How to paint my Batray?

CzTeacherMan said:

Thanks! Wish I knew how to get in touch with him. That would be awesome... Adam West at a launch would make my day.

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I think you have to use a special signal.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

I think you have to use a special signal.

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LOL... That made my morning!

Hahah

The West Signal..so cool.

I did find a few more divets in the Mega Der Purple Max so even though I was already using finish primer I went ahead and did another pass of spot putty.

After a quick sand I sprayed a little more primer over my fills and it ran in two spots.. heavy sigh

Kenny

Okay, so I started sanding down the black paint today due to the cracking. I can't decide if I should just go with another coat of primer and start over or try and salvage the pinstripes. What do you think?

It may be easier to start over but you could try to save the pin stripes first and see how it goes.

CzTeacherMan said:

Now I know why they say on the can to wait 48 hours before the next coat... I'll have to wait, sand down the nasty wrinkles and spray black again.

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Yes, a sacrifice to the paint gods for not following the instructions (I wait way longer than 48 hours BTW).

dixontj93060 said:

Yes, a sacrifice to the paint gods for not following the instructions (I wait way longer than 48 hours BTW).

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Based on your experience, what's a good wait time? Do I need a full week?

If you truly love something, you must burn and destroy it in front of as many people as possible:
[video=youtube;Z4QghNBwyt8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4QghNBwyt8[/video]

then you can purge the evil paint demons out of the rocket!

djs said:

If you truly love something, you must burn and destroy it in front of as many people as possible: then you can purge the evil paint demons out of the rocket!

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LOL... I'd rather just start over with primer...

CzTeacherMan said:

Okay, so I started sanding down the black paint today due to the cracking. I can't decide if I should just go with another coat of primer and start over or try and salvage the pinstripes. What do you think?

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I would start over with fresh primer.

Hit a fresh coat of primer followed by CWF to fill in scratches made by angry sanding. Damn my angry sanding. Followed by proper sanding which appears to be going supremely well. Should be able to have the showroom finish I was going for... Just with a few extra layers of primer and paint... Done by MWP??? Maybe. Maybe...

Painted red a week ago... Masked and ready for black. Quick question... Do I really need to scuff sand the red that will be painted over in black? I've heard that glossy paint needs to be scuffed otherwise a second color gloss won't adhere... True or false?

Masked red paint, ready for black. Little square of tape center marks the CP for easy reference...

CzTeacherMan said:

Painted red a week ago... Masked and ready for black. Quick question... Do I really need to scuff sand the red that will be painted over in black? I've heard that glossy paint needs to be scuffed otherwise a second color gloss won't adhere... True or false?

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I don't know - maybe a very gentle wet sanding with a really fine (600-800 grit) paper might be in order? but don't take my word for it. i'm by no means an expert on super glossy finishes. Mine have only ever been good'nuff.

if you're using the same brand and type of paint, you should be good to go as is.
Rex

Thanks everyone for the tips! With your help, new primer, red paint, black paint, and more patience than I thought I had, I'm back to where I was two and a half weeks ago... With no cracking paint! Woohoo!
Now to let the black dry, add the amazing StickerShock decals, paint silver nosecone tip and I'll be done...
PS... Notice the small red diamond that marks the CP location.

looks great! can't wait to see it flying at MWP!

OK... Quick question for those following the paint thread... Decals will be attached shortly, and I'm debating the pros and cons of clear coat. The problem is the silver tip and silver tail... I can't clear over the paint in using for silver (it'll turn Grey). So I can decal, clear coat, then silver or just skip the clear coat and decal then silver. I could also trade out the silver for a gloss Grey... Any thoughts, suggestions?
... Also anyone have any tips on masking the tip of a nosecone?

Applied StickerShock decals tonight... They look FANTASTIC!

CzTeacherMan said:

Applied StickerShock decals tonight... They look FANTASTIC!
View attachment 186802

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That does look pretty fantastic.

CzTeacherMan said:

... Also anyone have any tips on masking the tip of a nosecone?

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when I painted the tip of my mini-darkstar I did green first, then masked it with a finger cot with some tape to keep it from rolling/sliding up. then painted the rest black.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node=3762751&field-keywords=&rh=n:3762751

ideas for doing the inverse, since you already have the body painted:

a piece of latex with a small round hole punched in the middle then stretched over a frame. then the frame passed down over the rocket far enough for the tip to extend through the hole exposed to the depth that you want to paint silver. the hole being smaller than the diameter of the tip of the rocket, the stretched material will create a seal for masking?

liquid mask coupled with a finger cot? (use the finger cot to get a line for the liquid mask then remove the cot and paint?

cut off the top of the nose cone and install an aluminum tip?

You could wrap your “Batray” in a mélange of various decretive Duct Tape patterns and call your “Batray”. . .Wait for it. . .”THE TAPED CRUSADER”.

boomtube-mk2 said:

You could wrap your “Batray” in a mélange of various decretive Duct Tape patterns and call your “Batray”. . .Wait for it. . .”THE TAPED CRUSADER”.

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LoL.... Maybe after a rough couple flights?

It looks great!

I am going to use Rustoleum Stops Rust Metallic Silver with the metal flakes in it to repaint my rocket. On the can, it says it can be clear coated with Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel. I can't really recommend it yet, since I have not used it yet, but it is a sparkly silver-colored paint that can be clear-coated. The Rusto Bright Coat Metallic types of paint cannot, but the Stops Rust Metallics apparently can. You would want to do some tests to see if the Stops Rust Metallic Silver will adhere to and hide your color coats underneath. And you would also want to test whether the Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel will work with your color coats.

Pictures... Not sure I'm going to do the silver tip. Honestly it could go really well, or it could mess it up... So let's do a poll... Let me know if you think I should paint the tip or not. Thanks again, everyone!

I think it looks great without, and silver paint can be a problem I'd probably skip the silver tip. Good job on this one!

The paint job turned out very nice. Ixnay on the silver nose cone tip. You'll be touching it up after every range session. At least with the black paint, you can just hit it with a black Magic Marker.

Judging by the size of your bird, I'm guessing that it is actually the 4" Super Batray.

Well, now you've done it: You are hereby required by TRF build thread rules to post a flight report complete with photos at least and video if possible. Have you picked out motors for your first flights yet?

djs said:

If you truly love something, you must burn and destroy it in front of as many people as possible:
[video=youtube;Z4QghNBwyt8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4QghNBwyt8[/video]

then you can purge the evil paint demons out of the rocket!

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Monterey Pop Festival 1967. I was there and I "kinda" remember him saying something like "now I'm going to destroy something I love".

The Who smashed their gear as well. Also remember Big Brother and The Holding Company (Janis Joplin) playing there.

o1d_dude said:

The paint job turned out very nice. Ixnay on the silver nose cone tip. You'll be touching it up after every range session. At least with the black paint, you can just hit it with a black Magic Marker.

Judging by the size of your bird, I'm guessing that it is actually the 4" Super Batray.

Well, now you've done it: You are hereby required by TRF build thread rules to post a flight report complete with photos at least and video if possible. Have you picked out motors for your first flights yet?

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Assuming weather cooperates, first flight should be Saturday morning at MWP on a CTI I180 Skidmark.

Now that I've seen the pics, I'd say it looks great as-is. Get that bird in the air!