Best colors for visibility to spray my rocket??

Anyone give me some advice on which spray paint is best for visibility and should I use primer??? thanks

Hazard Orange, Neon Yellow, Red.

Primer will enhance durability and finish.

Always use primer and fluorescent paint usually needs a white base coat. Many years ago the late Howard Kuhn stated that all rockets should be red-orange because it looks better and flies higher - we proved that at the launch the next day!

A bright contrasting color also helps it stand out after it is back on the ground. If it tends to be cloudy where you launch (as is the case for me), then painting the rocket a darker color can enhance its visibility against a backdrop of clouds. Often it is the parachute or the streamer (if it is a large one) that is the part of the rocket that is easiest to track. A brightly-painted rocket paired with a darker colored parachute is one good combination, for example. Another way to enhance visibility and trackability of high flying rockets is to add shiny metallic or "holographic" tape or stickers to the body and to use a shiny metallic streamer. With really high flying rockets the flash of sunlight reflecting off of the shiny stuff may be all that you will be able to see once it really gets up there. Finally, it never hurts to bring a pair of binoculars.

Black and orange.

The orange really sticks out against the ground, but the black does a better job against a light blue sky or white clouds.

What it comes down to is what colors not to use. Mostly it's blues, greens, and grays. I'm partialy colorblind in these colors and the same goes for the rest of us so afflicted. I can't play those MMO FPS Army games that are so all over the internet for free these days, I'm dead before I can see the enemy:shock:

In fire department tests lime-green is the most visible ...in a fog Now, I know as we don't normaly fly in fog that might not be of much use(then again, some of us are in a full-time fog )Black is easiest to follow in bright light. On rockets the best thing I've found to increase visibility is chrome Mylar tape found in the RC planes section in your LHC. Not the prismatic tape, it scatters light too much to be of real use. Even 1 1" wrapped stripe can be seen flashing for miles in the bright sunlight.

It depends on your location, the time of year and the weather/sky conditions. A color scheme that would be great on a sunny day might not be so good the next day if it is cloudy. Green would be a terrible color in most places in the summer, but it would be pretty good here in Ohio in the winter, both in the sky and on the ground.

All of this advice notwithstanding, I routinely launch rockets that are just covered in white primer. It does a great job of camouflaging them when they are 1,500'+ aloft, especially in overcast skies. Their neon green or neon orange parachutes always give them away, though, and I end up recovering them without much effort. It is always the parachute that I spot on the ground, rather than the rocket itself.

One word

Fluorescent

Very popular when I started in rocketry in the early 70's

MarkII said:

Their neon green or neon orange parachutes always give them away, though, and I end up recovering them without much effort. It is always the parachute that I spot on the ground, rather than the rocket itself.

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What he said. I prefer black for the airframe as it's easy to see against both blue skies and white clouds. But it's the parachute that I see first on the ground, so make it really bright. :wink:

dlazarus6660 said:

One word

Fluorescent

Very popular when I started in rocketry in the early 70's

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Just not fluorescent green. That was a bad idea I will never again repeat.

Fluorescent parachutes FTW!

I would agree with the idea of reflective tape as an accent. I was in New Mexico recently and the road signs just GLOW in the sunshine! A pinstripe or ring of reflective tape, prismatic or otherwise, should hopefully get your attention from afar ether in the air or on the ground.

Scott

NAR#91379 L0

I wrapped two rings of prismatic tape (Sky Sheen brand) around my BT-55 airframed "Flat Black" but didn't notice any flashes while under the chute.

I used that stuff all the time on my balsa Hand Launched Gliders and it worked great. Not sure why the FAIL on my rocket.

Kit,
Might be the angle of reflection, I know the road signs were visible at extremely long distances, little yellow glowing dot in the distance, granted thats a 2'x2' sign. I may just have been at a good angle to the sign, I am still going to use some on MPR with a Neon chute.

Scott

NAR#91379 L0

Yellow is bad, unless you recover in something other than green.

Estes Mosquito, painted yellow, landing in grass -- it'll drive ya bonkers!

My personal favorite, for visibility, is bright pink -- easy to spot anywhere, except perhaps the Mary Kay parking lot...

-Kevin

I agree with Kevin
Hot Pink

troj said:

Yellow is bad, unless you recover in something other than green.

Estes Mosquito, painted yellow, landing in grass -- it'll drive ya bonkers!

My personal favorite, for visibility, is bright pink -- easy to spot anywhere, except perhaps the Mary Kay parking lot...

-Kevin

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Troo dat.

BTW, it flies on E30's.

I vote for anything metallic.

The rocket in the picture is a 3" Wildman that's a bit over 7 feet long. It's painted with Rustoleum Charcoal Metallic, then clear-coated. It's very highly polished, even though it doesn't really look it in the picture.

I was able to easily follow the rocket visually to over 12k feet on a sunny day and keep it in sight till landing, even though it came down over a mile away (and my eyesight stinks). It's relatively easy to see on the ground as well.

Kevin,
I was not advocating Yellow, but the retro reflection of the sign that was Yellow. They make retro reflective tape in many colors.

-Scott

NAR#91379 L0

I've been researching florescent color paints lately as the new spray on removable wraps have them n a matte finish so no topcoat is necessary.

Colors not found in nature. Avoid anything that looks like camo at all costs. I like red, orange, bright yellow, and Navy blue. My chutes are pretty much all fluorescent or dark colors so that they stand out against the sky.

Wow, a 10 year old thread necro (pushing 11), might be a new record!

I've got paint older than that

David Schwantz said:

I've got paint older than that

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Me too....lots of little square bottles of Testors, some pushing 30 years...

Gotta use channel locks to get them open.

rharshberger said:

Wow, a 10 year old thread necro (pushing 11), might be a new record!

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Not even close. Record (at least I think it is) is more than 19 years: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/new-items-for-viewing.71059/post-2069105

cjl said:

Black and orange.

The orange really sticks out against the ground, but the black does a better job against a light blue sky or white clouds.

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There are, of course, exceptions to every rule when it comes to the evil that is trees.

neil_w said:

Not even close. Record (at least I think it is) is more than 19 years: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/new-items-for-viewing.71059/post-2069105

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Oh well, lots to see on TRF anyways, and some old stuff (lots really) is still relevant.

rharshberger said:

Oh well, lots to see on TRF anyways, and some old stuff (lots really) is still relevant.

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Yes, some old stuff is definitely worth surfacing again once in a while.