ways to keep paints on armor from chipping

[Kurama Kenshin]

I have recently spray painted my armour with Krylon spray paint. The armour is plastic and I am not so much looking for a way to keep it from chipping, I am looking for a way to prolong the paint job on the armour. Does anyone have any suggestions....and no not fighting in it is not a good answer for all of you wise guys out there nor is stop getting it

[Sevastian]

Stitch leather on to the plastic. Job done.

[Mike F]

Have you tried lacquer? Powder coat is the typical answer on steel, but not so much for plastic.

[losthelm]

What plastic? Some times you can sand the material a little to improve adhesion.
Plastic is a dificult material to paint, there are a few specialty paints like krylon for plastics and rub-n-buff that may work. Small sample projects should let you experiment a bit.
Most of us simply cover the plastic or buy sheet plastics already colored in production.

There are a few good discussions on the brassgoogles forum on painting plastics that may help.

[Amanda M]

I cover all my plastic with fabric or leather, using 3M spray adhesive. With fabric I usually wrap it around the back then glue felt to the under side.

[Lurker]

3m adhesive spray and fabric of choice.

The problem with paint and plastic is the flex inherent in the plastic. They do make paints that flex that are typically used for plastic bumpers and fiberglass parts, but they aren't always easy to find. The fabric covering typically holds up better anyways.

Take a walk through the cheap bins of your local fabric store and see what looks good. I've used colored duck cloth in the past and have seen others use colored canvas or even fake leather. If you see something like cotton or felt and are worried about waterproofing it just hit it with spray starch. The vinyl 'fake leather' in a nice dark brown can pass the 10 foot rule for leather if applied carefully.

Paul

[clifter1]

Lurker hit the nail on the head...

You can get paint that will last on plastic, but it's NOT cheap and the takes special setup to paint correctly (i.g. automotive assembly paint shop). Just like Lurker and the other said, get a can of 3M 77 spray adhesive and a yard or two of bargin bin fabric and you will be way happier with the cost and results!

[Mike F]

Unless you have laced Japanese armor and fabric is mostly out of period.

Have you looked into dye sublimation? I don't know if you can do it at home . . .

[Paladin74]

Don't get hit.

[InsaneIrish]

3m adhesive spray and fabric of choice.

The problem with paint and plastic is the flex inherent in the plastic.

Paul

THIS.

Adhere fabric to the pieces. It will look better and last longer.

[Alex Baird]

All the paints that actually work on plastic are pretty much banned anymore, because the way they worked was by using a strong solvent for the carrier. They literally softened the surface of the plastic substrate and bonded the color on. No paint that just adheres to the surface is going to stay on. Now, most all paints must be low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds).

That said, if you want to try mixing your own with lacquer thinner or MEK and pigments, and have a good spraybooth, safety gear and respirator set up... Don't let the local Air Quality Police know, though.

[Konstantin the Red]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone can do savage enough things to your cells and innards, leaving you with chronic solvent sensitivities, that I doubt you'd be wanting to mess with it.

[Mega Zenjirou Yoshi]

Based on your screen name, I am assuming you are working on Japanese armor. If that is incorrect, please forgive.

Short answer: You can't.

Long answer: Well... There are a lot of little things you can do to help postpone the inevitable.

Prepping the material, sanding before painting, wiping down with alcohol. (sounds like you are past this point)

Several folks voted for spray adhesive and fabric. This would put you closer to period practice, as I believe the Japanese would (sometimes?) use fabric inbetween layers of lacquer. Several coats of paint over this, and when it fails, it fails in a way that looks period.

There are other ways you can also plan for the inevitable. Depending on what color plastic you are talking about, a couple of coats of different colors of paint can make those areas of flaked, scratched, chipped paint look like spots where lacquer has come off and exposed the material underneath.

Most of us look to the hardware store and auto-body supplies when thinking about painting armor. You could also try the fine art supply store. Golden Artist Colors makes some very interesting acrylic mediums and additives. Of potential use to armor are the GACs. http://www.goldenpaints.com/technicaldata/gac100s.php For plastic I would look at GAC-100 and GAC-500 which when added to acrylic paint can increase it's adhesion, mar-resistance, and flexibility.

Of course it sounds like you are past all this, and are at the final point of the painting process, clear-coats and/or varnishes. I'd recommend a clear acrylic isolation coat (one of the GACs mentioned above or a thin acrylic gloss-medium) brushed or sprayed on after a light sanding with very fine sand-paper (and wipe down with isopropyl alcohol). Let that cure for a couple days to a week, then several good coats of clear-coat. If you can find a clear coat with UV-blocking, that may help as paint films adhesion can weaken with exposure to sun-light.

Also when using a bunch of different products from different manufacturers, test them on some scraps of your material. Commercial paints and coatings are proprietary mixtures, and sometimes don't play well together.

Granted, I haven't tried this on plastic armor myself, but have used altered versions of these for painting metal.

[Ld Thomas Willoughby]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone can do savage enough things to your cells and innards, leaving you with chronic solvent sensitivities, that I doubt you'd be wanting to mess with it.

Side note, I suffer from this. Most paints, perfumes, colognes, and hairsprays will give me headaches and nausea.

I had a waitress who would constantly 'renew' her hairspray blowing that crap into my kitchen area. Every day she worked (and I use that term loosely) I'd end up with a migraine, runny nose and dizzy spells.

Even certain washing powders and scented dryer towels can set it off. I wash my clothes a second time to get the washing powder residue out to keep from having skin irritations.

[Alex Baird]

Methyl Ethyl Ketone can do savage enough things to your cells and innards, leaving you with chronic solvent sensitivities, that I doubt you'd be wanting to mess with it.

Thus the spray booth, respirator and safety gear. That gear includes bunny suit and really good gloves ('cause it will eat the cheap ones....).

But, yes, I'd try lesser solvents before the MEK. Put a dab on the surface of a test piece of plastic and see if it softens. Depends on the type of plastic it is which solvents work. All in all, though, probably not worth it for armor, which will be well abused. Even if you get paint to stick, scratches will show the under layer. Too much effort for the results. Instead, you might look for a plastic that is the color you want all the way thru.

Paint is basically 3 things: pigment for color, binder for adhesion, and carrier/thinner, which evaporates. In the case of plastics, dissolving the surface slightly makes the plastic itself into the binder for dye based pigments. The solvent serves that purpose as well as being the thinner which evaporates away.

Another idea is to use sign printing inks designed for plastics, but they are NOT cheap. They are what is used for the graphics on the buckets and barrels, and are formulated to work with specific plastics.

[mrks]

try 3 layers of contact cement as a base.
works on titanium and aluminum.
use dap that comes in the red can at lowed or home depot.

[Kurama Kenshin]

been awhile since I updated this...been a little busy with everything going on. The paint job on the plastic armor turned out great. The places where the paint is rubbing off of the armor has actually been a great help with learning where my openings are and how to better defend them.

[coreythompsonhm]

Try Plastidip. It comes in a spray can now and if done right can be really smooth. Even better, want to change color or respray? It just peels off. Havent used it on plastic so ymmv.