7 replies to this topic

[HAVOKstudios]

Hey I'm new to Nerf paintjobs and need to know what to use and what not to use for painting. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Bubba Longshot]

First you use some primer paint, this is the spray paint kind. For the paint itself, automotive spray paint is widely used. Canadian Tire sells them in Canada, but I'm not too sure for the U.S. Detailing is usually done with acrylic or enamel paint, these can be bought from hobby shops. After all of that is applied, some layer of spray paint clear coat is used to give your paint job longevity.
Normally paint jobs cost roughly $25 depending on the amount of paint used. I've never actually painted Nerf blasters before, so this is just knowledge that I've read and heard.

Edited by Bubba Longshot, 07 June 2017 - 05:47 PM.

[GensoNerf]

For most of my paint jobs, I use Rustoleum Professional spray enamel over a black base-coat(Also spray enamel), then comes detailing with enamel brush paint and a clear coat to finish it all off.  Hope this helps.

[Vim Fuego]

Before you paint, prepare the surface by sanding lightly with a fine sandpaper - 200 grit and up works fine - and a gentle scrub in some warm water and detergent to remove the dust and the oils left over from the manufacturing process.

Let the shell air-dry completely if you have time - if not, use clean paper towels to mop up excess water, but try to avoid handling the parts as much as possible, as the oils on your skin will replace the oils that you just removed...

Edited by Vim Fuego, 07 June 2017 - 08:20 PM.

[Penna]

I generally do swirl dips and for that use I would recommend Testors oil-based enamel paints, they apply well and don't chip easily.

[Lasagna]

If you can find it, Krylon Fusion (I think that's what it's called) can be found in quite a few stores up here in Canada, just saw some yesterday at Canadian Tire when I went to get some bike tire repair patches. Apparently it's very good for PJ's.

[Cthulhu Nerf]

I use krylon or rustoleum for most of my paint jobs. Always sand and was your blaster to make sure the paint will stick. A separate primer sometimes is not necessary if the paint you by is both paint and primer. I use acrylic brush paint for detail work. Do a few coats of clear coat to protect it.

[Meaker VI]

There are a myriad of methods once you get to the paint-part, the process leading up to it is:

• Completely disassemble the blaster. Open it up, put the screws in a baggie, take a picture (or a bunch of pictures) of the internals, take them completely out and put them in a box/baggie with the screws
• Sand the outside of everything to be painted with ~220 grit. Use coarser grit (120-150), then step up to 220 to remove logos and text and stuff you don't want and give yourself a roughed-up but still smooth surface for the paint.
• Wash everything in soapy water and let air dry. Try not to touch it with your bare hands from here out.
• Optionally, vinyl die the blaster to change the color of the base plastic. In event of paint chipping, this will show through and not white/blue/yellow/red/whatever the plastic is now.
• Prime the blaster with some kind of primer designed for plastic. I've used Rustoleum 2x Paint & Primer with great results, on reddit they tell me I should use a good automotive primer. I also hear warming up your rattle cans in a tub of warm water before using them helps with the spray density. During any spraying, especially with rattle cans, do light passes with the paint. Don't try to cover the blaster up in one pass. You can make several passes before letting it dry per the instructions on the can, and usually do another coat of several passes within a set amount of time or after it's fully dried (usually within about an hour or after 24 hours). Ideally, let this then cure the full time on the can - for the 2x I use that's a full week (!).
• Optionally, sand again to make sure everything is smooth, if you want a high-gloss final finish you probably want to wet sand up to 400-800 grit.
• Prime again if plastic is showing through
• Paint using your preferred process - most paints should adhere well to the primed surface.