Aye, I will. Although if photobucket stops freezing on me, i'll just upload there and let you all browse, I doubt that many people will see this to be honest, if the views are something to go by.
Update:
Preparation: Covering what I don't want painted
I've started taking pictures of the before painting pictures and i'm taping up the armour now. Reason for tape being that I don't want to get bits of paints where it shouldn't be. I'm also seeing if layered newspaper (i've been told two sheets would do, but i'm using five) works as well. Its meant to be battle worn, so I can afford a few minor mistakes. If I layer the tape right, it doesn't let anything past it. I'm counting on this for the straight lines, as I brought spray paint.
Paint
The paint I brought for this is all purpose spray-paint from B&Q. It's strong enough to be used on barbecues so it won't fleck off in the heat. Its not going to degrade the plastic, so that's also a plus. I've tested it and it does stick to the suits plastic (I have a part I need to glue back on because it snapped off, it was one of the little flicky bits between the leg and the torso, you'll see it later) but I am going to use sandpaper and slightly rough up where i'm painting so it sticks better, considering i've recently cleaned the suit and nothing sticks after a good soap down.
The only downside is that I have a friend who works in B&Q and I didn't realise until she told me (and after I spent £45 on paint and masks for the painting) that she could have gotten me 20% off. Dammit!
Safety
Oh yes, this little thing. My general rules for staying safe is doing this outside, so I don't breathe in too much paint. I'm also wearing a mask (an actual painting mask, woo!) and wearing gloves so it doesn't stick to my skin. 'Tis always a pain when that happens. Oh, general stuff about can safety to, like not leaving it in the sun then trying to use it etc etc.
Plan for actually painting
So, needless to say at some point i'll have to stop preparing and actually paint this thing. Now, for anyone who doesn't know spray painting isn't just point and click. Its more "swipe, swipe, swipe". What that means is that to avoid any buildup, you spray from the bottom and go straight to the top or from top to the bottom or left to right, right to left, doesn't matter. As long as you pick one and do that over and over again for the layers.
So for example, if i'm painting the helmet, i'm going from the back of the head to the front in one motion. Then for my second layer, I start again from the back of the head, I don't go from the back, to the front, then spray from the front to the back, you just end up building up more at either end and it just looks weird.
Since i'm just doing green stripes right now (I was going to do camo, but i'll leave that until i'm a tad bit more experienced) I can just use one can all the way down.
Final question
So, is newspaper really good at stopping paint getting through, or should I ignore what my family said and continue to use a load of tape. I'll be honest, tape's proven itself to me, but I don't understand how newspaper would stop anything more than a light spray and I intend to layer.
Although I suppose I could use it for the back of the armour where i'm not painting to preserve it.
Author
Topic: Painting storm-trooper Armour - Update: DONE! (Read 4273 times)