rocket paint

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My painting techniques add weight. I use multiple layers of primer, sanding between coats to remove spirals and other blemishes, and then several coats of color, and often a clear coat finish. Don't do that if concerned about weight!

If you just want nice color on the rocket, and are not looking for a perfectly smoth or perfectly glossy finish, I'd use one of the Rustoleum Painters Touch 2x paints that say "Paint plus Primer" on the can. Those do not need a primer coat. They get good coverage in few coats. Some colors come in a gloss coat, and clear coat is not necessary. I think you should get good results without adding much weight.
 
When my son and I do quick builds, I just spray a light coat of paint with no primer until I get full coverage and only sand the really bad spots. I then re spray to cover my work and it looks pretty decent from 10 feet. I prefer using Rusto 2x for this but regular paint works pretty good here as long as there is no plastic involved. If I have plastic parts, I prime them separately before color coats.

My goal here is to protection instead of aesthetics.
 
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Most people only see your rocket from 100 feet away, so how much attention you give to detail is really up to you. I have used the Krylon paint+primer spray, and it looks good. Not as good as automotive paint maybe, but good enough for most.
 
You can try wood stain, magic markers or even food dye diluted with water and sprayed on with a trigger spray bottle (be careful of getting cardboard tubes too wet...a fine light mist is best and it would be wise to test on scrap first.

Lightest is to fly naked, then decide after a few flights if it is worth it's paint. :)

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I often say to myself "why bother working so much on the finish when the rocket may be lost or damaged?"; however I'll have to say that for the rockets I've spent extra time on finishing, I've gotten much more than that back in pride in my work and compliments while other rockets I've done rush paint jobs on I still see and it just annoys me.

pic-3.jpg
 
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What's funny is that, in scale modeling, weathering (a worn/used look) is done on models. Sure aircraft & railroad loco's/rolling stock come out of the factory looking good, but the heavy use in these industries can make these vehicles look pretty bad in short time.
I try for the best finish I can with my rockets, but with the knowledge that after a few flights they will look war weary!
 
With the exception of Magic Markers all finishing primers and Paints will add some mass to your models. The end result (and amount added) will depend directly on how good a finish you want on your models.
Turely it is a craftsmanship thing! Early in ones Model Rocketry it's all about getting the birds in the air. Later as you mature in the hobby, model finishing seems to become more of an issue.
If performance only is the key to your flying then one should refrain from spanding a lot of time on finishing. but more on polishing to smooth aerodynamic areas (fins, transitions and Nosecones) removing as much mass as possible while filling draggy wood grain. Lots of methods to attain these results but even these add a small amount of mass to the overall model.
Everything in Rocketry is a trade off; Performance wise better aero often means balancing mass added & removed with Smooth sliding through the air with slick fins and wood parts.

Great looking Static models finishes are great for close up inspection on the field or display but will ALWAYS Cost altitude.
Many like myself Never even think about Altitude when building Sport flying models. We accept the fact that a babies butt smooth multi color model will be heavier then our Naked or Nearly Naked Competition Altitude models.

It's all about what YOU want with YOUR models. Type of paint; be it water based Airbrushed acrylic, Rattle can Enamels, to Super Automotive SprayGun applied Polyurethanes Add considerable mass to the models regardless of application technique. The larger the model the larger the mass increase. Only way to counter this is to remove Mass in other areas, ie thinner fins, hollow wooden parts. less plastic etc.

Primer is very heavy but we are supposed to be sanding off the majority of the primer anyway so it is not as big a deal as one might think.
Most models should have at least a two coat color coat just so it holds up under normal handling, flying and Landings.

Decide what you want your models to look like, Great close up or Good at 15-30feet. Even the worst open grain wood and unfinished bodytubes look just fine from 15-30feet away;)
 
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