Clear windows stickers - why?

[chilly]

I’m considering exterior painting my Scx6 honcho body with at least a flat clear Tamiya maybe more. Planning to peel off the stickers first, but the entire windows are clear stickers with a black trim border. They have a slight texture to them in the right light too. Not terrible, but it would seem that just clean lexan would be better looking and more smooth.

Any idea why they do this? It has a decent interior too, but can barely see it. Any reason not to take them off if I’m willing to mask and paint the trim?


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[HumboldtEF]

Its really only for the window trim. I'm not a huge fan either but without the clear center in place it would be very hard to apply nicely.

Theres no reason I can think of to not remove them if you're comfortable masking and painting the trim.

[Gula]

Yeah, they're made to be a single piece for ease of installation. Tamiya TC window stickers were the worst back in the day. I've cut out the clear portion of the windows before, just takes time and a sharp xacto knife

[chilly]

That makes sense about the trim. Actually one of the side windows on the vanquish phoenix was trim only and it was a little hard to line up. Maybe I’ll try cutting it out first and if I screw that up I can take it out and paint. Something to try.


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[chilly]

Hey that worked out great just cutting out the window part with an X-Acto knife. And the decals are so heavy duty they really peeled up easily and left behind almost 0 residue I had to clean up like one tiny spot. I left the rear and rear side ones in place because they were tinted and they give it a decent look. But the front and front sides look so much better!

I also figured out at this huge 1/6 scale the fake body panel ridges between the fender and the hood for example, Are so pronounced, it’s very easy to run some light 200 grit sandpaper over them from the inside to remove the paint on them so that the seams are clear and the body panels are much more pronounced and realistic looking from the outside. And it doesn’t require any painting skills! I haven’t decided if I’m going to back them with black or just leave them clear. I think They look pretty decent as is, and it doesn’t look like a clear area of plastic, it just looks like a gap between body panels once it’s mounted to the car and doesn’t have daylight behind it like in my picture. I tested by putting some black electrical tape behind them tends to look more like a black stripe that way.




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[durok]

That came out really nice. Good thinkin'!

[chilly]

Originally Posted by durok

That came out really nice. Good thinkin'!

Thanks! Here is is all done. I decided just to leave the body panel gaps unpainted - backed in black they looked too much like black stripes to me. It’s especially noticeable if you’re
re Looking at the body as it comes out of the box.


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[DirtMerchant]

I really like what you’ve done here. You’re right about the pane gap areas; sanding the paint down gave it a realistic look. That turned out great.

[B-MOW71]

Looks great chilly! It has a much better realistic look!

[high plains drifter]

Looks fantastic.. nice work.

[SleptOver]

Originally Posted by chilly

Any idea why they do this? It has a decent interior too, but can barely see it. Any reason not to take them off if I’m willing to mask and paint the trim?


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I am guessing it won't scratch as easily as the lexan body shell?

[chilly]

Originally Posted by SleptOver

I am guessing it won't scratch as easily as the lexan body shell?

That's probably true. On this big rig the stickers were extremely thick too - very tough. Mine did have scratches, but I think you're right - kind of like grandma putting plastic covers on her couch... protection, but at what cost ;).

[FJ40 Cruiser]

Chilly,
Love what you have done and great tip about sanding the inside body lines!! I am thinking about cutting out the clear portion of the window stickers as well. My concern is scoring the plastic to the point of weakening it and causing a crack. How much pressure did it take to just cut through the sticker. You mentioned that they were heavy duty. Just how heavy duty. Thanks for all the great info.

[chilly]

Originally Posted by FJ40 Cruiser

Chilly,
Love what you have done and great tip about sanding the inside body lines!! I am thinking about cutting out the clear portion of the window stickers as well. My concern is scoring the plastic to the point of weakening it and causing a crack. How much pressure did it take to just cut through the sticker. You mentioned that they were heavy duty. Just how heavy duty. Thanks for all the great info.

Thanks! I think you should be fine cutting. They are heavy duty for stickers, but still a rubbery vinyl material and a sharp xacto knife cut them easily with normal light pressure. Plus the lexan body feels quite a bit thicker than a typical 1/10 scale. Just start light and try it on one less obvious corner to see how it goes. Hardest part for me was trying to follow a clean line since they aren't just straight to use a straight edge on.

[FJ40 Cruiser]

Originally Posted by chilly

Thanks! I think you should be fine cutting. They are heavy duty for stickers, but still a rubbery vinyl material and a sharp xacto knife cut them easily with normal light pressure. Plus the lexan body feels quite a bit thicker than a typical 1/10 scale. Just start light and try it on one less obvious corner to see how it goes. Hardest part for me was trying to follow a clean line since they aren't just straight to use a straight edge on.

Thanks much!!! I was thinking the same. Start on the back window to get a feel before tackling the more exposed windows. Just need to be in right mood to tackle this with a clear brain and steady hand...LOL....best wishes!

[chilly]

One thing to consider is that the rear side windows and main rear window are both tinted. I ended up leaving those two. Just cause I thought the tint looked decent. Personal preference though but they are a little different. I put up a video of it crawling in the video forum, if you want to see it in more detail or angles.


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