Painting associated shocks ?

[Charles]

Hi all.

Has anyone managed to paint associated shocks with good results to refresh them or change colors ?

In the process of putting together a RC10 stealth 91 replica I have to get many parts from the rc10T.
I found some in my area but the shocks are gold therefore I wonder how to change them to the green / grey.

My research yet are that it seems complicated to anodize them. Seems like painting them would be possible.
I found the color to be close to Ral 6013 or Ral 7003.

Thanks.

[jcwrks]

Painting is the poor man cutting corners method. Either purchase new shock bodies or have them re-anodized by Bateman's.

[Charles]

I agree but i've been told that re anodizing them is difficult unfortunately. Have you ever seen some re anodized ?
I just don't want to purchase the gold ones without good options.
Seems difficult to purchase the small bore Rc10T shock bodies these days.
Thanks.

[jcwrks]

I believe you would need to remove the anodizing and clean them up prior to sending them off. Here's an example of his work.

[LowClassCC]

I believe you would need to remove the anodizing and clean them up prior to sending them off. Here's an example of his work.

Batemans_RC10_gold.jpg

In some cases yes. When I sent off parts to have them re anodized to Colors Inc they stripped them for me. The process was very simple. Send them pics of the parts. They sent me the quote. I shipped the parts to them. They worked their magic and sent them back.

[limestang]

Powder coating may be an option as well. Lots of colors and very durable.

- limestang

[juicedcoupe]

Unless this is just going to sit on a shelf, re-anodizing is the only good option.

Standard bore springs already rub the shock bodies and the additional thickness of paint or coatings will only make it worse.

[JosephS]

I believe you would need to remove the anodizing and clean them up prior to sending them off. Here's an example of his work.

Batemans_RC10_gold.jpg

Did you strip and polish them yourself or did you send them clean and let them do strip and polish?

[JosephS]

Hi all.

Has anyone managed to paint associated shocks with good results to refresh them or change colors ?

In the process of putting together a RC10 stealth 91 replica I have to get many parts from the rc10T.
I found some in my area but the shocks are gold therefore I wonder how to change them to the green / grey.

My research yet are that it seems complicated to anodize them. Seems like painting them would be possible.
I found the color to be close to Ral 6013 or Ral 7003.

Thanks.

I'm going to dissent on this. Painting will be fine, but nowhere near the quality of a powedercoat or reanodize. Even for an inexpensive anodize it will cost about as much as just buying used bodies. (~$40 + s/h)

If you want to anodize it's not that hard anymore. Some companies, such as batemans on facebook, have been targeting the RC community and made it pretty simple to get parts anodized.

If you want the OG green teflon look paint or powder coat is the only way to get it. It was a special anodize option that is rare to see. Anodizing gets close, but without the teflon process it doesn't match.

If you re-anodize and run the car with stock springs the anodizing will wear off again just like the original. Powder coat is more durable and cerekote is should be better than that.

If you paint, or anodize, you should put some kind of wear protection on the shock body so that the finish doesn't wear off. Chassis protection film would be the right stuff to use. Packing tape will work in a pinch.


With the release of the new 13mm shocks I have seen the 12mm shock bodies going at reduced prices. I have gotten NIP pairs of shock bodies for as low as $15 off ebay.

[Charles]

Thanks for your multiple feedbacks, much appreciated.

I was told anodizing will not work but I might give it a shot if I find a company nearby.
I'll pass by a hobby shop tomorrow and check if they have a paint solution also, including some sort of coating to prevent wear.

I do hope I can use the car once it's completed but it will definitely be mostly sitting on a shelf.

[JosephS]

Thanks for your multiple feedbacks, much appreciated.

I was told anodizing will not work but I might give it a shot if I find a company nearby.
I'll pass by a hobby shop tomorrow and check if they have a paint solution also, including some sort of coating to prevent wear.

I do hope I can use the car once it's completed but it will definitely be mostly sitting on a shelf.

Unless you will be anodizing a large batch of parts, you should find a company that specializes in RC anodizing instead of a local company. They will have a better grip on what you want without you having to learn everything.

[scr8p]

I would save myself a lot of trouble and wait for a nice set of team shocks to show up on ebay. I doubt you'll have to wait all that long. it would be one thing if you were trying to match the hard ano of the 89 Stealth car shocks. But the 91 car is off the shelf stuff.

[TokyoProf]

I'm sure there would be people wanting to buy those green anodized shock caps to get their IFMAR winning buggies looking proper

[jwscab]

For something sitting on the shelf, paint works fine. Otherwise, as scr8p said, you can find most standard shock stuff still around.
It won't be immediate but with a little patience you will find what you need.

There are guys that sell shock pairs all the time on eBay.

As for a 89 replica, unless you can find someone to anodize in the exact type of Teflon/anodized colors, you are kind of stuck painting shock caps and using the top load shocks. Those shocks were bottom load and fully Teflon anodized, including the caps and were only for team members. There have been sightings but they are unicorn tears.

Btw Tamiya olive drab paint looks pretty close.