Recommend a good bright-orange rattle-can paint?

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fyrwrxz said:
FWIW-I only needed some for a nose cone and fins. I used the Testor's Racing Orange after trying 3-4 other brands of orange. Yeah- it's a small can and rather expensive by comparison, but I didn't need another can of paint I'd hardly use.
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A Big +1 on the Testors orange paint. I believe the one I used to repair my Estes Magnum was called "Competition Orange". Not florescent but very bright and glossy. BTW, the paint on the remade booster matched the 20 year old paint on the sustainer stage perfectly.

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tmacklin said:
A Big +1 on the Testors orange paint. I believe the one I used to repair my Estes Magnum was called "Competition Orange". Not florescent but very bright and glossy. BTW, the paint on the remade booster matched the 20 year old paint on the sustainer stage perfectly.
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Just checked the can and Ted is right; Competition Orange it is!.
 
fyrwrxz said:
FWIW-I only needed some for a nose cone and fins. I used the Testor's Racing Orange after trying 3-4 other brands of orange. Yeah- it's a small can and rather expensive by comparison, but I didn't need another can of paint I'd hardly use.
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tmacklin said:
A Big +1 on the Testors orange paint. I believe the one I used to repair my Estes Magnum was called "Competition Orange". Not florescent but very bright and glossy. BTW, the paint on the remade booster matched the 20 year old paint on the sustainer stage perfectly.
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fyrwrxz said:
Just checked the can and Ted is right; Competition Orange it is!.
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The color looks good guys, but I'm painting a Warlock. It's a 7.5" airframe and almost 5 feet long! I don't think the little Testors cans are going to work in this case. But thanks anyway!
 
ChrisAttebery said:
Especially on a Warlock.
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I ended up using 3 cans of Rustoleum (Rusto 2X for the blue and normal for the silver) on mine, but the nose cone didn't take paint well and needs repainting (and, of course, lots of sanding) so it will end up being 4 cans.
IMG_1134.jpg

What's your plan for painting yours Thirsty? I know one of the LUNAR guys has a jack-o-lantern themed black and orange painted one...
 
SCrocketfan said:
I ended up using 3 cans of Rustoleum (Rusto 2X for the blue and normal for the silver) on mine, but the nose cone didn't take paint well and needs repainting (and, of course, lots of sanding) so it will end up being 4 cans.
View attachment 255648

What's your plan for painting yours Thirsty? I know one of the LUNAR guys has a jack-o-lantern themed black and orange painted one...
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I have a secret plan for this design and will reveal the final product in dramatic style when it is complete! I can tell you it is not jack-o-lantern, but it will have a theme and involve some vinyl graphics. I'm thinking orange is the best color for the design I have in mind, but I'm not 100% sure yet.

SC, did you prep the NC on your Warlock with any kind of special primers or adhesion promoters? I've heard these NCs do not take paint well and need an adhesion promoter. I believe in an earlier Warlock build thread, the builder used Bulldog, and I think Chris A also used it. I'm planning to get that or something like it. In the past I've used a spray primer called Zinsser 123 on questionable surfaces, and it seems to stick really well to almost anything, but I'm planning to try the Bulldog on the Warlock if I can find it. The last thing I want is to buy a bunch of vinyl, and then have all the paint start to peel off around it!
 
I sanded the DoorKnob cone with 150 or 220 grit paper. Then I shot the BullDog on it. It left the surface with a rough texture that had to be sanded down again. I'm not sure how much of the BullDog was left afterward. I shot 2X on top of that and sanded in between coats.

For Sami's 4" Warlock I just sanded with 220 and then started shooting 2X primer, sanded with 320-400, repeat. It takes a couple coats to get it smooth, but it's worth it in the end.
 
BTW: I can't wait to see the scheme you come up with. Your MDRMWP looked great in the pictures I saw.
 
