DIY: Simple Lids

Tips & Tricks for an Easy DIY Paintjob

Painting an RC body can seem to be a daunting task. Lots of masking, knowledge of types of paint and how to apply it, and then there’s also the difficulty of making your own designs. Truth be told, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. A simple one-color paintjob is not only easy but can be super rewarding when you do it yourself. Great for testing, as a spare, or even as your main body, a simple paintjob will do the trick every time. Follow along with this guide for some basic tips and tricks when painting your RC shell.

Another benefit of trimming the shell before paint is the ability to precisely position the body mount holes without a special tool or guesswork. Simply place the shell on top of your chassis, placing it exactly where you want it and mark the center of each body post with a fine point permanent marker.

Take a small hand drill with a 2mm drill bit and drill through the center of each marked point. Use a body reamer to open the holes to about 7mm, give or take depending on your car’s body posts. If you don’t have a body reamer handy, you can gradually step up the size of the drill bits until the holes are big enough. This method won’t be as clean as a body reamer, and will require some cleanup, but it will get the job done.

I started this paintjob by spraying the first coat, keeping the can a good 10in away from the body. I laid down a thin coat at first, with the intention to build up more as I went. Always make sure to let your colors dry in between coats so the paint doesn’t run or cause drips. I also periodically checked each coat by holding the shell up to the light, inspecting for any inconsistencies in the color. This helped to show which parts of the body needed more paint during the additional coats. Once a few coats of the fluorescent had been laid down, it was time for the backer. With the same method as the main color, I applied about 2 coats of the white backer making sure to cover any bits of orange.

After the backer dried, I removed the grill masking and spray a couple quick coats of black. Once the backer and grill dried fully, I removed the window masking and sprayed a couple light coats of the translucent smoke to tint the windows, holding up to the light as I went to make sure I wasn’t tinting them too dark.

All said and done on a 70-degree Socal day this took me about an hour in total. Be sure to spray paints outside or in a very well ventilated area and let the shell cure overnight before mounting on your car.