Decals on Snakeskin Paint

[BDB]

I am thinking about painting my Binder Design Tyrannosaur with a snakeskin-ish pattern. I made my first attempt last week using some fishnet stockings that I purchased on Amazon. (My wife will not stop teasing me about how excited I was when they arrived in the mail.)

I painted a piece of scrap cardboard black, then covered it with the "mask" and sprayed it with Rustoleum Hammered Rosemary (from Home Depot).



The netting moved a little on me, so it isn't exactly what I wanted, but I'm pretty pleased for my first attempt.



So now for the question....I wouldn't call the finish rough, but it definitely isn't smooth. Will vinyl decals adhere to a textured finish like this?

 

[K'Tesh]

I'm pretty pleased for my first attempt.

I'm not going to try to tackle your question. However, I'm going to say your paint test looks really Cool :cool2: (even with the "moving" problem you had). I have got to try this someday.

One thing that I would do is figure out a way to suspend your rocket horizontally that allows you to spin it without touching it, then apply your paint.

I found for me that a bike stand (for doing repairs) works well, as does a heavy duty, iron, high backed lawnchair. Just make sure you clear away any spiderwebs before trying to paint.

 

[Screaminhelo]

I can't say that I have a great deal of experience with vinyl but based on all of the 1 set that I have used, I think that they would work out O.K. A warm hairdryer may help them to snuggle down if they dont lay down like you want. I would recommend a gloss clear coat under them and then clear over them.

 

[dixontj93060]

I have plans to do highlights with the snake effect on a LOC King Viper I have in my build pile. I did a test similar to yours. I'm surprised that it was fairly easy. Regarding the textured paint, I've tried on other rockets and never had success with vinyl decals. I would suggest keeping it smooth, at least in the actual decal area.

 

[jd2cylman]

Best thing to do is shoot an email to Mark @ stickershock. He'll know the answers for sure.

Adrian

 

[mpitfield]

I realize this is not applicable to your specific rocket but maybe for future consideration.

I was looking at water transfer https://www.hydrodip.com/photo_gallery/ for a glass rocket I am building. I have not used this company, just a quick Google, for that matter, I have never used this technique, but there was someone a while back who posed a link on the subject and it looks very versatile.

 

[MALBAR 70]

I did this on my PML Hydra. In order to keep the fishnet pattern secure, lay down your base color coats and let it dry. Stretch the stocking over the tube tightly and hold in place.( I think I used paper crumpled up and shoved in the ends of the tube). After the stocking is adjusted to your liking, lay down another light coat of your base color to seal the edges of the mask. Let this almost dry (just slightly tacky to the touch) then lay down your contrasting color coats. Let this almost dry as well and carefully remove the stocking(if you try to remove it when it's completely dry the thin lines will flake and distort the effect). The final finish is rough like you have already discovered, let this dry for several days and lightly go over the surface with a piece of paper towel or rough wash cloth, this will slightly smooth the surface. I didn't use sand paper for fear of smudging the fine lines.
To answer your question, after the paint is smoothed out it should hold a vinyl decal. I'm not sure about applying vinyl over textured pant though. Mark at Stickershock should be able to answer this for you.

 

[hornet driver]

Been there -done it ! Clear it ! 2 coats ! Clear afterwards if you desire.--H

 

[BDB]

@Hornet. Do you have any suggestions about what kind of clear to apply over the hammered finish? Did you (wet) sand the clear coats to smooth them out?

 

[rharshberger]

I was just wonder about using something like the plastic mesh motor protectors to do a similar pattern, anybody done it or got some thoughts on it?

 

[hornet driver]

@Hornet. Do you have any suggestions about what kind of clear to apply over the hammered finish? Did you (wet) sand the clear coats to smooth them out?

I always use the same brand as the base color. Just make sure to follow re coat guidelines as given by the manufacturer. After a couple coats it ---should---- be smooth enough for vinyl. If your looking for a glass smooth finish, then you can wet sand the first coat and then re clear.-H

 

[RocketGeekInFL]

I would clear it with a few coats, do a very lite wet sand with 600-1000, put on the decals and then do a final clear coat.

 

[pyrobob]

That turned out pretty nice. I'd wondered about the smoothness of using these kinds of paints. Thanks for filling us in.

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Dump 3 heavy coats of clear on it.
Let dry for few days.
Wet sand with 600 smooth or near smooth not to break through the clear.
One more coat of clear and you should be smooth as glass.
Mark at SS did tell me after the vinyl as set up good, few days I'd imagine, heat will draw them in tight.
Hope this helps.

 

[mkadams001]

If your surface is grainy then vinyl probably will not adhere.
If it is smooth but you have edges from masking it will stick and you can use heat to help fit it against the edges. You will see the ridges.

Otherwise, do the clear coat thing as others have mentioned.

 

[Beergnome]

Using lace as a mask is an old airbrush technique from the glory days of Panel van murals. Don't be afraid to explore the options.. lots of spiderweb patterns out there during Halloween for example. You can also get softners for waterslide decals that will help them to melt into the details of your model. The scale model railroad folks use it all the time for adding details to thier models and diaramas

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[Screaminhelo]

Using lace as a mask is an old airbrush technique from the glory days of Panel van murals. Don't be afraid to explore the options.. lots of spiderweb patterns out there during Halloween for example. You can also get softners for waterslide decals that will help them to melt into the details of your model. The scale model railroad folks use it all the time for adding details to thier models and diaramas

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Micro-Sol and Micro-Set are commonly use in scale moding and model railroading to get waterslide decals to conform to uneven surfaces and adhere. I don't think that they would do anything for vinyl, but they would be awesome for many scale builds where markings go over raised or recessed details. Keep in mind though, Micro-Sol dues make the decal more fragile so get the decal in correct position before applying the solution.

 

[Beergnome]

Nope, probably not for vinyl.. sorry about that, late and not paying attention. Though, I think you can also get printable waterslide sheets. One could probably use a scanning printer to copy the vinyl to waterslide then proceed as normal using the micro-sol, and set.

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