How to paint custom seatbelts / harness?

[schwack]

Hi all,

I am in the middle of building a 01 Subaru WRC and am adding several custom aftermarket parts. One piece in particular is a P/E two set racing harness for the seats. The set comes with a rectangle of material used to cut out the seatbelts. I am looking for advice on how to best paint those straps. First, what kind of paint should I be using? Acrylic, lacquer or? One of my concerns is adding the photo etch pieces (the buckles, etc). I am worried that after cutting the straps and painting them, that sliding on the P/E buckles and fasteners that it will strip the paint. What I'd like to avoid is having to do any touch up after the P/E parts are fitted, as there might be the slightest difference in color / shading. Any advice the folks here at MCM could provide would be greatly appreciated!

[Kris Morgan]

A Sharpie will work best.

[Ace-Garageguy]

If you want colors other than what's available in a Sharpie, one of the penetrating 'interior dyes' sold in auto parts stores for real cars (like SEM products) will work for you. They won't rub off with handling.

[High octane]

Rub off? Are the seat belts going in the model or are they going to be used? I've been using masking tape for seat belt material for years and paint them with Testors enamel paints before putting them on the seats, but after I've put on the hardware. I hope this helps.

[Art Anderson]

FWIW,

If you have a decent artist's supply store anywhere near you, check out the Sakura line of Micron artist's pens. These work very much like Sharpies, but instead of the felt tip, they have a sort of "medium soft plastic" tip, and come in a variety of sizes (from .20mm to at least .50mm, in a wide variety of colors. The ink is alcohol based, so it works on metal quite well.

Art