Has anyone ever taken a rocket project to an auto body shop and had them paint it professionaly? Any idea of what one might expect to pay for a nice hi gloss paint job on a rocket these days?

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Don T. Annapolis,MD
www.dbryantphoto.com
http://dbryantphotography.blogspot.com

My Collection:
Estes Executioner
Estes Big Daddy
Estes D-Region Tomahawk
Estes Big Bertha
Mad Cow Striker (29mm)
Next build Talon 3 (38mm)

I am pretty sure it will be a function of size. Also, if you are talking good automotive urethanes it could be a lot, but I can't give you a dollar figure. It may be cheaper getting some spray equipment and make it a DIY element of your project. You would need a respirator for that if you went that route.

A wild guess would be $25 to $200, depending on the project, paint(s), shop, backlog, etc.

Greg

But wow, what a finish! Something to admire as you gaze at your rocket dangling from the power lines.


MarkII

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SAM # 0011

that's hilarious! power lines... Ha! I hope not. I"ve just put so much time and effort into my rockets and then it comes time to paint the darned things... i want it to look perfect. I've tried every paint out there from airbrush acrylics to krylon acrylics to lacquer based spray paints. i'm trashing my garage and the fumes are killer! the result has been best so far with krylon acrylics.. but it take forever! if you don't get it right within the first hour, you put the rocket down for 24-36 hours (cure time), light resand, then keep going. i thought i'd smarten up and get an off brand lacquer based paint... well i don't know but i think the temp and humidity must be off by a couple percent and degrees cuz the paint job i did today stinks!!! what a let down. i guess resand and start again with krylon acrylic. i wish there was a sure fire method to painting these things but it's been hit or miss with my projects ever since i got into this hobby. so i was thinking... maybe have fun building the rocket, then take it somewhere else, a pro, and let them really do a bang up job on it. the one's i saw at the launch where they did this look unbelievably cool.

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Don T. Annapolis,MD
www.dbryantphoto.com
http://dbryantphotography.blogspot.com

My Collection:
Estes Executioner
Estes Big Daddy
Estes D-Region Tomahawk
Estes Big Bertha
Mad Cow Striker (29mm)
Next build Talon 3 (38mm)

I've heard of people doing this, and seen a couple of the results, which were outstanding.

One technique I read had the user taking whatever paint he could get. That is, he made buddies with somebody in a paint shop, and they would call him to drop his rocket off whenever they were shooting a color he liked. Basically, he'd take whatever they had to give him.

It's a lot cheaper that way. If they had to order paint in specifically for the flier, then mix it and shoot it just for that job, it'd be way too expensive. But if they can simply shoot a couple more square feet of surface, out of a can that's already been prep'd and paid for (by somebody else), then the costs can be reasonable, maybe even free.

Doug

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YORF member #11

Hmmmm... SERIOUS bucks...

I'm just guesstimating but I bet you'd have a hard time getting them interested for less than about 100-200 bucks...

Automotive paints are EXPENSIVE and shop time is too...

Of course if money is no object... OL JR

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

I am sure it is expensive but I'm rich so no worries there... (HA!)..
Seriously that is good advice about checking to see if they have any leftovers. I'm not that picky, I'd just like to have a nice paint job on it without killing myself and obsessing about the paint job....
but wait... i am obsessing.

__________________
Don T. Annapolis,MD
www.dbryantphoto.com
http://dbryantphotography.blogspot.com

My Collection:
Estes Executioner
Estes Big Daddy
Estes D-Region Tomahawk
Estes Big Bertha
Mad Cow Striker (29mm)
Next build Talon 3 (38mm)

Apply light coats with rattle can paints, building up the finish a little at a time. Take your time and don't rush. That's what you would be doing in an auto painting shop anyway. Then after everything is completely cured, but before you apply any decals, work the finish even smoother with a dry cloth and some 3M Finesse-It II or 3M Scratch Remover. You can even use the latter to fix minor surface defects in the paint. Spraying good smooth coats with rattle cans takes practice. Keep at it and you'll get better. Study your mistakes and try to figure out what went wrong. Then figure out how to do it differently next time.

I have been getting excellent results lately with Dupli-Color Sandable Primer as my basic primer. Their Filler Primer is already well-known for its ability to fill minor surface defects, but I didn't realize just how good their Sandable Primer was, too. Just by itself, before any sanding, it lays down an amazingly even coat.

MarkII

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SAM # 0011

Well, lemme add this... practice makes perfect...

It's not so much WHAT you use, it's HOW you use it. I get terrific results from Walmart 99 cent a can colorplace paint. Some paints are a little easier to apply than others, some flow out better or have better tolerance to application conditions, but by and in large, when you say that you've had so-so results with a BUNCH of different brands and formulations, the first thing that tells me is you probably need a bit more practice.

There's nothing really 'magical' about painting... but it's easy to get a 'complex' about it and think there is...

