[TBrum]

Has anyone had any luck dying the white plastic parts on the TT Raptors?

My plan is to turn the white landing gear and tail fins black.

I've heard that boiling the parts with black dye may do the trick.. anyone tried it? What dye did you use?

Thanks

[flysrcs]

I've in the past tried to dye rims for a 1/10 scale truck black. More transluscent than opaque. What did work is to clean the parts very well with soap and water to remove any dirt or mod wax. Then pain them with fusion paint from Walmart/ Canadian tire ect. This paint adheres very well to plastic and is actually made for painting plastic.
Just my 2c.
Dave

[TBrum]

Thanks Dave... I'll take a look at that paint tomorrow at Walmart. I'm a little worried about the 30% nitro eating the paint... did you clear coat it?

Anyone else try the dying method?

[flysrcs]

I forgot about the nitro thing. I'm not sure if it is fuel proof, I know that Tremclad is up to 15% nitro but the secret is that you have to let it cure for 21days. I would let the fusion paint dry for 3 days to fully flash off and then spray it with Topflight lustercoat clear. This has worked for me in the past with paint I know is not fuel proof at all. Just spray the topflight clear as thin as possible and do it for a couple of coats then let it sit overnight before you admire your handy work.
Dave

[oshawa028]

any paint that comes in a spray can is not chemicaly activated therefore is not fuel proof

[jake_027]

I know that many RC truck guys dye the white RPM suspension arms with Rit dye while boiling in water. They use this procedure for dying white aftermarket rims as well. Rit dye is available at Wal-Mart. I don't think that this procedure weakens the components at all because the suspension arms and rims would take a lot of abuse. I've never tried this procedure myself, but I did read about it in RC Driver. I wish I still had the magazine. I could have brought it for you Monday night when I pick up the Funtana and you could have read about the procedure first hand. Anyway, I think if you went on some RC car forums and asked about it, you could get really good advice.

Good luck,

Dave

[flysrcs]

Originally Posted by oshawa028

any paint that comes in a spray can is not chemicaly activated therefore is not fuel proof

Tremclad is... After 21 days to cure it is fuel proof to 15% nitro.....
Dave

[TBrum]

Originally Posted by jake_027

I know that many RC truck guys dye the white RPM suspension arms with Rit dye while boiling in water. They use this procedure for dying white aftermarket rims as well. Rit dye is available at Wal-Mart. I don't think that this procedure weakens the components at all because the suspension arms and rims would take a lot of abuse. I've never tried this procedure myself, but I did read about it in RC Driver. I wish I still had the magazine. I could have brought it for you Monday night when I pick up the Funtana and you could have read about the procedure first hand. Anyway, I think if you went on some RC car forums and asked about it, you could get really good advice.

Good luck,

Dave

Thanks Dave.. I'll look into this!
Cheers
Trev

[G-copterbous-funk]

Paint does not stick to the Raptor plastic canopy well, generally it will peal off or chip away easily. You also have a problem with the texture of the plastic. I have seen them painted and initially they look sorta OK but you will not get a good quality durable finish like you would with a fiberglass surface and some airplane plastic cowls. You can acquire glass canopies from TT and other vendors, paint some nice schemes then clear over the top. Try painting a javax bottle or cut away piece of the raptor canopy and then flex it to get an idea of what you are up against. That way you won't make a mess of what you have already.

You can get some nice CF fins in black if looking for that color

Stephen

[flysrcs]

Originally Posted by G-copterbous-funk

Paint does not stick to the Raptor plastic canopy well, generally it will peal off or chip away easily. You also have a problem with the texture of the plastic. I have seen them painted and initially they look sorta OK but you will not get a good quality durable finish like you would with a fiberglass surface and some airplane plastic cowls. You can acquire glass canopies from TT and other vendors, paint some nice schemes then clear over the top. Try painting a javax bottle or cut away piece of the raptor canopy and then flex it to get an idea of what you are up against. That way you won't make a mess of what you have already.

You can get some nice CF fins in black if looking for that color

Stephen

True about Paint peeling off plastic but you guys should give this Fusion paint a try. It is MADE for plastics. So it more/less actually bonds not sticks to the paint.
dave