ChrisAttebery said:
I sanded the DoorKnob cone with 150 or 220 grit paper. Then I shot the BullDog on it. It left the surface with a rough texture that had to be sanded down again. I'm not sure how much of the BullDog was left afterward. I shot 2X on top of that and sanded in between coats.

For Sami's 4" Warlock I just sanded with 220 and then started shooting 2X primer, sanded with 320-400, repeat. It takes a couple coats to get it smooth, but it's worth it in the end.
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So it sounds like maybe the Bulldog is not necesary. That's some expensive paint, so if I can get away with a cheaper primer, I'd prefer to do that. I foresee the most time-consuming process with the Warlock being sanding ---- maybe 2 days to build it, and then 5 weeks of sanding!

ChrisAttebery said:
BTW: I can't wait to see the scheme you come up with. Your MDRMWP looked great in the pictures I saw.
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Thanks! I am really happy with the looks of that rocket. This one will be a bit more silly, but I think it will be a fun design. I'm still gathering graphics files to send to Stickershock It's been difficult finding them hi-res enough to scale up to Warlock size.

What was your design for Sami's 4" Warlock?
 
I didn't use any primer, but ended up sanding part of the cone where the seams are. I'm going to sand the whole cone and repaint, and maybe sand in between coats if it's looking uneven. It sure takes a lot of coats to get the 2X to paint well. I have a mouse sander which really helps reduce sanding time.

I can't wait to see the design for your Warlock. Any hints about the general theme?
 
SCrocketfan said:
I didn't use any primer, but ended up sanding part of the cone where the seams are. I'm going to sand the whole cone and repaint, and maybe sand in between coats if it's looking uneven. It sure takes a lot of coats to get the 2X to paint well. I have a mouse sander which really helps reduce sanding time.

I can't wait to see the design for your Warlock. Any hints about the general theme?
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I think if you sand off all the paint and then put on a primer coat of some kind, you'll get much better results. The 2x paint generally has really good coverage compared to other paints, so I think what was happening with your nose cone was not related to coverage problems --- it was an adhesion problem. You can get a lot of really good coats of paint on and have a very nice deep consistent color and excellent smooth finish, but if the paint has poor adhesion, it will just peel off or flake away.

Primer will generally stick well to surfaces where a color coat won't stick well. And color coat paint will generally stick better to primer (and also will cover better when applied over primer) than it will to an unprepared surface. So primer is the interface that allows the paint to adhere to the surface and cover it evenly. If you are having any issues with adhesion and with coverage, then it can probably be attributed to lack of primer.

I always use some kind of primer, and generally it is the Rustoleum Filler Primer. My concern with this rocket was that I had heard the nose cone is especially hard for any kind of paint to stick to, so I was asking about whether it needs an even STICKIER primer, like the Zinsser or the Bulldog adhesion promoter.

Believe it or not, I may actually end up using 3 different primers on this rocket before even adding any color. After first sanding the seams smooth and doing at least a light sanding of the entire NC to promote adhesion, I'm thinking about starting with the Zinsser 123 for its extra strong adhesion. After that is fully dried and cured, I'll hit it with a few coats of the Rustoleum Filler Primer. That layer will be for sanding smooth. It's a high-build primer that is very soft and easy to sand to a nice smooth finish. After it is smooth, I'm thinking about adding a third layer of primer in a flat white. The filler primer only comes in gray, and colors like bright orange generally look best when applied over white, so that is the reason for a third primer --- a nice flat white surface for the color coat to go over. Crazy, right?

I will give one hint about the theme. This rocket will have a Rocket theme. That might sound like BS, but it is actually a legitimate clue!
 
I second fyrwxz's comment. Testor's Racing Orange is an excellent choice for a bright orange if you're going for high visibility.

