About last night....(after a paintjob)

Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
606
Reaction score
24
Location
The Low Lands
Hi guys,

yesterday night I just took the plunge and turned this white baby into a MSOB (Mean Slayer Of Bugs).

Turned out pretty nice. I sprayed the underside and battery door satin black and all the rest (including FC40 camera housing) signal yellow. I think this will be a great colour scheme compromise for all conditions, and it just looks pretty awesome. Still waiting for a set of CF props. The loose connections make it all look a bit messy maybe but what the hack.

Cheers
Jan
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0032.JPG
    DSC_0032.JPG
    484.7 KB · Views: 829
  • DSC_0034.JPG
    DSC_0034.JPG
    395.1 KB · Views: 734
Thanks, I'm very happy with the results, just took it out flying in very bright sunlight with a lot of wind. Flying is still nothing but great and it is definitely better to see in the air. The yellow top and landing gear stand out against the black and give a sense of depth and orientation that I missed when it was still all white. I can still see a detailed shape when very high up in the sky, even against the bright sun. And the LED's in the arms as well as the Naza LED are clearly (and much better) visible. because now they are surrounded by black (left the inside of the arm LED's white for better reflection), again even in the sun. When it was white I couldn't tell the colour of the LEDs in the sun, specially the Naza LED when changing from red to yellow. But now it there is a clear difference in colour.

I know it goes against many peoples advise but I couldn't resist and just sprayed the standard 8" props satin black as well. The CF props I ordered are still on the slow boat from China I guess. And I just couldn't wait to see how it would look with black props.

And guess what, no change at all. Still flying smoothly as before only looking much better. I only lightly sprayed the top of the propeller blades just enough to cover all the white. But seeing how it just doesn't make any difference at all I'll go forward and spray the bottom with a very thin coat as well.
Maybe the blades become a little bit stiffer after a couple of days when the paint fully hardens out. Just have to find out what the effect is. Might be even an improvement.

I'll come back with the results if anyone's interested.

(edited a bit for grammar and stuff)
 
Totally needs a Bumblebee sticker, I saw a lot of them online. ;)

0003487882624_500X500.jpg
 
CarlJ said:
Totally needs a Bumblebee sticker, I saw a lot of them online. ;)

0003487882624_500X500.jpg

That's totally cool!
 
hi. could you post your gains, I would like to run 2 batteries , but I need to pump the gains. mine wont hover at mid stick, it sinks with the 2 batteries, v2 blades, thanks
 
LOL I see the resemblance.
Yes it's a keeper, for sure.
 
pert said:
hi. could you post your gains, I would like to run 2 batteries , but I need to pump the gains. mine wont hover at mid stick, it sinks with the 2 batteries, v2 blades, thanks

My gains are at default which (from the top of my head) is all on 125% except the altitude and yaw gains on 100%. If it doesn't hover at mid stick you might first try a calibration of your transmitter. It should hover fine with the default settings. My setup is around 1300 grams and no problem at all with the default Tx gains.
 
(edited)

To Pert:

sorry, didn't see the V2 blades at first.

For 9" V2 blades you would need the V2 gain settings, as a starting point more or less, and I just use the stock 8" so I don't know. I would have a peek on the V2 forum if I were you. Good chance you find a setting to start with.
But, calibrate the Tx first, that might do the trick without messing with the gains.
 
DesertFlyer53 said:
Can you post some details on how you painted this? Did you remove all the guts or just mask off all the vent holes?

Lake to Desert: extreme opposites, funny :)

Frankly I am a lazy SOB. I removed the top shell, the landing gear and battery holders of course but that was all, as far as disassembling concerns. I just masked off the LED's under the arms and on the back, as well as the motors. I tugged all the wiring in the bottom shell with some masking tape. But that was it. Just put the bottom shell upside down and sprayed. The top is easier of course, no masking at all. The amount of paint that made it through the vent holes of the bottom shell is very little and does no harm at all, although there's a litle bit of a grey haze here and there.
 
lake_flyer said:
DesertFlyer53 said:
Can you post some details on how you painted this? Did you remove all the guts or just mask off all the vent holes?

Lake to Desert: extreme opposites, funny :)

Frankly I am a lazy SOB. I removed the top shell, the landing gear and battery holders of course but that was all, as far as disassembling concerns. I just masked off the LED's under the arms and on the back, as well as the motors. I tugged all the wiring in the bottom shell with some masking tape. But that was it. Just put the bottom shell upside down and sprayed. The top is easier of course, no masking at all. The amount of paint that made it through the vent holes of the bottom shell is very little and does no harm at all, although there's a litle bit of a grey haze here and there.

Thanks! One more question... what kind of paint did you use and did you prep the plastic at all before painting?
 
i used a standard spray paint for wood and plastic from the local do it yourself store, nothing fancy at all.
Prepping was only wiping with a cloth with a little turpentine. This is mainly to make sure there isn't any goo left from the stickers and to clean it from fat or oil (from our fingers). After that, inspecting for more goo and wiping one more time......and another time. Goo doesn't work with paint so make sure there's nothing left. Masking the LED's and motors was the biggest job (maybe 15 minutes).

Tip: use insulation tape to mask the LED's. It's easier to follow the bends than with masking tape. At least, that's how I would do it next time :). I bought the most expensive tape I could get for 'fine masking', but I should have done it with plain simple insulation tape, you know, the thin rubber(ish) sticky stuff. I remember using it for masking many years ago when I was still building RC model planes. Only get it off as soon as the paint is dust dry. It might stick to the paint too much (or even mix with the paint) if you let it sit a whole night or so. Should there remain some residual glue from the tape, wait a couple of days before rubbing it off. You might damage the paint otherwise.
 
thanks lake. will try those gains, I did the same as you, just mast it off, ;) pluss I just ordered a set of the 9450 booster props, hope they help . guess you know what it feels like flying over water :lol:
 
Yeah, but many people fly them much heavier. I started to mess with the gains but found out after many test flights that the default values work fine (with 8" stock propellors). You just got to get used to the inertia the weight brings. It is going to be more sluggish for sure. But when you get used to that you wouldn't want it any other way. The flying is smoother (and video's as well) with a bit more weight. Though it stops a little slower in GPS mode but that takes less than a few flights top get used to.

Maybe the fact that my quad is perfectly balanced, no matter what the payload is, because of the sliding battery holders I made (easy 5$ job). Every time I take it out I check the COG by balancing it on my fingers. It should lightly tip forward. I slide both batteries forward or backward in the rails to get the balance I want. I get from 0 into hover with no pitch stick input, just a blast of throttle takes it up, perfectly vertical. And the Gopro is in a very forward position so I don't get the legs in the shots.

So 1200 grams in a perfect balance, stock propellors, stock settings.
No balance? Too much forward or backward COG? I don't know. Maybe then you should mess with the gains.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,355
Members
104,934
Latest member
jody.paugh@fullerandsons.