I think I screwd up buying spray paint.

[Marc_G]

Wayco: the zigzag frill thing just aft of the nose cone of the Eliminator... how did you do that? Sticker? Or some special masking technique? Awesome work.

<makes "we're not worthy" motions>

[MarkII]

In my own case, I went to Diary Aire last year for my first "big" launch. The field was dirt and the wind was blowing 12-15 mph. I just couldn't bring myself to launch my oh so pretty rockets. That's when I realized the value of doing the paint job "well enough" to satisfy my need for the feeling of accomplishment while still being able to put the bird up in less than desirable conditions. It's a balancing act.

PS. I will admit to still touching up paint chips and such after a day out on the range so I'm not 100% out of the woods yet.

I do admit that most of my rockets do most of their flying while covered only in primer. The warm season is relatively brief here and warm dry days are scarcer still, and I spend a lot of time on base prep, soooo......getting the color coats on (let alone the decals) takes awhile. Plus I'm a bit fussy about doing a good job, as you can tell. So I'm not ashamed to fly them in just their underwear. Getting them to their job-interview best is the goal, though. And they do get there eventually.

[Wayco]

Thanks for all the compliments guys. I have been painting for a while, my first real paint job was on a 1947 Chevy convertible. I think I was 14 at the time. The nicest one was on a Cessna Skylane, wish I had a picture of that beauty. Model rockets with rattlecans are a lot easier, even if I do still screw one up once in a while. It really does help to have nice warm, dry conditions. Sharon's Eliminator comes with lots of decals, and that one at the base of the nosecone is one of them. I probably could duplicate it with an air brush, but why? I suppose someday I will have enough sense to not fly a rocket on a windy day (that I have spent ten or twenty hours painting,) but that hasn't happened yet. But I'm also the guy that owns a $50,000 Jeep Rubicon and does this to it:


Yeah, I've painted it too, a few times.... And we did drive it out of Pritchett Canyon in Moab, one of the hardest Jeep trails I have ever been on.

[luke strawwalker]

Jumping in here just a little...

Luke, I spray Rusto "Stops Rust" Crystal Clear Enamel over Rusto fluorescents all the time. It works beautifully but it is somewhat prone to chipping on the nose cone. I'm partial to the fluro pink and use Rusto Metallics Midnight Black (with sparkles) for the trim.

Here's a closeup of the final result. Yes, there was a LOT of masking tape involved.

Yeah I bet! That looks REALLY good.

I know that you can clearcoat over it and it tends to lose a bit of it's flourescent properties (not sure how much of it has to do with the "chalky" texture of the paint grabbing UV rays bouncing around down in the paint skin or something) but I was specifically wondering about the FUTURE floor polish... I know it works well over regular paints and was curious about the effect on flourescents.

@ Mark: I don't think ANYTHING works well over metallics, but I'd be PLEASANTLY surprised and glad to be proven wrong!!!

Later! OL JR

[luke strawwalker]

Has anyone tried Testors Laquer? They had a bunch of nice bright colors at the hobby shop. It claims to dry in minutes. I might try some in the future unless you all already know they're junk.

Yes, Testors is good paint... but it's VERY expensive for those little bitty cans...

shame they don't sell them in larger cans at a better price-- but cest la vis'...

Later! OL JR

[pick1e]

So I'm not ashamed to fly them in just their underwear.

The models that I sprayed and started the post about are an Estes Yankee and a Guardian. I figure the Guardian will have a longer life... so wanted to give it a good paint job. I also wanted to fly them this weekend. So I jumped the gun on the Yankee and painted the fins after only 24 hrs since they didn't feel tacky. I will, however, hold off on the Guardian for now to let it dry properly.

So hopefully if I can fly them this weekend the Yankee will have socks and underwear but the Guardian will be underwear only

I kind of want to see if they even fly straight before spending the time finishing them!

[pick1e]

Meanwhile I use the 40% off coupons one at a time. It helps!

That was my plan You all probably already know this but you can print them online and use one per day. So depending on how close your Hobby Lobby is...

[luke strawwalker]

Even the best paint that you can buy is only as good as the surface that has been prepared for it and the skill with which it has been applied, though..

Couldn't have said it better myself... ABSOLUTE TRUTH!

There are a lot of things in life that are only as good as the first step-- garbage in, garbage out. Even if you do the first step right, there's still plenty opportunity to mess it up in subsequent steps, but painting is one of those things that if step one (prep) is shoddy, no matter HOW good a paint you use or HOW skilled you are with a can, airbrush, or spray gun, the results are NEVER going to be as good as they could have been had the prep work been done to *perfection* (relatively speaking).

Skillful painters can produce stunning results with cheap paint, too; I've seen it. It really is the painter, not the paint. My hat is off to all of you master painters.

Yes, that's true. I'm not what I'd call a "master" painter but this ain't my first rodeo, either, and your statement is really true... If you know what your'e doing, you can do good work with just about anything. If you don't know what you're doing, $700 a gallon automotive two-part polyurethane isn't going to help you...

Personally, I've had really good luck with the Walmart Colorplace 99 cent a can stuff... only basic colors but it produces good results. I've had pretty decent luck with the new Krylon, but I've heard SO many horror stories that I can't recommend the stuff, and would suggest newbies to painting stay away from it. A GOOD paint should be a bit forgiving, not finicky like new Krylon is... Ya know, we could probably all stop calling it "new" Krylon since it's been out a couple years now and the old stuff is basically completely going away... I've heard some say that they can't even get it from the industrial supply houses anymore (old Krylon, the good lacquer spray paint everybody was so fond of for those who don't know). I've heard pretty good stuff about Rustoleum, and a LOT of good stuff about Valspar...

