Tuck 'n Roll from Acrylic Paint Queston

[JollySipper]

I've seen where some guys have made tuck 'n roll upholstery from acrylic craft paint poured into a mold.... supposedly you can peel the paint from the mold, cut to shape, and apply... Just wondering, what would one make such a mold from? Are there any tricks to it, keeping the paint from sticking and such tips? I've seen the results of this, but nothing like a tutorial.....

Thanks for any help!

[Phirewriter]

Try looking at artist's quality paint sites like liquitex.com There's lots of interesting mediums the can be formed or manipulated to very interesting effects. Haven't personally tried them for model building but have used certain gels for artwork. Some figure modelers I know use them to good effect. Try youtube for some ideas, not that there's model car specific tutorial videos that I know of, but certainly should have some techniques that can be utilized.

Basically acrylic paint is a polymer/plastic. Just remember better quality will get better results.

[JollySipper]

1 hour ago, Phirewriter said:

Basically acrylic paint is a polymer/plastic.

Thanks, Michael! So the acrylics dry hard (not flexible)? I guess something more "rubbery" would work better?

[Phirewriter]

 Acrylic paint will be flexible when dry but even that can be adjusted a little depending on what products are being used. Think of a vinyl model tire as a good comparison.

[larry ray]

Just a idea I have had . Cookie pkgs;maybe more lik e diamond and tuck. basic patteren. Just an idea.

[espo]

As an alternative to molding paint to create a Tuck & Roll type interior I have been using a sheet plastic product. Plastruct offers several different finishes in 5 1/2" by 11 1/2". What I have used is their #91519 0 scale corrugated siding. Just cut to what ever shape or size you need and glue it over your kits seats and door panels. 

[Draggon]

I've forgotten who did this, but he used the tonneau cover from the AMT '59 El Camino as the mold. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

I've used this method a few times for smaller items such as interior carpet protectors, but nothing as large as seat or door panel upholstery.

I would imagine that it might work for tuck and roll, but you might have to apply more than one coat to the mold as the acrylic paint shrinks considerably when dry.

It will be flexible when dry, but it can also be quite fragile and fairly easily cracked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Plowboy]

Look up Steve Boutte on Facebook. He's the master at making tuck and roll with acrylic paint.

[JollySipper]

28 minutes ago, Draggon said:

I've forgotten who did this, but he used the tonneau cover from the AMT '59 El Camino as the mold. 

 

4 minutes ago, Plowboy said:

Look up Steve Boutte on Facebook. He's the master at making tuck and roll with acrylic paint.

Same guy!

I just spoke with him on IG, the tonneau cover is what he told me that he used........ Very nice and very approachable person.

[mr moto]

Here's what I do. I don't know if this reflects how other people do it but it works for me. I've never seen a tutorial or known anyone else who does this.

Here are a couple of "masters" used to make the molds. It's just Evergreen half round strips glued on to sheet styrene. You can choose the size strips and the overall size to suit:

The molds are made of Alumilite silicone that can be bought at Hob Lob. It's the same that you would use for resin casting molds. The molds are very flexible. You should use a mold release compound on the master when you make the mold but you won't need to use any mold release when you pour the acrylic paint.

I've had good results with both of these brands of paint and really bad results with one other brand:

The DecoArt is inexpensive and Anita's is dirt cheap! I put plenty of paint in the mold stopping just short of actually overflowing - it shrinks a lot as it dries. It takes a long time to fully dry because it's so deep - usually about 2 days. I've never tried to use heat to dry it and I would be very careful with that because I've had it crack like an old river bed as it dries. That's the bad result I mentioned. You can have a problem with tiny air bubbles in the final product. To prevent that I pour it into the mold slowly and then slowly move a 1/4" wide very soft paintbrush through it to get bubbles to release from the mold surface. Then I wait a couple of days!

Here's some of the end result from a recent project. Very flexible and easy to cut to shape.

Then apply to a model using white glue, tacky glue or almost any other glue without strong solvents in it:

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by mr moto
removed duplicate photo

[gman]

^^ That looks really effective- excellent final results.

[JollySipper]

9 hours ago, mr moto said:

Here's some of the end result from a recent project.

That's an excellent how-to, thanks! I love the rubbery sheen that it has, looks more like vinyl than anything else would......

[Vince Nemanic]

I remember when Boutte first posted the video. It was NOT the '59 El Camino tonneau.  With the help of a friend, I discovered that it was from the AMT '63 Ford Pickup. 

[ChrisBcritter]

On 9/15/2020 at 11:33 AM, Vince Nemanic said:

With the help of a friend, I discovered that it was from the AMT '63 Ford Pickup. 

A couple examples. It's a bit larger than the El Camino unit and the pleats run sideways:

(From eBay completed listings. That blue one was a jaw-dropper - it was a complete, clean builtup in the original box with the rest of the parts AND the go-kart - and it sold for exactly $8.60! )

 

[TarheelRick]

I remember this very technique presented as a "How To" article in one of the model car magazines.  They used a cookie tray for a mold.  Some of those trays come with excellent diamond patterns and other designs.  They can also be cut and flocked to make cushions, like the sleeper cushion in my Mack race car hauler.

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by TarheelRick

[CabDriver]

On 9/15/2020 at 12:15 AM, mr moto said:

I’ve had good results with both of these brands of paint and really bad results with one other brand:

The DecoArt is inexpensive and Anita's is dirt cheap! I put plenty of paint in the mold stopping just short of actually

This is super helpful info - I’ve tried this technique a couple of times with some different brands of paint and not had much success...looks like I know what to try next!  

Nice Ala Kart too!

[carrucha]

Thanks for the very useful tips guys!

[ChrisBcritter]

One other thing about the Ford pickup tonneau - the surface has a slight texture to it so it's more like leather or calf grain vinyl; the El Camino unit is smooth.

[CabDriver]

On 9/20/2020 at 7:00 AM, ChrisBcritter said:

One other thing about the Ford pickup tonneau - the surface has a slight texture to it so it's more like leather or calf grain vinyl; the El Camino unit is smooth.

Which got me thinking - this trick would actually work well to pull ANY texture off about any part so you can replicate it to use on a different part.

I definitely need to hit Hobby Lobby tomorrow and get some supplies to mess with - they have some GREAT textures papers and cards that might work well too for finer patterns 

[Jon Haigwood]

I used the Surry top for a Tuck-N-Roll Tonneau Cover  and seat backing on the Willys project, It may make a good mold pattern. I have also glued Evergreen 1/2 round to a thin sheet of Evergreen then cut out the section I needed. Also individually glued the same 1/2 round straight to the seats. Using Tamiya Thin makes the the plastic somewhat bendable. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Jon Haigwood