Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Hey guys, I've got a few questions in regards to painting the cage on my Traxxas UDR. I know roll cage painting is usually a bad idea because it flakes / scratches right off. Which brings me to my 1st question:

1. Is there a better choice than Krylon Fusion for adhesion?

2. It's a used cage with scratches and dirt already present. Any good plastic cleaners your recommend? Or is it a better choice to use a primer?

Thanks for any help. I've already got it disassembled, and could just buy new cage pieces as they're fairly cheap. But I'd rather take the project and save $20 while I'm at it. I'm going with either silver or gloss black.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Instead of painting the cage, have you considered having it (or, better yet, a new cage) Cerakoted? Cerakote is a ceramic-based costing that's FAR more durable than paint. Yes, it costs more (being larger than my Baja Rey cage, is guess it would probably cost at least $100), and isn't as durable as powder-coating (which can't be done into plastic, anyway), but it's pretty darn strong...and sightly flexible.

If you go to Cerakote's website, not only will you find all the colors that area available (including several metallics), but you can also find an applicator local to you. Call them, and get more info...and, while you're at it, get a quote. You might decide it's not worth it...and, then again, you could decide it's money well-spent. When I get my Baja Ray cage back, if you're interested, I could post a photo.


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

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Thanks. I'm after a good looking paint job that lasts, so I will look that up. I don't expect it to be bombproof, but I don't drive my UDR like its a bomb, so it sounds like this Cerakote thing might be the ticket.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

You can also dye it black. Plenty of info on the site. Other than that it is just plastic, I wouldn't overthink it. If you go with flat black rattle can it can be touched up very easily after a rollover. Personally I would never pay $100 to have a part like that covered with a specialty coating, that money is better spent on performance upgrades in my book.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

"Money wasted" to one is "money well-spent" to another, and "money well-spent" to one is "money wasted" to another. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

The great thing about life...and, this wonderful hobby of ours...is that different people can have different perspectives about the exact same thing. One person can think that spending a lot of money on machined wheels is a waste of money (especially if there's an identical, cheaper, plastic version (ie. Vanquish Method 105 vs Axial SCORE Method 105) available), while also thinking that a machined transmission case is money well-spent. Likewise, another person can think the machined trans case is a waste, but the machined wheels is money well-spent. A third person can think both are great buys, while a fourth can think both are a waste.

We are all entitled to our own individual views/beliefs. Even better, each person can alter those beliefs as they choose, such as thinking Cerakote on the cage of one vehicle (Baja Rey) is a great idea, while on another (Capra) is a waste.


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

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Not sure why you had to go into all of that. My comment was obviously an opinion and I gave 2 viable alternatives to the option that was mentioned. Lighten up brother.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Sorry if you mistook my intent. I wasn't trying to be 'harsh' on what you said...I was actually agreeing with you in terms of each of us being allowed to have our own thoughts/opinions on "matters". [emoji1687]


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

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Dye would have been the preferred method due to it's durability. My hope is to have a metallic looking cage though, and I don't think I can produce that with the dull matte finish dye provides.

There's a few Cerakote guys in town, all of which are gunsmiths. One of them is a few miles from where I work, so I'll bring him a sample and see if he'll take it up.

Otherwise, Krypton Fusion it'll be I suppose.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

I've never actually seen a painted cage that doesnt look like trash after a few tumbles..... why even paint at all?

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Well, a few reasons. The first is just me jonesing for a project on a model I enjoy. Like most of us, I just wanted an excuse to take my truck apart and put it back together.

Second, the UDR cage is mostly protected by the body, so a durable paint job should last. Not being a rock crawler or U4 truck means the cage doesn't take much abrasion unless you crash badly. I drive my UDR pretty conservatively.

Third, the UDR does look really good, and it benefits greatly from little scale touches. The stock cage in its matte grey finish looks very plasticky and I think a metallic appearance will really turn the scale look of the truck up.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Okay, so I had a Helion RockRider. It had an exterior roll cage with no protection, so every rollover it would be the cage scraping the ground. I believe I used Krylon spray paint, and it worked. I painted over the original paint on it. From what I remember, it didn’t chip.

I’m not saying this is the best way, just saying that spray paint WILL work. I’ve used normal spray paint on my bodies and it works great.


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Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Thanks for the good news.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

So, this might actually go somewhere. I called the closest Cerakote applier, who is actually a firearms finisher just to see if he'd take the project. He was not only interested in the project, he agreed to do it for free in the interest of marketing his Cerakote business to a new set of customers. He even agreed to do more than just the cage; he offered to do the wheels and whatever else I'd like coated, as long as he can take some photos to post on the company's web page.

And after that, I found out he owns the Gracie Jiu Jitsu gym that I train at. Rad!

Eventually I'll have some photos for you. He agreed to doing silver as gloss black isn't a color he already has on hand. Most guys don't like their guns to have a gloss finish these days...

Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Sweet! That’s even better!

Can’t wait to see it done!

It’s a win win, you get a cage, he gets marketing[emoji1690]

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Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Thats awesome! share pics and let us know if the mud and dirt just slides off like on cars.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Cool beans. Wish the business I took my cage to made that kind of offer, especially considering they also haven't done RC stuff before. However, they do more than just Cerakote, plus the business has been in business since 1962, and the guy who does the Cerakote isn't the owner.


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

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

@Fallen you might want to look into Plasti-Dip.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

A note on Cerakote:

Depending on the type of plastic the cage (or any plastic RC part, for that matter) is made of, the H-Series colors might not be a viable option. H-Series Cerakote requires heat-curing the finish, which is a 2-step process. First step is a short "flash" (typically below 100°), which is just meant to turn the liquid into a soft-solid. The second step is the actual 'baking', which is fine between 130-200°, and can be for 1-3 hours. Knowing the exact type (and compound, in the case of nylon, as there are multiple nylon compounds) of plastic can be extremely important, so that you don't end up with a mangled cage.

If you don't know, or can't find out, the specific plastic (and compound)...or, of you just don't want to take the chance of your cage (or other plastic part) 'melting', then you should probably go with Cerakote C-Series, which is an air-cured finish. The downside is that it takes as lot longer (we're talking a week, or longer) to cure, plus there are a lot less colors to choose from. On the plus side, you're guarantee to get your part(s) back in the same physical shape as they were when you dropped it/them off.

Unfortunately, I learned the H-Series "plastic problem" the hard way. My cage want destroyed (the owner noticed it starting to deform, and immediately stopped the curing process. Thankfully, I had the original cage, which I had intended to use in displaying the truck's original Limited Edition body (only 500 made). As such, I brought the shop the original cage, and I'll now be using the 'new' cage for displaying the original body.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

Thanks Panther. I was a bit worried about cage deformation when I heard about the curing temps, but I'd already dropped it off by then. A new UDR cage can be had for less than $50, so if mine is mangled, oh well. To the rattle can I'll go.

Maybe since the guy who's doing it is taking 4 times longer than anticipated, he mangled my cage and has been trying to replace it...

I suppose we'll see. Hopefully within a few weeks.

And thanks Kage for the plasti-dip option. That hadn't occurred to me.

Re: Plastic Roll Cage Painting?
 

https://i.ibb.co/YP6ynNd/rps20201226-225320.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/MgDBpyK/rps20201226-225410.jpg

Well, the day after my last post, the finisher calls and tells me its all done. 3 days after that, and here's what she looks like.

I have no idea on the durability yet. The Cerakote applier wants it back for photos, so I'm not getting it dirty yet.

And no deformation or damage to any of the cage pieces from the curing process. The applier did use the oven cure Cerakote on this.