Paint question? please help

[Scott Chase]

I'm going to paint my rocket's airframe white and I'm going to spray the nosecone and fins a darker color. My question which components do I spray first?

 

[tim cubbedge]

Spray the lighter colors first otherwise you will probably need more coats of light colors to cover the dark.

 

[Funkworks]

I would:

• Use white primer for everything.
• Mask the body using a cut grocery or garbage bag, and specialized tape (Frog Tape, Tamiya and Testor's all work well to prevent leaks)
• Paint the fins and nose cone with color.
• Remove masking, and mask fins and nose cone instead, again with specialized tape.
• Paint body white (white color over white primer).
• If white went through the tape edge, brush paint can be used to correct the defects (color over white).

 

[Scott Chase]

Spray the lighter colors first otherwise you will probably need more coats of light colors to cover the dark.

Timbucktoo,
I sprayed it yesterday with gloss white over several coats of white primer. Looks good thank you.
Briain

 

[jrap330]

Not sure why most people don't do this. If I require a different paint for nose and/or fins. I paint them repeatedly. Then I attached the fins at end. Masking is a pain in the neck and I don't see how it can be perfect.

 

[David Schwantz]

Masking is not all the hard to do. Use quality materials, I like 3M fine line tape, blue. Take your time, burnish it down. Peel tape off on top of itself. All these were masked and the sprayed.

 

[jrap330]

Masking is not all the hard to do. Use quality materials, I like 3M fine line tape, blue. Take your time, burnish it down. Peel tape off on top of itself. All these were masked and the sprayed.

Yeah, I usually use 3M Blue masking tape, that you get in paint dept, to mask your walls or woodwork. Still like to know, why not paint fins and nose cone separately, if you are painting another color.

 

[jrap330]

Oh, by the way, nice job on RC plane and V2.

 

[David Schwantz]

Thanks. I guess I am not understanding your question. I normally paint the NC separate, even if it is the same color. Fins, IMHO, need to be glued on first. Otherwise you need to mask off the glue area so paint will not get on it. Or you have to sand it off and not booger up your paint job in doing so. And you have to not get glue prints on your fins from my big fat fingers. So no matter how it is done, there will always be some masking, unless it is one solid color. And at $ 13 bucks a roll, I would not use it to mask my walls.

 

[David Schwantz]

Here is one that I did the fins green. Only masked once. I painted the fins first, as black will cover the green. Just spray over the line where you are going to mask and feather it out. This way there is no line to wet sand. Then just mask off the fins and spray the black. It was done this way also as if you wet sand the metallic it will lessen the effect.

 

[jrap330]

Thanks. I guess I am not understanding your question. I normally paint the NC separate, even if it is the same color. Fins, IMHO, need to be glued on first. Otherwise you need to mask off the glue area so paint will not get on it. Or you have to sand it off and not booger up your paint job in doing so. And you have to not get glue prints on your fins from my big fat fingers. So no matter how it is done, there will always be some masking, unless it is one solid color. And at $ 13 bucks a roll, I would not use it to mask my walls.

Again , if fins will be painted a separate color, paint them first, then glue, just as you stated with nose cone. Yet, I read from other's post...I glue the fins, then mask, then paint a different color....makes no sense.

 

[Hooked On Rockets]

Here is one that I did the fins green. Only masked once. I painted the fins first, as black will cover the green. Just spray over the line where you are going to mask and feather it out. This way there is no line to wet sand. Then just mask off the fins and spray the black. It was done this way also as if you wet sand the metallic it will lessen the effect.

+1

Paint the fins first, it's SO much easier to mask the fins and paint the body then it is to mask the body to paint the fins!
Not only that, you dont have to mask the body tube when you paint the fins (if you are halfway decent at painting), just feather edge sand the fin overspray on the bodytube after painting the fins, of course giving each step ample time to cure depending on paint brand/series etc...




Also, I would prime it with light grey primer so you have a little contrast to the white paint, it helps to verify even coats if you are trying to go with as little paint as possible.
Me, I'm not afraid of primer and paint! Painting is my favorite part!!! Priming, not so much because of the SANDING!!! LOL

 

[KenECoyote]

Paint light to dark. I mask with 3M Blue...burnish down edges WELL. Check to make sure nothing exposed. If you do get some spot sprayed you didn't mean to, usu you can very lightly and carefully scrape it off with a razor. Pics are all rattle can paint except for a few logo decals like the "G".

 

[Nytrunner]

Again , if fins will be painted a separate color, paint them first, then glue, just as you stated with nose cone. Y

You're missing David's point.

If you paint the fins first, you either paint over the bonding surface (terrible for bond strength) or have to sand away space for the adhesive to grab, and have to paint over the glue/epoxy later (which will again require masking)

Unless you're using some sort of mechanical fasteners, or only gluing the tabs to the motor point and foregoing fillets (which imparts a drag penalty either way)

 

[PatD]

Unless you're using some sort of mechanical fasteners, or only gluing the tabs to the motor point and foregoing fillets (which imparts a drag penalty either way)

This.
Paint the fins, install the fins. Then you still need to fillet the fins, unless you just don't bother. If you do fillet there are unpainted areas that then need masked and painted.

 

[Joe Bruce]

This.
Paint the fins, install the fins. Then you still need to fillet the fins, unless you just don't bother. If you do fillet there are unpainted areas that then need masked and painted.

Like @Nytrunner, I don't understand how you'd get a glue bond if you paint the fins first off the rocket. You'd just be gluing the fins' paint to the MMT (if thru-the-wall) or body tube (surface mount). The paint bond isn't nearly as strong as the glue bond, and the glue won't penetrate the paint. Someone is missing something here (possibly me, but I don't think so).

 

[jrap330]

Here is one that I did the fins green. Only masked once. I painted the fins first, as black will cover the green. Just spray over the line where you are going to mask and feather it out. This way there is no line to wet sand. Then just mask off the fins and spray the black. It was done this way also as if you wet sand the metallic it will lessen the effect.

Thanks..green fin job looks great

 

[neil_w]

Yeah, I usually use 3M Blue masking tape, that you get in paint dept, to mask your walls or woodwork. Still like to know, why not paint fins and nose cone separately, if you are painting another color.

1) There are better masking tapes than the blue stuff for getting a very clean edge. 3M fine line and Tamiya are commonly used.
2) Painting the nose separately works great. Painting fins separately is possible but introduces its own issues, as @Nytrunner discussed above. I would very rarely choose to do it that way.

 

[Jay Dub 4009]

Something that worked well for me is to paint the entire rocket the base color. After a few base coats and wet sand in between, mask the area off. Spray the area with the same base coat to seal the tape edges. Then spray your next color. Remove tape pretty quickly and have minimal color intrusion.

 

[mbeels]

Paint light to dark. I mask with 3M Blue...burnish down edges WELL. Check to make sure nothing exposed. If you do get some spot sprayed you didn't mean to, usu you can very lightly and carefully scrape it off with a razor. Pics are all rattle can paint except for a few logo decals like the "G".

wOw. That is a masterful masking job. I assume you cut the masking tape to get those curves?

 

[KenECoyote]

wOw. That is a masterful masking job. I assume you cut the masking tape to get those curves?

Thanks! Yes, I first printed out patterns, cut them out and tried on the nose cone, then used that to trace onto strips of 3M Blue tape laid out on a cutting pad, then cut out the patterned tape and applied.

This was a new challenge to myself, but sometimes if you want something bad enough, you figure out how to get it. Plus being OCD helps!