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I dont have any fancy painting equipment and using brushes and such never seems to work for me. Always looks like crap. When it came to give my hobby zone super cub a custom yellow paint job I went on the hunt to find a spray paint that wouldnt eat away the foam once applied. Most of the info I could find was inconsistent at best. I ended up going with a type that one person swore by. He said it would work great on EPO. Period. Its called Short Cuts, by Krylon and ive been using it without any trouble.


The issue is this. I just bought (and slightly crashed on the maiden flight) the new durafly vampire. Shes all fixed up now apart from the shattered canopy and ready to fly. I want to give it a two tone, custom paint job, but unfortunately the paint ive been using for my cub simply doesnt have the colors I need for this job.

What kinds of commonly found rattle can spray paints can I use? There is a water based paint sold at the local arts and crafts store here called Liquitex ( http://www.liquitex.com/spraypaint/ ). Any info on that? They have exactly the colors I need, but their website tells little in the way of what surfaces it can be used on.

I would think any water base paint would work. I've used a water base from Krylon called H2O in a spray can at the craft stores (Michaels and Hobby Lobby). Color selection is not very big though.
Edwin
Foot note: It might be a good time to think about a spray gun. Its a whole new world out there with nearly unlimited imagination.

Also if you give the plane a coat of Polyurethane, most rattle can paints can be used.
You must be sure the poly is completely cured, before attempting.

Another bonus with a poly undercoat, it helps fill in all the roughness of the foam, giving you a smoother finish.

Here's my latest, E-flite Super Airliner. Glassed with Polyurethane and shot with good old Rustoleum rattle can paints.

Covering the foam with Polycrylic varnish makes it paintable with any paint. I think the Polycrylic is thinner (lighter weight) than the polyurethane varnish but both will work. I prefer the Polycrylic because it adds very little weight to the plane.

Good to know. Thanks for the tips guys and gals. This Liquitex stuff has a huge array of colors including those I need. I think ill buy a can and just to be safe give it a test on my old beat up super cub wing. If it eats it away then yea its time for a coat of Polyurethane

Originally Posted by Glacier Girl

Also if you give the plane a coat of Polyurethane, most rattle can paints can be used.
You must be sure the poly is completely cured, before attempting.

Another bonus with a poly undercoat, it helps fill in all the roughness of the foam, giving you a smoother finish.

Here's my latest, E-flite Super Airliner. Glassed with Polyurethane and shot with good old Rustoleum rattle can paints.

WOW...nice job on the paint.

Is the stuff you recomment in a can or does it brush on. Which is better, the poly, or the undercoat? Thanks!

Testors Model paint in the small spray cans will not eat foam, but is not fuel proof, but for electric who cares.

Every now and then someone comes up with an obvious solution. Way to go crash, why didnt I think of that?
Edwin

Yup, these are the best paints by far...little cans of Krlon brand Short Cuts. They have about 10 colors.

I ended up trying the Liquitex and it worked great!

The green goblin?

The colors werent exactly as advertised, but I still think it looks good. Just put some decals on last night

Let see 'em!

Ill take some good photos tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about one or two of the decals. I may remove or modify them

See, the USAF decal sticks out like a sore thumb from some angles.




And yes, I know there were no vampires in the US military. Its entirely fictional


Update: I removed the USAF decal. Glad I did.