Has anybody ever had a custom color paint in a spray can made?
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I had it done once for painting a replacement car mirror. A local auto paint shop did it for me. The cost was reasonable and it worked well. For rockets I would think that the cost would add up pretty fast, making a starter airbrush or sprayer more economical.
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I've thought about it for the Estes Omega after problems I had with a pair of unnamed makers of decals who I'll never buy from again. Since then, I've worked with Tango Papa and Stickershock23, and the issue is now moot.
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Yup & it wasn't cheap; around $20/ can if memory serves me correctly. They also have catalyzed clear coats, fillers, and primers in special cans; pot-life is advertised as 24 hours. I have not tried these yet.
chrisudy
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Home Depot sells these... https://m.homedepot.com/p/Preval-9-oz-Complete-Spray-Gun-267/202533738
Geez, $20 a can! Scratch that idea. A thought just occured to me but I dont know if its overkill. I have a 33 gallon air compressor. Maybe Ill pick up a spray gun so I can mix some fancy colors. Or an air brush, but I wonder about the amount of paint the reservoir would hold if I wanted to paint a big rocket. Id have to keep mixing the color.
rharshberger
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Years ago my father used to use those for spraying gelcoat on molds for small custom FG sinks or other projects. They also are a nice disposable if you want to use custom mixed paints. The nozzles have been pretty good in my experience.
Anyone tried it with Testor's Enamels?
I was thinking of giving it a whirl with some hand-mixed fluorescents. I think the instructions say 1:4 paint/thinner ratio for enamels, although the fluorescents are pretty watery to begin with...
EXPjawa
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As noted above, automotive paint shops can do it pretty readily, and while $20/can sounds high, I think on the whole its a fraction of what people spend on building kick-ass HPR rockets. So, if you really like a color, go for it. But before you do, go to Autozone or the like and see if you can find the color you like off the shelf as a touch up spray can. Duplicolor offers a lot of common/popular colors.
I have a can of a custom mixed color that Ford calls Electric Green, that came with the Mustang Cobra I bought. The former owner had it made up just in case. But this stuff has a shelf life, so I'm thinking to use it on a rocket project. If I ever do need paint work done on the car, I'm sure not going to do it with a spray can...
I have a can of a custom mixed color that Ford calls Electric Green, that came with the Mustang Cobra I bought. The former owner had it made up just in case. But this stuff has a shelf life, so I'm thinking to use it on a rocket project. If I ever do need paint work done on the car, I'm sure not going to do it with a spray can...
jimzcatz
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I'm paying approximately 60$ a quart from NAPA for automotive metallic enamels. Not including catalyst and reducer, but I am painting big rockets with an air compressor. Napa can mix small quantities, and they have a disposable air can to use it with.
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custom spray cans will set you back 20 to 30 each. some really cool stuff out there. You can save a fortune: I purchase pigments such as pink, black , sparkles, metallics from companies that sell to the fishing rod market. some i mix with the thinner for the paint i am using and spray it on. Top coat with candy apple paints , sand, clear coat. this is after sanding just before final clear coat
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The local NAPA used to do pints for me; have not asked lately. Thee would also custom-mix on site, but I think all their paint comes from a regional center now. They did a custom red metallic that I can do longer get. Sigh.....
That looks great. Im thinking Ill get a spray gun since I already have a good size compressor. I decided today after rattle canning my Loc IV that will wait till I attempt sealing body tube spirals. House of Kolor has some amazing colors. If I can learn get my rocket looking perfect after priming, Ill attempt spraying some outrageous House of Kolor paint on one.
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I take one look at that, and think to myself it looks like it was wrapped in nori (海苔custom spray cans will set you back 20 to 30 each. some really cool stuff out there. You can save a fortune: I purchase pigments such as pink, black , sparkles, metallics from companies that sell to the fishing rod market. some i mix with the thinner for the paint i am using and spray it on. Top coat with candy
apple paints , sand, clear coat. this is after sanding just before final clear coat
(japanese seaweed used in sushi)...
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That effect was simply splatter painting it with chroma paint- it does have that texture! Good color, astici- check out undercolor used! I was buying custom cans at https://usa.specialistpaints.com. I prefer a small gun (four ounce) for our rockets such as https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XNZM04/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 Auto clear coat is expensive but goes a long ways. dries really hard in one week with catalyst. I use 2K Speed Urethane Clear (1 Quart) with Over-All Hardener (1/2 Pint) Kit. www.tcpglobal.com is a great source on many paints and spray tools. You can augment or create your own really cool looks by ordering your pigments , sparkles, metallic at www.mudhole.com as coloring pigment powders. Really cool effects! Enjoy!
sample metallic glitters in mid section over black base coat. clear coated. Awaiting hardening so it can be polished.
sample metallic glitters in mid section over black base coat. clear coated. Awaiting hardening so it can be polished.
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Screaminhelo
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We get these at work with Imron AF400 touch up kits. I find the results less than ideal and prefer the $15 gun from Harbor Freight. We have tried cutting it with reducer to the point of being almost water thin and end up trading one problem for another. I will say that we are often needing to make a quick fix and have less time for prep work (quick scuff sand and acetone wipe with no primer) than you would use when painting a rocket. When we have time to do it right, it is the full sand, prime, scuff and paint. The detail gun is still the tool of choice here.
I think that most of our headaches with the Preval style sprayers stem from the coarse spray pattern. When the paint is a good consistency for adhesion to the surface (especially vertical surfaces) it goes on thick and it dimples. Once we reduce it enough to prevent this, it is runny and we have to back off from the surface so far that the spray pattern is so wide that we would have to mask and defeat the purpose of using the sprayer. At that point, it is more time efficient to break out the detail gun and spend the time to clean it when we are done (must be very thorough when cleaning urethane paints).
Because of this experience, I have not been tempted to use the sprayers at home (we have plenty of extras because we would rather brush paint small spots until we have the opportunity to do a full spray). Maybe these play nicer with enamels and lacquers.
tomsteve
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HOK makes some awesome colors, but are very pricey and from what ive read, there can be compatability problems if their products arent used through the whole process.
tcp global has their custom shop line with some great colors at a more reasonable price and their restoration shop colors are pretty nice at a good price.
https://www.tcpglobal.com/Automotive-Paint/
when ya get a gun, it would be wise to get some cheap paint and some plywood or something to practice on and get used to the gun.
primers can be purchased my the quart or gallon, will cost less in the long run and have a higher build as they dont have to be thinned out to spray out of a can. a quart of high build primer runs 40on up depending on brand, but its pretty nice getting the priming done in one coat.they usually require a larger tip than for base/clear,though.
another thing with spraying- higher mill thickness and higher solids as the paint isnt thinned to be able to spray from a can.
