with fine steel wool. Shoe goo is to prevent the lexan from cracking.

[InspGadgt]

sLiTcH,

All the tips to prevent paint from cracking ARE painting tips. Once the paint has been applied there is no more protection for it. Paint cracking has to do with the type of paint used, body preparation, and painting tenique.

[dainjarouz]

i used both tamiya and pactra for my first paint job....tamiya paint is chipping everywhere...pactra hasnt chip ONE bit....if anyone knows of a better brand than pactra let us know! right now, i consider pactra the best.

[rocknbil]

Originally posted by dainjarouz
......right now, i consider pactra the best.....

Raises hand . . . agrees . . . . see rack at right . . .
http://www.nytebyte.com/personal/images/wraparound2.jpg

Pactra is a laquer-based paint, therefore the solvent in the laquer "melts" itself into the lexan and forms a very good bond if properly prepped. If you don't prep it though, or wash the body out w. detergent, the material used in production to help release the body from the mold will cause the laquer to chip as easily as dried chocolate frosting. :D

In all fairness, I must say that Parma Fastkolor seems to be a big contender, a lot of people use it. It is a water-based (so I am assuming acrylic) paint that sprays right out of the bottle.

[InspGadgt]

Well as far as durability goes I much prefer the laquor based Pactra paints too. But I primarily paint with Fascolor because of 2 things. 1) It's easy to work with, clean up is a breeze. And 2) Color selection is great.