FOR THOSE OF US WANTING A BETTER WAY TO COLOR THOSE HELI PARTS AND THE BLEACH BOTTLE LIKE MATERIAL (STOCK BODIES) I HAVE FOUND A WAY.
REACHING BACK INTO THE CAVERNS OF MY OLD RC CAR DAYS I DECIDED TO TRY SIMPLY DYEING THE BODY AND/OR PART USING RITZ DYE. "IT WORKS" GREAT.
SO FAR I HAVE DONE THE ROTOR BLADES, THE ROD GUIDES ON THE TAIL BOOM AND A BRACKET THAT I MADE FOR MY CO-PILOT OUT OF A DAMAGED HORIZONTAL FIN (BOOM STRIKE). I ALSO TRIED SOME CUT OFF MATERIAL FROM A HELI BODY (THAT BLEACH BOTTLE TYPE) AND IT SEEMS TO WORK GREAT.
OF COARSE THE LONGER YOU LEAVE IT IN THE DYE THE DARKER THE COLOR. AND THIS WILL NOT FLAKE OF LIKE PAINT

HERE'S HOW
IT WORKS BEST TO NEARLY BRING THE WATER TO A BOIL BEFORE ADDING THE DYE. STUR THE DYE IN WELL (ABOUT HALF A MINUTE)
THEN REDUCE THE HEAT WHILE YOUR PARTS ARE IN THE DYE. IT DOES SEEM TO HELP TO KEEP SOME HEAT UNDER THE PAN. KEEP THE PARTS MOVING IN THE PAN SO THEY DON'T STICK OR GET TO SOFT.
WHEN THEY HAVE REACHED THE COLOR YOU WANT LIFT THEM OUT WITH TONGS OR WHATEVER, LET THEM AIR COOL FOR A HALF A MINUTE OR SO.
RINSE THEM OFF RIGHT AWAY WITH LUKEWARM WATER USING YOUR FINGERS TO RUB (SORRY ROB) OF ANY FILM.
NOTE: WET THE SINK FIRST OR USE ANOTHER PAN OR IT MAY STAIN THE SINK
THIS HAS WORKED GREAT AND AS FAR AS I CAN TELL HAS HAD NO ILL EFFECT ON THE PARTS.

NOTES:
DO NOT USE ANY PAN OR POT THAT YOU DON'T WANT STAINED.
ALSO DON'T USE THE SAME PAN FOR A DIFFERENT COLOR FROM THE ORIGINAL COLOR BECAUSE IT WILL TINT THE SECOND ONE
(I ONCE HAD SOME REALLY COOL ORANGE RIMS)
HOPE THIS TIP IS USEFUL. WHEN I GET MY RAPTOR 30 BODY DONE I WILL TRY TO POST A PHOTO.

HOOTCHER

Coool

But please don`t use CAPS LOCK THE NEXT TIME...

(feels like beeing yelled at)

Cya,

Richard

they should delete that post, what an eyesore

Sorry

Sorry to those that thought I was yelling. I should have know better, but I was in a hurry to post. To anyone that feels a good idea should be removed because of the way it was written.
Wa Wa Wa, don't look

didnt even try to read it,

Hootcher,

Edit your original post by hitting the edit word in the bottom right part of the post. Change your text to lower case and you'll get more people to read it.

your right hootch, literature should never be supressed, sorry... editing is a much better idea...

.

.

I used to do likewise to tint the otherwise clear canopies for my gliders and other planes. Works a treat on the Lexan type of plastic. Never tried the bleach bottle though. Still want more than one colour, so will have to sand, spray etc anyway, and you'll find the pigment does not penetrate very far into the plastic.

Dying For Colored Heli Bodies And Parts

First thank you "Noah" for editing my post. I see there have been over 160 views and I hope that the editing helped those that don't know there capital letters as well as their lower case and everyone will get something from it
Since then I have dyed many of the Raptor parts and found that of coarse the harder plastics will dye darker than the plastic that the body is made of, but if you watch how long you leave them in you can get it close.
I originally tried to dye the body yellow and found it would not adhere well, but if pulled out right away most of it can be neutralized by simply rinsing it off and you can dye a darker color over it.
I decided to dye the body navy blue and it came out kind of a blue/gray and looks great.
However be careful and let the body hang over the pot/tub for a minute or so for the dye to cool. I got in a hurry to rinse it off and bumped it against the sink and scratched the nose a little, oh well now it has a painted stripe.
I will post a picture as soon as it is all done.
I also expeimented with masking and found that electrical tape works well for this on the body and the hard plastics.
I masked the rotor blades to create a white tip and a stripe which worked great except you must be sure that the edges and any tape laps are firmly pressed down or the dye will bleed under (my laps bleed a little)
I hope this is all useful and again sorry for the ALL CAPS before

Hootcher

Post a pic already I was thinking of the same thing. I do this all the time with RC car/truck rims and its great. I am going to do this on my Rappy (bleach bottle) canopy. I would like to see your outcome. I will post some pics when I get mine done later this or next week.

Leo Dano

You actually had luck doing the polyethylene canopies?? I tried some tail fins (nylon) and it worked great a few years back but could not get the PE to take any die. Not surprising since this material is very chemuically inert material.

Dying Heli bodies "Update'

I would post some pics, however my digital doesn't work so swell.
Anyway, the dye seemed to take great to the landing gear, and the tail rotors, but for some reason over a period of time it started to get spotty on the body. Like light and dark areas so what was a very nice sky blue started to develope clouds and it was never even outside yet alone in the sun. It still looked really cool, but because I wanted it to be solid I decided to paint over it with the NEW Krylon Fusion paint made for plastics. The paint covers great and I think once it has cured for the recommended 7 to 10 days I am in hopes it won't chip. I will just have to wait and see. As for the dying I think I may have rinsed it off to soon. If you try it let me know how it goes. I have multiple bodies just like in the car days.
Thanks
Hootcher

I just did the Krylon thing last Tuesday, and well 8 days later, it scratches right off with my fingernail. Oh well it was worth a shot, I followed the cans cleaning/prep instructions, but it looks like the color will come off quickly. Im just gonna fly it and see, not too impressed with the "bonding" promise.

Anyone have any real luck with this paint, and if so, what did you have to do for prep first?

Thanks

Go Fly, Have Fun!!
-Team Ready Heli
-Team Quick UK

Ive used some flourecent Rustoleum that has held up resonably well. Scratched up the canopy with steel wool first.

Light travels faster than sound, thats why some people appear so bright UNTIL you hear them speak.