What tools do you use to visualize a paint design?

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lcorinth said:
How did you do that mask? I did some simple triangles for my Hi Flier, but I got some tape dams. I masked one edge of the triangle with a big piece of tape, then went back and masked over that for the other edge, and there were marks afterwards.

lKgGRMh.jpg


A flat clear coat masked some of this, but not all of it.

Also, you can see I still have texture problems (the fins aren't properly filled, but that's not what I mean. That was a mistake, and I know why it happened). Someone once told me this was "orange peel." I don't know if that's true - I photograph my rockets pretty close up to get details, and use the macro function, so the texture is kind of exaggerated in pictures. Looking at the rocket with the naked eye, this doesn't look like some of the bad orange peel I've seen on other rockets. But it's also not totally smooth.

Am I expecting too much from a can of spray paint? I've been trying my hardest to follow all the instructions I can find on getting a smooth paint job, but there's still a tiny bit of texture on all my rockets. I've thought of trying an air brush, but I've never used one before. Would that perhaps give me a better texture?
Click to expand...

I just use making tape. For the line itself, I use a high quality hobby tape, then I use regular painters tape to cover large area. The Phoenix used no masking.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
My experience has been that if you are getting this kind of spattered texture, it is probably a bad nozzle on the paint can. As soon as you see paint going on with any amount of texture at all, swap out the nozzle. Also, if you warm the paint cans in warm (not hot, just warm) water, the paint goes on better.
Click to expand...

Ditto. Nozzles can be crap... Warming the paint always helps.

Also, pay attention to how you're holding the can... Distance makes a big difference, especially depending on humidity and temperature of the air you're spraying in. I spray outside or in my garage with the door open. I usually do a quick test spray on cardboard just to see what the paint is doing that day, adjust until I'm happy, then go from there. Distance from nozzle to rocket, angle of can, how well shaken it is beforehand, and how fast/smooth your spray motion is can all be factors in a final finish. Sounds complicated, but use your intuition and learn from each job. You'll get it!
 
@ lcorinth... Another thing that can help with painting is remembering the order of acquisition...

Always paint lighter colors first, then the dark ones. In cammo patterns you'd paint the tan (or white) first, then the next darkest color, then the next darker color (and so on) until you reach your final color.

Presuming that you had primed your rocket, you should have had a coat of white primer to help the yellow stand out, then the yellow, then mask that off, and paint the blue. It takes less thick color coats to get the yellow to show clearly.
 
lcorinth said:
Beautiful! How do you get that cool crossfade effect in the paint colors? I'd like to learn how to do that.
Edit- And how do you get them so darned shiny? I'm still trying to get my paint to look like that.
Click to expand...
For the cross fade or any effect on O.R, I search on the net . For the paint cross fade, it is more complicated. I painted the rocket all black and add silver after with a fading twist.

But for the shiny paint trick, just look for this gray sliding switch Shinny switch.JPG around your motor retainer, on the last centering ring and slide it to 100%

:rolleyes:
Lots of clear coats did the trick, but I used automotive paint and clear.
 
Last edited:
I make my wife come up with paint designs. I have no artistic abilities.
 
I just think about it a lot and go to bed thinking about it,usually a couple times. Once I start the paint process I just go with it and work quick. I let the paint do the work. 90% of the time I'm really-really happy. The other 10%--eh--that's why God made paint--just redo!!Ya gotta remember those decals and stuff are part of the scheme too, so ya just gotta head in a certain direction and go with it. some pics from the past--100_1621.jpg--DSCF0026.JPG--100_2119.jpg--- The point is, don't fixate on any single point of your paint scheme. Flow with it and be ready for change smack in the middle of the job.
 
Since I use Autocad to draw my designs, they usually end up looking like a rocket with two fins, instead of the intended 3 or 4. I recently designed my 1st 5 finned model, which I brought into Corel Draw, where I was able to shape the fins for a better perspective look. It also enables me to color my design with a given set of colors or customized colors. Here's the difference. Granted, this color pattern is not set in stone. Just my first rendition

CAD drawing.

Platinum Centaur Basic.jpg

Platinum Centaur from Corel.

Platinum Centaur.jpg

.
 
Box of my 2 year old's crayons and a piece of paper.
 

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