Dennis
 
Rusto 2x supposedly sticks to plastic, even the polypropelene LOC uses. I'd clean the cone thoroughly with alcohol, sand it with 220, and then apply 2x primer.
I've had fair success with this approach, though not 100%.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I think if you sand off all the paint and then put on a primer coat of some kind, you'll get much better results. The 2x paint generally has really good coverage compared to other paints, so I think what was happening with your nose cone was not related to coverage problems --- it was an adhesion problem. You can get a lot of really good coats of paint on and have a very nice deep consistent color and excellent smooth finish, but if the paint has poor adhesion, it will just peel off or flake away.

Primer will generally stick well to surfaces where a color coat won't stick well. And color coat paint will generally stick better to primer (and also will cover better when applied over primer) than it will to an unprepared surface. So primer is the interface that allows the paint to adhere to the surface and cover it evenly. If you are having any issues with adhesion and with coverage, then it can probably be attributed to lack of primer.

I always use some kind of primer, and generally it is the Rustoleum Filler Primer. My concern with this rocket was that I had heard the nose cone is especially hard for any kind of paint to stick to, so I was asking about whether it needs an even STICKIER primer, like the Zinsser or the Bulldog adhesion promoter.

Believe it or not, I may actually end up using 3 different primers on this rocket before even adding any color. After first sanding the seams smooth and doing at least a light sanding of the entire NC to promote adhesion, I'm thinking about starting with the Zinsser 123 for its extra strong adhesion. After that is fully dried and cured, I'll hit it with a few coats of the Rustoleum Filler Primer. That layer will be for sanding smooth. It's a high-build primer that is very soft and easy to sand to a nice smooth finish. After it is smooth, I'm thinking about adding a third layer of primer in a flat white. The filler primer only comes in gray, and colors like bright orange generally look best when applied over white, so that is the reason for a third primer --- a nice flat white surface for the color coat to go over. Crazy, right?

I will give one hint about the theme. This rocket will have a Rocket theme. That might sound like BS, but it is actually a legitimate clue!
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Alright, I'll use primer after sanding then. I may try Rustoleum Filler Primer, or Bulldog. Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure why I was able to get good paint adhesion on my Magg with no primer when this refused to work, but it's great to know primer will help.

I totally get the hint about the theme, that should be awesome (and possibly slightly scary)... Can't wait to see this.
 
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My Gypsy said:
I second fyrwxz's comment. Testor's Racing Orange is an excellent choice for a bright orange if you're going for high visibility.

Dennis
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I'm sure it's great. I'm just wondering how many 4 oz cans it would take. The rocket is larger than many elementary school children.

loc_warloc4.jpg


loc_warlok.jpg


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mikec said:
Rusto 2x supposedly sticks to plastic, even the polypropelene LOC uses. I'd clean the cone thoroughly with alcohol, sand it with 220, and then apply 2x primer.
I've had fair success with this approach, though not 100%.
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I'll definitely do the cleaning and sanding steps. I'm mostly wondering about the best primer to use directly on the plastic. You've had decent luck with the 2x primer on clean, sanded polypropylene?
 
SCrocketfan said:
Alright, I'll use primer after sanding then. I may try Rustoleum Filler Primer, or Bulldog. Thanks for the explanation. I'm not sure why I was able to get good paint adhesion on my Magg with no primer when this refused to work, but it's great to know primer will help.

I totally get the hint about the theme, that should be awesome (and possibly slightly scary)... Can't wait to see this.
Click to expand...

The Bulldog seems pretty expensive to me, so I might see what others suggest. I was concerned the filler primer might not adhere as well to polypropylene as it does to other plastics and to wood and cardboard. Maybe it would be fine directly on the plastic or maybe something else would be better. I'm hoping for more feedback before I proceed and may even start a separate thread on painting polypropylene NCs before starting.

I don't know why the paint worked well on the Magg but not on the Warlock. It could be there was some kind of contamination present on the surface of the Warlock that was not on the Magg. As Mikec mentioned above, it's a good idea to wash and sand the NC before applying anything to it. That gives the surface some texture for paint or primer to stick to, but it also removes contaminants that can prevent adhesion.

