Can you paint your hopper?

[Thumper33]

I'm not sure if I'm interested in painting my marker or not, but was thinking about painting my hopper in a camo pattern. Can you paint a hopper or marker safely and have the paint stay?

Also, What about the nitro tank?

I suppose that might be a bad idea, and probably why they make covers. I just think it would be more custom is I could paint it... totally unique :D

Mike

[FreakBaller12]

as for hoppers, i spray painted my hopper black, with spray paint, i didn't feel liek dying it.
but yes it has held up to a few hopper(dang, i need a warp) fits so it shoudl be fine

[taylor492]

my buddy cryer died (sp?) his revvy. i think what he did was he boiled it then added the dye...i cant even rememer if thats right, it was something like that tho...turned out pretty good too.

[Polish]

Dont paint your nitro tank.. thats a bit illegal.

[taylor492]

i have another friend who had his air tank chromed...it was a steel tank obviously, its not very practical but still looked pretty cool

[SomebodySomeoneRTPcf]

don't paint / do anything custom to your tank unless you are a professional...cause when you get it hydroed again to make sure its safe...they have a visual inspection...I know cause i'm scuba certified...i know about tanks

[FreakBaller12]

yes listen to scuba steve up there:p

[Thumper33]

Ok, so I know not to paint the tank.

Should I use any special paint for the hopper? I know I used to be into remote control cars and they have flexible paint for use on the lexan bodies. That might work well I'm thinking.

Mike

[f3rr3+]

im not sure youll need flexible paint but you will need paint that can take a beating

[Thumper33]

... and then the answer came to me in the form of a vision...

"television" actually ;)

I just saw an add for a new paint made by krylon called Krylon Fusion. It's specifically meant to bond to plastics. They show in the comercial painting outdoor furniture and the like. They say that no sanding is necessary for a tight bond and lasting finish. I'm thinking that's the key. It's got to be flexible and UV resistant too. I suppose I'll give it a shot and report my results.

I'm going to go for a camo pattern and see what I can do. I'll be painting a new black Evlution II and plan to leave the viewing window clear. I guess it'd be kinda cool if you started with a clear version 'cause you could leave a window wherever you want one, but isn't the window in the back plenty anyway?

I'll let you know how it turns out. It'll probably be a week before I have the chance to do it, but I'll post pix :D.

Mike

[68magOwner]

actually, a kid have me do a custom flame paint job to go with his flame patterned custom gun, i spray painted it and ive played with him, and shott his hopper myself wit no chips or scuffs whatsoever

[NATE-DOG1]

NO, you absolutly cannot ever paint your hopper!
Dont ever try this! Dont you know?
If you attemp this their is a 90% chance you marker will stop working. It may even start on fire!

I hope I made a differance.

Nate

[Thumper33]

I guess I just won't get a flame paint job and it shouldn't catch on fire then ;)

Mike

[Thumper33]

I just found this on the internet and thought it might be of interest to people for some weird reason. It's kinda cool too if you're into the military stuff. It's basically a how to paint camo from the US military.

I'd start on chapter 3 (page 23)...things before that are boring.

http://209.151.88.8/od_images/od_tb43_0147_camo.pdf

Mike

[Cryer]

Originally posted by taylor492
my buddy cryer died (sp?) his revvy. i think what he did was he boiled it then added the dye...i cant even rememer if thats right, it was something like that tho...turned out pretty good too.

Yeah, if you have a clear hopper, then take all the electronics out of it, put the halves back together and set it aside.
Get a pot of water big enough for you hopper to fit in, fill it with water (not all the way to the top. remember your hopper will displace some water and you might flood the kitchen, dying your countertops in the process... Remember, I speak from experience...:rolleyes: :p ) Buy a bottle of RIT Dye from walmart or a cloth or hobby store. Pour the entire bottle of DYE into the pot of water and boil. when the mixture is evenly mixed and boiling, turn the heat off and place the hopper in the pot. Don't let it sit still for too long, it might melt and stick to the sides of the pot. It usually takes about 5 mins for a good, even color depending on how hot the water is and how concentrated the dye solution is. Keep the hopper in there until it is just darker than you want is. pull it out and wash it off in soap and cold water. (not Ice-cold, you might crack your shell.) if your color is lighter than you want, dip it back in the dye for a little bit...

End result:
http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=949170

[TheDuelist]

I tried the dye process on my Evo2 and it came out like this

[TheDuelist]

And again.

It looks better in person obviously but it definitely worked as described and I am very happy with the way it looks.

[bmexline]

im going to do this with my smoke evo2. its not very "smokey" lol. barely darker than clear. i was hoping it would be so dark that you can just barely see the paint in it. ill post back with before/after pix on thursday night after im done w/ it.

[bmexline]

well, i dyed my "smoke" (looked clear to me) egg2. i used 1/2 bottle of black rit dye in a large enough pan to completely submerge the egg. i took all the electronics out of it and put it back together, leaving the lid and battery door attached but open. got the water to JUST below the boiling point. (little bubbles on the bottom of the pan but not rising to the surface) and put in the dye. i let it sit for another few minutes to get the temperature back up to almost boiling. i submerged the loader and using a set of tongs i turned the loader almost constantly. (i didnt want it to get so hot that it melted the part touching the bottom of the pan) i took it out after 10 min and was very disappointed. it didnt look any darker at all. so i went another 15 minutes and took it out and i was pissed because it looked completely black. (my goal was VERY dark smoke) i had a sink full of hot water, drained all the dyed water out then put the loader in the sink and took the 3 screws holding it together out and let it soak in the sink for a couple of minutes. then i drained the water and filled it back up and with some dish soap washed the pieces then drained and filled the sink again to rinse the soap off. by this time it was quite cool so i rinsed it under running water the rest of the way and let it dry. it turned out perfect. unless its in direct sunlight it looks ALMOST black but you can see the paint in there. in the sunlight it looks very very dark smoke and i couldnt be happier.

ill post some sunlight pix if there is any interest. inside pix will just look like a black hopper.