Tutorial: How to paint two color thrusters

"How do I paint two color thrusters?" 

Intro:

This is a question that I see people asking all of the time, so here's a tutorial to help you out! 

This process is really fast and really simple. The method I'm outlining below is done using either an airbrush or spray cans. 

I want to emphasize that this is the method that works best for me, there are plenty of other ways to paint thrusters. 



Materials:

Primer
Paint (you need pick two contrasting colors. I am using red and silver for this example)
Bamboo skewers
Masking tape
Cardboard

Process:

Prep:  

Before you start painting always prep your parts by washing them in warm soapy water. This step removes any left over mold release (think industrial strength baking spray) from the parts promoting adhesion of paint to plastic. Once the parts are completely dry stick them onto the skewers.

Prime:

Use your primer and cover the interior and exterior of your thrusters. Primer improves your paint's adhesion to the part. Allow your primer to dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Paint:

For this first step you're going to using the interior color to paint the entire thruster bell. 

Once it's done let the paint dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Masking:

This is the easiest part of the process. Grab a chunk of cardboard and your masking tape.

Attach one end of a piece of masking tape to the other so that you've made an O or oval shape with the adhesive on the outside. Then stick the tape to the cardboard, and the parts to the tape.


Paint:

Now take your exterior color and spray the part. Allow the paint to dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Peel:

Gently peel those parts off of the masking tape. 

You should now have some perfect, two color thrusters!

Conclusion:

This is a great way to add some extra detail to your kits really quickly and easily. I prefer this method over using blue tack because this leaves a cleaner transition between the two colors.

You can easily take this step even further by dry brushing or adding a colored lip to the edges of the thruster.