I'd suggest you fully sand the first paint off all the way down to the plastic before applying your primer. The ironic thing about primer is that even though it sticks to most surfaces well and is designed to help color coat paint stick, the one thing primer does NOT stick well to is gloss coat paint. So once you've applied a glossy coat, if you want to repaint, and you want to use primer, you've got a lot of sanding to do. Ask me how I know...

I'm looking forward to working on this theme! It should be pretty fun. So far most of the graphics I have found that are large enough for the Warlock are not of the scary variety (which is kind of too bad). I've found some good ones that I think will work. And I've found a few great graphics that are scary, but they aren't really oriented the right way for a good wrap. I'm still doing some looking, and I think I'm going to just send everything I find to Stickershock whether I think it will work or not and see what ideas he has.
 
I use Rustoleum Plastic Primer that I buy from Autozone or O'Reilly's. It's served me well on all nosecones including the ones from MadCow that most folks won't even try to paint because they're so paint resistant.

Note: Read the label. One thin coat and let it dry at least SEVEN DAYS before you begin priming it with your primer of choice. Maximum adhesion develops over time.

This is the stuff that is used for plastic bumpers and such on cars.
 
o1d_dude said:
I use Rustoleum Plastic Primer that I buy from Autozone or O'Reilly's. It's served me well on all nosecones including the ones from MadCow that most folks won't even try to paint because they're so paint resistant.

Note: Read the label. One thin coat and let it dry at least SEVEN DAYS before you begin priming it with your primer of choice. Maximum adhesion develops over time.

This is the stuff that is used for plastic bumpers and such on cars.
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That stuff sounds promising! I'd like to get a good adhesion layer, and then use the filler primer after that to get a nice smooth finish.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
I'm looking forward to working on this theme! It should be pretty fun. So far most of the graphics I have found that are large enough for the Warlock are not of the scary variety (which is kind of too bad). I've found some good ones that I think will work. And I've found a few great graphics that are scary, but they aren't really oriented the right way for a good wrap. I'm still doing some looking, and I think I'm going to just send everything I find to Stickershock whether I think it will work or not and see what ideas he has.
Click to expand...
Hopefully you can find a large enough graphic. It would be bad if the decal was fuzzy...
 
I haven't seen anyone mention it, but if you have a Tractor Supply nearby - or a Kubota dealership, you might try their choices in the 'Kubota Orange' (there is a 'Kubota Orange' (older and more yellow) and a 'New Kubota Orange' (newer and more red)) - not sure if the Kubota dealership would have the old, but may. These 'tractor/industrial' enamels are formulated to cure out really hard (and I'd let it spend an afternoon in the full sun to help that along). Those that Tractor Supply have are Valspar 'knockoffs' - but, other comments notwithstanding, I've had reasonably good success with them.

As to painting the PP (polypropylene) nosecones, PP can be a bear to get a good, solid paint coverage on. The 'accepted' industrial approach of treating PP prior to painting is to either 'flame' them or treat with a sulfuric (?? IIRC) acid wash - the effect in both instances is to 'carbonize' the surface a little and make the material more amenable to paint. 'Flaming' (lightly playing a torch flame over the surface) is something that (obviously) must be done with care, as it would be real easy to have a bad day (unless you have a case of nose cones to play with) and melt the plastic. Possibly an old nose cone left over from a prang might be good to practice on. You can probably Google around and find a more detailed discussion of this practice.

It is my understanding that this 'Fusion' line of paint (Krylon??) is supposed to be formulated to work better on plastics. I've got some, but never used it as yet. Not sure if they might have a primer - but a flat white might work as an alternative (you would want the Fusion layer to be in direct contact with the plastic surface).

-- john.

edit: some links...

https://www.google.com/search?q=flame+treating+polypropylene&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTiCWp0unjs

https://www.google.com/search?q=acid+treating+polypropylene&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
 
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