Anybody who's painted polycarbonate before, got any tips?

[Howard]

Any recommended primer, paint applicators, paint, general tips, etc?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Howard
Any recommended primer, paint applicators, paint, general tips, etc?

What is it you are painting?

I've painted a few RC car bodies. They are polycarbonate...I think.

 

[aircooled]

use a scotch brite pad to rough it up first.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Howard
Any recommended primer, paint applicators, paint, general tips, etc?

What is you are painting?

This summer I might be building a small DIY arcade-style control panel (joystick + buttons), and the buttons I'm interested in snap-in to thin materials (probably less than 1/4" in thickness - I haven't found out exactly how thin, yet). Since I figure it's easier to fix the buttons into a sheet of polycarbonate and then mount that into the rest of the top, I might decide to do that. Hell, I might even make the whole top out of polycarbonate. But, I don't think the whole transparent look would be very attractive.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Howard
Any recommended primer, paint applicators, paint, general tips, etc?

What is you are painting?

This summer I might be building a small DIY arcade-style control panel (joystick + buttons), and the buttons I'm interested in snap-in to thin materials (probably less than 1/4" in thickness - I haven't found out exactly how thin, yet). Since I figure it's easier to fix the buttons into a sheet of polycarbonate and then mount that into the rest of the top, I might decide to do that. Hell, I might even make the whole top out of polycarbonate. But, I don't think the whole transparent look would be very attractive.

Are you going to paint the inside of the polycarbonate or the outside where people will be touching it?

 

[damonpip]

Paint it with paint designed for painting Lexan R/C Car bodies. One brand is Fascolor, which can be purchases from Tower Hobbies, here: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0091p?&C=RHG&V=PAR.
You can also use Pactra paint, which is available in spray cans. It can be found here:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0091p?&C=RHF&V=PAC

 

[myusername]

Or, you could just locate a plastic shop and purchase polycarb that was manufactured in the color you desire ..

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Howard
Any recommended primer, paint applicators, paint, general tips, etc?

What is you are painting?

This summer I might be building a small DIY arcade-style control panel (joystick + buttons), and the buttons I'm interested in snap-in to thin materials (probably less than 1/4" in thickness - I haven't found out exactly how thin, yet). Since I figure it's easier to fix the buttons into a sheet of polycarbonate and then mount that into the rest of the top, I might decide to do that. Hell, I might even make the whole top out of polycarbonate. But, I don't think the whole transparent look would be very attractive.

Are you going to paint the inside of the polycarbonate or the outside where people will be touching it?

I don't know yet. Putting it on the inside would make the top easier to clean, but it might look a bit strange.

What do you suggest?

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: myusername
Or, you could just locate a plastic shop and purchase polycarb that was manufactured in the color you desire ..

Ingenious!

 

[jammur21]

iBooks are made of polycarbonate and several have painted them.

http://www.applefritter.com/node/6808

google paint ibook

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: aircooled
use a scotch brite pad to rough it up first.

Could you use a cat?

 

[Howard]

Any idea how hard you would have to hit 3/16" plywood to make it break?

 

[shilala]

Originally posted by: DannyBoy

Originally posted by: aircooled
use a scotch brite pad to rough it up first.

Could you use a cat?

:thumbsup:

 

[Howard]

Anybody?

 

[Goosemaster]

This stuff is so good that it is well...sick

 

[imported_Hi]

dont sniff the paint trust me on this one

 

[TitanDiddly]

Be warned the polycarbonate will lose some strength when certain paints are used. As an example, try putting a drop of super glue on some PC. Note that it turns white and becomes very brittle. This is called crazing, and it's bad. Most paints will not have results this drastic. However, if you are planning on using it over acrylic because a significantly larger amount of strength or impact resistance is required, I would urge you to use opaque black polycarb instead and not paint it. However, if you're just using polycarb because it's easily available or because acrylic is just a little bit too brittle, paint may not be a bad option as long as you stick with commerically available polycarb paints made for RC car bodies.

I do not have any experience with the Krylon Fusion 'paint'(it's more of a dye), but I hear it's very good. I'm not sure how it would affect polycarb, but I'm sure it's not beneficial, as it actually penetrates the plastic and bonds to it's chemical structure.