Cutouts before or after paint?

[rbronco21]

Planning my Capra paint and want to cut out the vents instead of using stickers. Do I cut them out and then paint, or paint then cut? Also, any ideas what kind of mesh would look scale for a cutout grill and vents on the side panels? I need to google it, but have no idea where to start or what to call it. Now's not the best to hang out at the hardware store, so I'd like to know exactly what to look for and figure out where to get it before I go.

[lonleycreeper]

I find it much easier to cut out any body before any paint. After paint, you run the risk of scratching the paint and messing up your hard work.

[zjguy721]

Agreed. Mark all your holes, and even drill them first, as well. But at least mark them.

And as far as mesh goes, you can use regular window screen. Holes are a little small, but it keeps the rocks out.

[Panther6834]

Cut out first, then paint. First, if you painted, then cut, the edges of where you cut would look like crap second, because cutting that section out isn't exactly each. I used a Dremel, as I figured that would be easier, and cleaner, then actually cutting the Lexan. First, I used one of the drilling bits, to remove the four 'corners', as well as a 5th hole near the center. Next, I used a routing bit to remove the rest of the necessary Lexan.

For the mesh, I used a couple of pieces (one for each side) of "instant screen repair", cut to shape, approx 1/4" larger in each direction....but, remember to paint BEFORE installing the mesh. I also have some metal mesh, in silver, as well as black, that I considered, but opted to go with the screen replacement material due to the colors of the body panels. If you were doing a solid color in the body panels, the metal mesh (I purchased mine on eBay) would look great. To install the mesh, I used a hot glue gun.

Hope that helps.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[rbronco21]

Sounds like a good consensus. I'll cut then paint. That'll give me something to do while I wait for everything to ship. Waiting is killing me!

Do the cutouts need to be cleaned up by sanding or anything? I have some hobby sanding sticks on the way to clean up the helmet glue lines and could use one of them. Do you need to worry about the overspray film coming up?

[58_Willys]

As previously mentioned, cut first then paint.

I like to use an exacto knife to cut out the wheel wells and other bits. You don't need to cut all the way through, just 1 or 2 passes is all that's needed to score it. Then you can "peel" them out. Since the wheel wells almost never come out perfectly round and smooth, I like to wrap a piece of sand paper around an empty soup can or dowel, to smooth them out. Be careful not scratch the outside...inside is ok. I also use it to round off the corners and even out any other curved lines. I use good scissors for straight lines. I've never had an issue with the over-spray film coming off, but if it did, just use masking tape to recover the area. Hope that helps.

[Gramps]

Just to be safe I would use a little making tape over the holes.