Spray paint or brush for trim pieces?

[Raguvian]

I'm working on an RC crawler with a hard body, and need to paint it. I would like to paint the bumpers, grille, window trims, side steps and a few other details black (undecided on the main body color but will likely be silver or green). Would I be better off painting the details with a brush or with spray paint? Either way the masking doesn't look like it will be fun, but there would be less to mask with a brush. I'm thinking of at least brushing the light buckets as they will be hidden under lenses, but I'm not sure how the paint finish will turn out if I brush the other details as well.

The body I will be painting:

My inspiration:

Thanks for any help!

Edited February 13, 2021 by Raguvian

[Snake45]

I'd spray the black, mask it off, reprime for the body color, then paint the body color. 

[Dave G.]

I'm with Snake on that, my exact thought actually.

If you do want to brush it you thin the paint and do it in a couple of coats and that very much helps lose the brush marks. What you thin with depends on the paint used.

Edited February 13, 2021 by Dave G.

[Erik Smith]

Mask and spray. I’ve never seen brush painted trim look as good as sprayed on paint. 
Black trim is a pain on modern cars. Masking takes a lot of time but the actual painting takes only a minute. 
I would paint your body color, rub out and polish  as needed (NO WAX), then mask and paint the trim. For the wheel flares, get something like Tamiya tape for curves. 
I did the same technique on my Rabbit:

[TransAmMike]

Black Bare Metal Foil (if you're used to it) is another alternative.  But, I find on the sheet I have, you can't burnish it down too much or the silver under the black shows thru. 

Quote

 

 

[peteski]

I mask and spray the black trim after painting the body.  For this particular task I usually use Parafilm-M for masking.  I use "mild-solvent" flat or semigloss black paint (Testors) because hotter paints can attack or soften Parafilm-M.

Edited February 14, 2021 by peteski

[Venom]

7 hours ago, Erik Smith said:

 

 

Man...this thing is NICE!!!  Perfect paint all around, wheel weights and all!

[espo]

I'm in the paint the trim last camp. In fact I use the exact method that Erik Smith described. With the final finish without the wax will give you as smooth a surface as possible for the tape to adhere to. I suggest a light gloss clear spray over the masking tape edges before going to the trim color. Sometimes even with the best tape and burnished edges the trim color may creep under the tape in some places. Any body lines or door gaps can offer a way for the paint to get under your tape. Allow the clear to dry for a while before applying your trim color and give the area to be painted a very light sanding with some high # soft sanding pad. The clear paint should block any paint creep. As an extra step, before removing the masking tape use a new #11 blade and lightly go along the edge of the tape before removing it. Pretend you're cutting Bare Metal Foil or lighter. This should prevent the tape from lifting the paint from the trim, remember you have a light base coat of clear and with much paint build up this can sometimes happen.  

[Raguvian]

Thank you all for the replies! Erik that Rabbit looks amazing! The main thing that makes me nervous about spraying the body color first is the black seems to run under the masking very easily and I get lines that don't look crisp at all. Then again, this is an RC car that is going to get used on rocks and dirt so any paint job is going to get abused a little bit.

On 2/14/2021 at 11:14 AM, espo said:

I'm in the paint the trim last camp. In fact I use the exact method that Erik Smith described. With the final finish without the wax will give you as smooth a surface as possible for the tape to adhere to. I suggest a light gloss clear spray over the masking tape edges before going to the trim color. Sometimes even with the best tape and burnished edges the trim color may creep under the tape in some places. Any body lines or door gaps can offer a way for the paint to get under your tape. Allow the clear to dry for a while before applying your trim color and give the area to be painted a very light sanding with some high # soft sanding pad. The clear paint should block any paint creep. As an extra step, before removing the masking tape use a new #11 blade and lightly go along the edge of the tape before removing it. Pretend you're cutting Bare Metal Foil or lighter. This should prevent the tape from lifting the paint from the trim, remember you have a light base coat of clear and with much paint build up this can sometimes happen.  

The clear mist over the masking tape is a great tip, thank you. I also got some Tamiya masking tape as I've heard good things about it.

[Erik Smith]

I don’t clear over tape. Apply thin layers of paint (let it flash dry between coats) to build the color you need and it won’t seep under the tape. 

[peteski]

1 hour ago, Raguvian said:

Thank you all for the replies! Erik that Rabbit looks amazing! The main thing that makes me nervous about spraying the body color first is the black seems to run under the masking very easily and I get lines that don't look crisp at all. Then again, this is an RC car that is going to get used on rocks and dirt so any paint job is going to get abused a little bit.

The clear mist over the masking tape is a great tip, thank you. I also got some Tamiya masking tape as I've heard good things about it.

I never had any problems wit paint running under Parafilm-M.  One reason is that unlike masking tape this stuff is transparent, and you can see the difference when it is adhered or not adhered to the surface it is applied to.  Plus, I apply it to the entire area, then cut it on the surface around the trim areas with a hobby knife with a new blade.  The cutting action itself burnishes the edge of Parafilm-M to the painted surface, sealing the edge.  Then of course I do not flood the paint onto the surface - I spray light coats first.  And as I mentioned, I use mild solvent-based paints like Testors or Model Master enamels.

[Erik Smith]

Regular process tape, paint, and the fun part, peeling off the tape!

[youpey]

i like molotow pens for that. its water based so if you mess it up a wet rag will clear it right up. just cant stop on painting it on, or you will see it. basically need to start at the bottom and 1 pass only. if it doesnt fully cover, you need to wait for it to dry and do it again