My first attempt at a detailed canopy

[Doozer]

I've painted a few canopies before, but nothing like this. I followed these video guides:

www.rcheliresource.com/acehelis-custom-canopies-custom-painting-instructional-videos/#more-7856 onClick=

I haven't put a clear coat on it yet because I still have some clean up to do. I used 1/8" and 1/16" Auto pin striping for my lines and it pulled up some of the primer.

I used an my T-Rex 600 canopy that I just crashed. I sanded the existing paint with 60 grit then 120 then 400 wet. I primered it with white primer.



I got a little over-spray here. I'm going to wet sand this off with 400.

You can see where I didn't tape so well and got some over-spray into the stripes. I'm going to try to fix this by hand painting with a fine brush.

This is a better shot of the lines. I need to find a tape supplier that carries the 1/8 and 1/16" masking tape.

These are the paints that I used.


I'm going to wet sand the solid areas before I apply the clear coat. I'll post some more pics after its finished. I followed the videos step by step. I'm not very artistic, but I think with a few more practice canopies I might invest in an airbrush. I could have used one when I was accenting the "cockpit." The guide is very useful.

[Gabe]

Wow Doozer! That's a killer paint job - especially for your first whack at it.

[Solitaire]

Pretty nifty, Dooz.
The Krylon for plastic is great to work with. I've even painted some blades with it.

I would have thought you'd do up the Mini-T canopy with that design since it's a Thunder-TIGER

[Doozer]

Thanks man, but really, credit goes to the Internet here. Early attempts at painting canopies looked like I melted crayons on them. If not for me just accidently landing on that page, I wouldn't be painting this canopy.

I wasn't real scared to try this on a crashed canopy. If I would have known it was this fun I would have sanded all my Align canopies long ago. Align could do better with it's canopies. That pattern is actually quite simple. Though with an airbrush, this would look really good. I could have really detailed it a lot more with a fine spray. I did leave off the primer I used. It was an Ace white primer. I primer thin and quick multiple times, and I only used a little of the can.

[Doozer]

Apr 16, 2010 22:07:12 GMT -6 Solitaire said:

....

I would have thought you'd do up the Mini-T canopy with that design since it's a Thunder-TIGER

Actually, I think I'm going to paint them all this way. Just variations in the color. I do want to get better at the stripes too. They're just too angular. I need to order another mini-T canopy.

[19000rpm]

Great job. I think I see an airbrush in your future dooz.

[Doozer]

me too. I've already spent my tax refund in my mind. I had a chance at buying all of this guys airbrushing equipment before EFX... 1200 dollars worth of Iwata gear, spare parts, and HOK paint. He was even going to throw in an instructional video series. He wanted $400 bucks for it. He runs one of the LHS' that I use so I knew he took good care of his stuff. Two of the brushes he had retail for over $200 bucks a piece. No compressor though. His wife told him to use it or sell it. I'm kicking myself in the a$$ for not jumping on that. I could have waited on the other heli stuff I bought. :/

[Doozer]

Here it is finished. You can still see tons of mistakes if you get real close, but for it being my first attempt, I'm pretty happy.

I took a paint brush and touched up some of the places that the tape pulled up the primer. I sanded out the over spray being careful not to sand into the fade... then I clear coated it.











I applied 3 coats of clear, wet sanding with 400 between each coat. It came out pretty good for $3 spray can clear coat. If you're thinking about painting your canopy, and you have no clue where to start, I highly suggest watching the videos I linked.

[19000rpm]

Really a nice result. One can only imagine how good you'll be when you get some pro equipment...

[akent]

THAT IS AWESOME, Doozer!!

Great job on the paint!

Thanks for the links, too!

Maybe I'll try that one of these days, just to show you how NOT to do it. I have essentially zero talent for making anything pretty using that colored sticky stuff.

[mimir]

Impressive! Very cool looking.

[fireguzzi]

Wow thats pretty darn good! The clear coats really make it pop and look professional.

[19000rpm]

Apr 20, 2010 6:15:54 GMT -6 fireguzzi said:

Wow thats pretty darn good! The clear coats really make it pop and look professional.

I've used Krylon clear, satin and flat top coats and they all provide an even, smooth look. They make great stuff. I've been using Krylon since it came out over 40 years ago.

BTW, the Fusion series from Kryon is awesome on plastics and foam. Their sprays average about $5 for, a large can, which is a lot less than a hobby grade paint, like Tamiya, runs for a SMALL can.

[Doozer]

The Krylon was cheap too. $2.97 at Wal-mart. I've tried Rustoleum "Painters Touch" clear, and it runs. It's not for the inexperienced painter. The Krylon tends to stay put. If you take your time between clear coats, you'll come out alright. I let them dry about 6 to 8 hours between coats, and I wet sanded with 400 wet/dry in between each coat. The clear makes the color very rich.

I've started another canopy for my Gaui 425. It's a T-Rex 500 canopy, and I'm using the same pattern, same colors. So I have some side by side comparisons with the 600 canopy. I bought the 500 canopy unpainted for $20 dollars from my LHS. I've taken a few pictures along process this time and I'll add them here.

[Doozer]

Here's some pics from the 500 canopy paint job.

Size difference


I used 1/8" and 1/16" pin striping here. You really want to use the same size vinyl masking tape. The pin striping does not bend the way I wanted it to.


Masked off and ready for the first coat.


I laid down a base coat of Flourescent Yellow. You could save paint by working along the stripes only, but because I'm painting this outside, and the tiny bugs love paint, I needed to get it over with in a hurry. So I made big sweeping strokes.


Next I lay down the Flourescent Orange/Red. I use this to shadow the black and blend into the yellow.

I took this picture for perspective.


Next I pulled the tape up from the stripes that will be painted black. I was using a new X-acto blade so I cut into the pin striping a bit. When trimming the masking tape you need to be careful not to cut into the vinyl. If you cut into it, you'll need to be careful pulling up the masking tape because the vinyl will come with it. That could mean starting over


Here I masked off the painted area prepping it for the black.


Laying down the black stripes.




Pulled off all the masking tape and the pin striping. Here it is next to the 600. Again for perspective.




Tack coat of clear.


All the paint I used on this project. I used the Rustoleum clear to get rid of it. I'm just being extra carefule not to use too much of it.

I am going to accent the windshield with flourescent yellow. But I want to throw down two coats of clear first. Hopefully this will make it look more like a sun reflection. I also have made a starburst stencil that I'm going to try. I'll throw up some pics when it's finished.