Later! OL JR

[MarkII]

Personally, I've had really good luck with the Walmart Colorplace 99 cent a can stuff... only basic colors but it produces good results.

I do really like the Colorplace Stops Rust paint. So far I have only used the Gloss White, but I love how it covers and how easy it is to get a smooth coat. It has become my "go to" white paint.

[pick1e]

Well last night I painted the fins on the Yankee even though it was only 24 hours. I don't know if it's because it was the second layer, or the weather, or the paint, but the red wasn't even tacky a couple hours after spraying, so I went ahead and put on the blue too. Today they both seem very dry so I finished her up.

As I said though I'm taking my time according to instructions on the nicer rocket. This one, however, I thought I'd just finish up. Maybe the paint will crack or something down the road, but who knows, maybe I'll never even see it again?

It's a sharp little rocket if I may say so myself! The white paint on the "Yankee" decal is a bit thin so it looks dark on the blue, but hey it was $10.

[pick1e]

Thanks for the advice guys. Today I got a can of Testors lacquer at Hobby Lobby 40% off, like $3.50 for the can. Great coverage and dried in minutes!

[gpoehlein]

You know, there is one other alternative that you guys haven't mentioned - air brushing acrylics. You can use an inexpensive external mix airbrush (I would recommend a compressor as the cans get cold and loose their oomph pretty quick) to apply acrylics like either Tamiya Color or Testors Model Master Acrylic paint. Acrylics dry very quickly when airbrushed and I've never had a problem putting on the next coat whenever. Acrylics also take decals well and, once clear coated, are just as tough as enamels. True, you can't get very precise with an external mix brush, but it is at least as precise as a rattle can, so what's the difference. The Black Brant II is painted with Tamiya Acrylics through an external mix airbrush - I think it looks at least as good as if I'd painted it with rattle can enamels (and I COULD have used some of the old formula Krylon - I still have a stock! )

[pick1e]

Greg,

I actually used to airbrush model railroad stuff. Still have the compressor but airbrush pooped out years ago- trigger valve I think it was. I intend to get a nice new one sometime.

The thing I always hated about airbrushing was cleaning it! Just shot a tiny little stripe on the model, then had to disassemble and clean the whole thing. And mixing the paint with thinner, etc... I'm kind of liking this spraying out of a can thing!

How long do you wait for a layer to dry before masking it?

[modeltrains]

a $50,000 Jeep Rubicon and does this to it:

Dad always said, whatever you do, do a better job of it every time you do it

[Wayco]

Dad always said, whatever you do, do a better job of it every time you do it

My Dad had a favorite quote too: "You can do that, but this is what's gonna happen...." And he was usually right. So far, that was my only roll, so I haven't done a better one yet. Sorry for the off topic.

Pickle, you should have an easy time getting a good finish with that paint, I have had excellent luck using it. Be sure to post up pic's of your Guardian.

[gpoehlein]

Greg,

I actually used to airbrush model railroad stuff. Still have the compressor but airbrush pooped out years ago- trigger valve I think it was. I intend to get a nice new one sometime.

The thing I always hated about airbrushing was cleaning it! Just shot a tiny little stripe on the model, then had to disassemble and clean the whole thing. And mixing the paint with thinner, etc... I'm kind of liking this spraying out of a can thing!

How long do you wait for a layer to dry before masking it?

The cleanup thing is why I suggested an external mix airbrush - they tend to be a bit easier to clean than an internal mix.

I don't really remember how long I waited to mask it, but I think I just let it dry overnight. Acrylics dry fast and hard. I think I painted the whole thing in a couple of days. The really nice thing was that I could paint it indoors using a large box as a spray booth without ventilating it. Spray painting indoors with the air conditioning going does have its advantages (climate controlled humidity levels are a real plus here!)

[pick1e]

Pickle, you should have an easy time getting a good finish with that paint, I have had excellent luck using it. Be sure to post up pic's of your Guardian.

Here's a pic of my Guardian. I thought the red would help make it more visible than the Estes scheme but now that I've flown it half a dozen times I realize it wouldn't matter at 700 feet. But I think it looks sharp. Could be better quality if I didn't rush it- but as was discussed earlier, I'm igniting black powder underneath it. It's not a display model hehe

This is all Rustoleum enamel. I used some Testors lacquer on my next rocket (Laser Lance) but used some enamel too. Didn't want it all metallic. I didn't use any putty on the Guardian either but I started that practice with the Laser Lance.

[LW Bercini]

A slight tangent here, but I feel the need to vent a little bit...

Went to the hardware store to pick up some paint over the weekend. They reminded me that I couldn't buy spray paint in the city of Chicago. I had to head to the suburbs to get it instead.

Absurd and frustrating!!!!


There, I feel better now.

[dhurstell]

Can you tell we have been married for over twenty years?

Yes, your wife not only puts up with your rockets, but has begun participating with you.

[pick1e]

Yes, your wife not only puts up with your rockets, but has begun participating with you.

My fiance participates with me. She says "You want to go right now? Didn't you just go the other day? Yea I'll go with ya."

She enjoys it more than she lets on