| For the purpose of this article I have selected an old | | | | ability you can draw your own, then scan in into a |
| favorite of mine, the flames. The techniques can be | | | | computer. Once you have your digital image, you can |
| applied to any design you can dream up, all you need | | | | print this out using a standard inkjet printer. |
| is a little imagination. | | | | At first I tried to to print to A4 Sticker paper, which you |
| First things first. | | | | can get from any stationary shop, the problem with |
| The first thing you need to do is clean the shell, use | | | | this is that the glue they use on the back sticks to the |
| warm water and soap, be sure to rinse all the soap | | | | lexan, and even if you remove all of it the paint will not |
| off and let it dry before your continue, it's critical that | | | | stick to these parts correctly. The right way to do it is |
| the lexan shell is clean or your paint job won't hold, or | | | | to either use the wax backing of the A4 Sticker paper |
| will have blemishes once your done. | | | | or get some other wax paper, apply masking take to |
| The second thing you need to do is cut the shell out, | | | | the wax side and then print your design out on the |
| we do this first for two reasons: | | | | marking tape. Remember that you will need to do this |
| | | | as a mirror image should you want text or numbers |
| 1. It's easy to line up the wheels and body posts to the | | | | Once done cut out your mask and apply it to the inside |
| chassis | | | | of the car. Mask out the windows and lights and |
| 2. After it's painted you will scratch the paint while you | | | | whatever else you want, then apply the first layer of |
| cut out the shell | | | | paint. |
| Imagination is key | | | | The First Layer |
| Now that we have the body cleaned and cut out we | | | | Dark colours first then light colours, it always pays to |
| need to look for natural lines on the body that we can | | | | use a backing colour, silver for metallic or white for |
| use to keep our design perfectly symmetrical, it's often | | | | normal paint. |
| difficult to paint over vents and other highly detailed | | | | When you start applying the first layer of paint start |
| parts of the car so pick your locations wisely. | | | | very slowly, keep the can about 30cm away from the |
| So after much debate we have decided to run a two | | | | shell and do one light coat, don't let the paint pool or it |
| colour flame down the side and the rest of the car is | | | | will run and look terrible. Leave this to dry then apply |
| going to be black, in my example I'm going to use | | | | another coat, for best results you should apply |
| metallic red and purple to do the flames, and black for | | | | between 5 and 10 layers for each colour. Once done |
| the rest. | | | | remove the mask. |
| Masking the Shell. | | | | Now it's time to do the two tone flame, which should |
| First thing I need to point out is that we paint the inside | | | | be a clear area on your shell right in the middle of all |
| of the shell, the outside has a clear film which prevents | | | | the black. The black must be completely dry before |
| over-spray, once the car is painted and ready for | | | | you do this! |
| decals and stickers this can be removed, leave it intact | | | | Now starting in the middle of the flame put down a |
| until after you have painted the car. | | | | very light layer of one colour, switch direction and do |
| For marking I normally use hobby shop masking tape, | | | | the other colour in the other direction, this will give you |
| while you can use the standard masking tape you get | | | | a faded two tone flame, repeat until you are happy |
| from hardware shops, this tends to let tiny specs of | | | | that enough paint has been applied. The last step is to |
| paint through, while no-one will ever notice, you'll know | | | | use white or silver paint to back your entire car. |
| about it. | | | | Finally |
| Mask the perfect flame | | | | Remove the over spray layer and apply your decals |
| Now here is the trick, find a good image on google | | | | and your done. With a little practise you can make |
| images or from somewhere off the internet, it really | | | | some amazing designs that will make you the envy of |
| doesn't matter where it comes from, if you have the | | | | your local RC hobby club. |