Paint For Rubber Knees?

BedlamX

Jr Hunter
Howdy, all. I know this has been asked and answered a few times, but I can't find some of the specifics. I've PM'd a few people that I have dealt with on other stuff, but seems my PMs are getting lost in the masses, not getting through, or just being ignored (kinda hope it ain't the latter since I don't think I've done anything to tic anyone off here).

I just got a set of rubber knees (think they're FP/SR since they appear to have fettprides logo on the back). I need to paint them for my custom Mando, but not sure what to use on the rubber to make it stick. I found a few old posts that mentioned Pactra paints for this, but none seem to mention which type. The guy at the hobby shop here told me that, since Pactra was bought out by Testers, there are several types of it (enamel, laquer, acrylic, and one more I can't remember the name of). Is one of these better than the others for rubber? Or are the old threads all pointing to the old Pactra from before the Testers take over? Is there something newer on the market that would be better and hasn't been mentioned before?

I kicked around the idea of using the vinyl spray color I use to color different kinds of vinyl I make costumes out of (and also works great on vinyl tubing as a primer for standard spay paints, by the way). But I've never used it on rubber before, so don't know how it will work.

Any hints or tricks of the trade anyone minds sharing with me on this?

Thanks
 
It really depends on what kind of rubber they are made of, each having a specific chemical nature to them.

for latexes you could get some liquid latex (also known as mold latex, arts/craft store) and color it with mica dust (artstores/craft stores woudl have it, or acrylic dust) also liquidlatex.com has specific color latex available.

For urethanes you are going to be looking mainly at tin-cure vs platinum cure as they dont like to stick to each other. In this case you will definitely want to get some of the rubber yourself, smooth on has these, go to the links thread. They also have paints i think for their products as well.

There are probably other more accurate answers but this should give you a start, first find out what kind of rubber they are made from..
 
Howdy, all. I know this has been asked and answered a few times, but I can't find some of the specifics. I've PM'd a few people that I have dealt with on other stuff, but seems my PMs are getting lost in the masses, not getting through, or just being ignored (kinda hope it ain't the latter since I don't think I've done anything to tic anyone off here).

I just got a set of rubber knees (think they're FP/SR since they appear to have fettprides logo on the back). I need to paint them for my custom Mando, but not sure what to use on the rubber to make it stick. I found a few old posts that mentioned Pactra paints for this, but none seem to mention which type. The guy at the hobby shop here told me that, since Pactra was bought out by Testers, there are several types of it (enamel, laquer, acrylic, and one more I can't remember the name of). Is one of these better than the others for rubber? Or are the old threads all pointing to the old Pactra from before the Testers take over? Is there something newer on the market that would be better and hasn't been mentioned before?

I kicked around the idea of using the vinyl spray color I use to color different kinds of vinyl I make costumes out of (and also works great on vinyl tubing as a primer for standard spay paints, by the way). But I've never used it on rubber before, so don't know how it will work.

Any hints or tricks of the trade anyone minds sharing with me on this?

Thanks

All I know is do not use enamel paints on rubber. It will not dry even if you lay down a coat of primer and will remain tacky. If possible, try some different paints on a piece of scrap first. Good luck!
 
Thanks for the repies. I have quite a lot of the RD-407 mask latex (use it for making prosthetics). Might give that a try on the back to see how it does. Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of rubber it is (maybe FP or SR could chime in and let me know what they used) and don't have any scrap. All I can test paints on is the back and hope for the best.
 
Heya bro, did I miss a pm from you about this? If so I apologize my friend

The material is Urethane for the SR/FP knees. Rigid urethane rubber.

Most have had luck with acrylic based paints, or latex. U can also look into Smooth-On's FX rubber paint. It can be airbrushed on and has a chemical bond.

Hope that helps in some way :cheers
 
Thanks a lot, Chris. No worries, I know you be a busy guy lately (and in the dark, from what I saw on the news :) ). I replied to your reply to my PM :)

I'll try the acrylic and, if that is a no-go, I'll see about the smooth-on stuff.
 
Well...did a butt-load of testing on the backs of the knees this weekend. Some came out great, some...well...not so good.

I wasn't happy with the look of the acrylic silver. It just didn't like me for some reason. So, cuz I'm more than a little nuts, I started trying out various other paints and coatings I had at the house. One had extremely good results: Dupli-color fabric and vinyl coating. I have used this stuff for years to change the color of vinyl fabrics and recolor the dashes of old trucks and cars, so gave it a try on the knees.

It covered in 2 coats, no tacky feeling after it dried, would not rub off, and allowed for more flexability than anyone would ever need to put the knees through. Only problem...no silver. If you are going for a clean and unweathered kit, this stuff is really good. Should also work if you do your weathering by adding the silver scratches with a dry brush or sharpie. I used it as a primer coat and laid a couple coats of silver on top with no tackiness or cracking. Auto primer went over that with no problems. The olive green I am using for the main armor got sprayed on top of it all. It has a slightly tacky feel in a couple small places, but bends and does not slide off when rubbed. The same application process done on the back has set up with no tackiness, but took 2 days to do so (instead of the normal 10-15 minutes). Gonna let it set for a couple days while I work on other parts, then do some more weathering with various implements of destruction and clear coat it with a flat finish clear.

I'll thow up some pics when I get them all done.
 
The paint that I have used that sticks the best is Pactra (by testers). Its vfor RC car bodies, and it bonds to the rubber. You will NEVER get it off. However, as chris pointed out to me before, if its too thick it will get the dry riverbed effect (cracking in the paint, and then it comes back together and its not smooth) if you bend it 90 degrees.

However if you bend a regular pair 90 degrees they would break, so your still ahead of the game.

You can buy pactra in any model shop. I have used the silver as a base then the mango and millenium yellow as overspray to do fett knees.


The silver, will not come off as a base, I can guarantee that (as long as they are cleaned with alcohal first).

You could have just asked me:)

Heres a link. I guess for future reference its a lacquer.
http://www.testors.com/category/137919/RC_Car_Lacquers
 
lol...I would have added you to my PM list on this, Stormrider. But I'm still new to this whole thing and wasn't really sure what the "SR" stood for. Next time, I'll know who to call :).

The link answered my question perfectly, Stormrider. Now I know I need to use the lacquers version of the Pactra. If I wind up not liking the way the paint sets up with what I have already done, I'll strip them back down and get some of the Pactra at the local hobby shop.

Thanks for all the replies, guys. Been greatly helpful :)
 
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