Painting Flexible handrails


S

SteveWoodward

Member
Many years ago I did custom painting for hire. When it came time to painting flexible handrails (delrin, celcon, etc) I used to mix in a small amount of an automotive flex additive, used by body shops for painting flexible urethane bumpers on autos.

Fast forward to today...I've gotten quite comfortable with acrylics, mostly the Pollyscale line from Testors. But the acrylics have a hard time with delrin/celcon, the paint can flake off even with minimal handling.

My research has turned up the following options:

1) Bead blast the handrails with a hobby sand blaster.
2) Try Badger ModelFlex, which is supposed to be more of a "skin" than paint and adhere better.
3) Stick with lacquers, the heck with the environment!
4) Use R/C paint designed for Lexan R/C car bodies.
5) Form all handrails manually with wire, using stanchions from Precision Scale or Smokey Valley.

Just curious what path(s) you custom painters have chosen in the 21st century..

TIA!
 
I used the Tamiya acrylics, which I believe is primarily targeted for RC stuff. But that was "way back" in the last century!
 
I've found that Testors enamel paints like white and yellow adhere very well to most modern handrail materials. They are about the only enamels I use anymore.
 
Well, there were flex additives that could be added to enamels, but I don't know of anything for acrylics. Would be nice! At times I'm tempted to bend my own wire handrails just to avoid this issue.
 
Hey guys Im new here when it comes to painting, but I went n got a entry level air brush on ebay for $20. I dont know if thats good or not, its new n the brand is Cal Hawk. It came with a metal cup thing and 2 glass jars with lids and a metal spout out of the top of them. There were no instructions in the box so Im thinkin its a cheapo, but could anyone tell me how to use this thing and what might be the best paint to get used to using when it comes to repainting? Im thinkin that I can use a truck tire on a rim for air pressure or I also have a 130 PSI industrial compressor. Thanks alot in advance, CM
 
Welcome, If you are going to use a tire or a compressor at 130 psi then you must have a regulator and set it near 30 psi.
rb Dave
 
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