A great paint job starts with a great surface-- the paint job, in fact, will be NO BETTER than your surface prep. Start off by filling all the balsa (I like to harden the balsa first with super-thin CA glue) by brushing on your favorite filler (I use water-thinned Elmer's filler thinned like sandwich mustard and brushed on with a 1 inch paintbrush) and sand that with 220 until it's almost all sanded off... check for any visible pores or low spots and reapply and resand if necessary. Most of the fill SHOULD be sanded off though, with only a nearly transparent layer left behind. Get some good hi-dep hi-build sandable primer (I use Walmart Colorplace Red or Grey Primer mostly, but it's best to stick with whatever brand AND FORMULATION (ie Enamel, Acrylic, Lacquer) of primer as the paint you plan to apply over it... that minimizes the risk of unforeseen reactions later on, and maximizes adhesion. I give stuff several light coats of primer, say 2-3, let that dry, and then sand with 220 grit to take the primer down and smooth things out. If there are any visible blemishes, respray those areas and resand when dry. At this point, the rocket SHOULD be pretty darn smooth and there shouldn't be any MAJOR visible defects. Now, switch to 600 grit sandpaper and using a bowl of water and some paper towels, wet the 600 grit, blot it off on the paper towel, and lightly sand the rocket IN SMALL CIRCLES as you work your way around the rocket, turning it in your hand gently as you go, (actually it's best to sand this way ALL THE TIME, even with 220 grit, as it minimizes the sanding scratches you'll have to take out before painting) Periodically wash the paper in the bowl of water, blot most ot the water off, and continue sanding. Periodically take a clean paper towel and wipe off the 'sanding mud' from the rocket, and keep sanding and wiping until you've sanded the whole rocket. Take a clean, damp paper towel and wipe the rocket down again to get rid of all the sanding mud, and wipe it down with a dry paper towel, and then hold the rocket up in front of your eye and sight along it like a rifle, with a light source about 90 degrees to the side and above it... observe the 'glint' of the light as you SLOWLY rotate the rocket in your hands as you sight along the tube-- if you see ANY disturbance in the glint of light, that area needs a bit more sanding. Touch it up with your damp paper, wipe it down thoroughly again, and check it against the light again. This method works equally well with the fins and nose cone as well, which I sand before I glue to the rocket. At this point the rocket SHOULD look almost like it's made of plastic; it should have a little shine to it even though it's just primered! If you sand through the primer and want to touch it up, you can, though it's more work. So long as the surface is smooth and even at this point, it's ready to paint.

Painting is more about technique than anything-- you can't get a good paint job if you haven't done good surface prep, but you CAN screw up good surface prep with a lousy paint job. The main things to avoid are runs and dry spray. Runs come from moving the can or gun too slowly, too close to the surface, or both. Dry spray results from too much thinner, too volatile a thinner, or excessively hot spraying conditions (though these are less common than you'd think) Most often dry spray comes from spraying with the can or gun too far away from the surface. Spray the paint on moving the can rather quickly from about a foot away. I usually mount the rocket on a painting stick (old curtain rod with an old engine casing glued on the end) that I can mount upright in a rotating fixture (piece of PVC pipe) and rotate the rocket to spray it. "Dust" the paint on, keep the can moving, start spraying just before the nozzle gets in front of the rocket and keep spraying til it's just past the other end, keep an even distance and even speed, and try to keep the can or gun an even distance away, at the same angle from one end to the other. Paint the rocket in long strokes working your way around it (or rotating it after every couple or three passes) and I generally go all the way around it at least twice in a coat, sometimes three times. The fins and nosecone usually take a few more 'directed' passes to get them painted smooth and evenly. You want a uniform 'wet' look to the rocket; if the paint looks grainy or like little droplets, you have dry spray and need to spray a little more on a little closer to make it 'flow out' and lay down smooth. Usually folks tend to spray TOO MUCH and get sags or runs, both of which basically require sanding down to get rid of, and then a light topcoat to cover the sanding. Let the paint 'tack up' for about 15 minutes or so, then give it another coat. Let it tack up again, inspect the paint job-- is is smooth, even, fully covered, flowed out?? Any graininess or poor coverage, now's the time to fix it, with a little more paint sprayed into the affected areas til it flows out and lays down smooth.

Follow the instructions on your paint for recoat times. If you're doing two-tone patterns, etc. you'll probably have to wait awhile to do the masking. Use a good grade of painters tape (blue or purple) and burnish the tape edges down, then apply your second color after the appropriate recoat time has been respected. If you want to ensure you don't get bleed under, put a light 'seal coat' over the edge of the tape with the first color you used; don't go crazy with it, you just want a light coat to 'seal' the edge of the tape-- let that tack up thoroughly (to prevent it mixing with the top coat) and spray your second color in a manner identical to the first. Once the paint has thoroughly tacked up after your second or third coat (depending on your coverage) go ahead and peel your tape gently off the rocket to prevent the paint peeling off with the tape later.

Once the paint is done and dried well (you may want to let it cure per the instructions of the can) apply your decals, and then you can go over it with your choice of clearcoat (some yellow or have problems, so you may not want to go that route) or you can go over it with a polymer finish (Nu-finish) or Future Floor Polish to protect the decals and finish and give the paint that final POP!

Now, you CAN wet-sand the color coat IF YOU REALLY HAVE TO SO THE ROCKET LOOKS GOOD, BUT, if you do the surface prep right and spray the color coats using good techniques (practice, practice, practice!) You'll likely find it QUITE unnecessary!

I've got a buddy who restores old cars, and these are the EXACT same types of techniques that we use to get show-car finishes on his cars-- and they're the same techniques used in the paint booths of every body shop out there...

It just takes some time and practice to build skill and confidence!

Good luck! You can do it!!! OL JR

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

I ran across this a while back.

Once upon a time, a '69 Dodge Charger was in need of new paint ...

... and it lived happily ever after.



... the rest of the story .

Greg