Edgeflyer Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I'm wanting to paint Solartex. The basic colour is white. What's the best type of paint for brushing for a masked area? It will need to be fuel proof. I'm looking at coloured cellulose dope, enamel or acrylic possibly with a clear polyurethane fuel proofed. I also need to be able to get Solartex to adhere to itself. Is it best to apply an extra heat sensitive glue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC57 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Guild fuel proof enamel paint seems OK. I used it to paint the engine bay on a glow model (including over the heat shrink covering) a couple of years ago, and it still looks OK after a good soaking in fuel and general engine gunge. Available at Leeds Model Shop for £6.79 a tin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Hi guys, Solar tec is good stuff but the soon gets grubby. I painted the hi boy but it added weight, quite a lot in fact, but was really easy to clean. I believe there is a spray on "armour coat" for fabric and carpets ? ?, but no idea if it would be suitable for solar tex or for use with fuels. Maybe your better halfs use a similar product on your carpets ? May be worth doing a bit of experimentation on a solartex covered sample ? ? ? Perhaps ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryW Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 This was very good but very hard to get now..SOLARLAC CLEARCOAT and salarfilm only have limited supply and colours https://solarfilm.co.uk/products/solarlac-clearcoat-thinner-collection-only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I recently painted some solartex using Guild matt black. Goes on very well and is fuel resistant increasing to proof after a week or so. Only complaint was that it was too matt so went overit with some Guild satin clear fuel proofer. I have used the coloured gloss Guild enamel on matt laminating film. Pic below .Needs a tiny drop of white spirit added to flow nicely and two coats to cover. Dries very quickly . To spray it thin with cellulose thinner according to instr0uctions. Ive only brushed it so far but results are good. Best single pack fuel proofer ever imho is Solarlac Clearcoat. Only available now by collection ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 4 hours ago, Edgeflyer said: I also need to be able to get Solartex to adhere to itself. Is it best to apply an extra heat sensitive glue? Solartex doesn't need any extra glue to stick to itself but it's best to use the lowest temp that activates the adhesive or it will distort the edge of the overlaying fabric. Some examples below of vintage models covered in Solartex with no paint used & except for the letters on the Jnr 60 all other decor is from Solartex scraps cut by hand & carefully applied at relatively low temp. The Jnr 60 was about 16 years old when the pic was taken in 2002, it's since been refurbed, recovered in a different scheme & converted to electric. The Robot was also originally ic powered but later electrocuted. In third pic because of a wing warping problem the Deacon wings are "blushing" as they had recently been given a coat of dope in dampish conditions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 In the past I used cellulose car paints and enamels in air brushes. The gold and solid metallic purple where spray cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 I should mention that Fantasy was done a very long time ago, over 30 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgeflyer Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 14 hours ago, GaryW said: This was very good but very hard to get now..SOLARLAC CLEARCOAT and salarfilm only have limited supply and colours https://solarfilm.co.uk/products/solarlac-clearcoat-thinner-collection-only I buy up solarlac if I find it lurking in hobby shops. I have silver red black and yellow 250ml tins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgeflyer Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 11 hours ago, PatMc said: Solartex doesn't need any extra glue to stick to itself but it's best to use the lowest temp that activates the adhesive or it will distort the edge of the overlaying fabric. Some examples below of vintage models covered in Solartex with no paint used & except for the letters on the Jnr 60 all other decor is from Solartex scraps cut by hand & carefully applied at relatively low temp. The Jnr 60 was about 16 years old when the pic was taken in 2002, it's since been refurbed, recovered in a different scheme & converted to electric. The Robot was also originally ic powered but later electrocuted. In third pic because of a wing warping problem the Deacon wings are "blushing" as they had recently been given a coat of dope in dampish conditions. Any way to remove blushing? I have a wots wot nylon and dope covering which is a bit bushy. I now use anti bloom thinners which help a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgeflyer Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Anyone experimented with Hammerite Smooth? Relatively cheap and certainly works well on outdoor rusty metal. As it uses MEK as solvent it may be fuel proof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Stephenson Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 I discovered what's called leveller spray in Halfords. I wasn't sure what it was till I experimented with it. It turns out to be a spray can of thinners specially to level out the orange peel effect from spraying paint. I'm guessing it could be used to remove the blush you get when painting in too humid conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgeflyer Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Ok good tip and worth trying on a test piece. I checked my paint stock and have solarlac in white black yellow and silver in 110ml tins plus 3 tins prymol and 1 clear coat ( price labels £3.50 ) so I may be able to use these. Wish I had red! Found only violet and heather in stock. Not most popular colours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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