OK, let’s try this again. I you haven’t read “New Body, Part 1”, click here.  Otherwise, read on.

My last attempt at painting a body didn’t turn out so well.  So I figured I would give it another shot.  This time, I selected a Revo Crowd Pleazer 2.0 body by Pro-Line.  I also purchased cans of Tamiya PS-5 black and Tamiya PS-12 silver spray paint. Below you can see the brand new body.

Step 1: Sand and wash the body. This step is very important and should not be skipped. Sanding the body (on the inside) with steel wool will make hairline scratches that the paint will stick to.  If you are going to leave the windows clear, take care not to sand them.  Next, wash the body in warm water and mild dish detergent.  This will remove any left over lubricants from the molding process, any oils from your hands, steel wool fibers, and dirt in general. 

Step 2: Apply window masks and draw design. Apply the window masks at this point. If you are planning on painting any type of a masked design, draw the design on the exterior of the body with a Sharpie marker (make sure the body is covered with protective film first).  I decided to go with a pretty modest silver and black scheme.

Step 3: Mask the design. Using high quality masking tape, mask out your design. Once masked, hold the body up to a light and look through the inside of the body.  You’ll see the pattern you drew with the Sharpie marker. Using an X-Acto knife, cut out your design by tracing the pattern with the blade. Apply only enough pressure to cut the tape, not the lexan.

At this point, I decided to get a little fancy.  I had a roll of fiberglass joint tape (used when mudding sheetrock joints) and I heard it could be used to create a grill or mesh effect so I decided to give it a try.  I applied some joint tape on the truck’s bed and beneath the windshield.

Here’s the truck all masked up and ready to paint

Step 4: Paint the first color. Since I masked off the silver part, I painted the black part first.  Never try to paint in one coat. Rather, apply several very light coats.  Before you paint, you may want to go along all the masked seams one more time with your fingertip to make sure they are ‘paint tight’.

This is the point I encountered the only problem with the job. After a couple of coats of paint, the window masks absorbed the paint and curled up. They came right off the windows. Luckily, no paint got under them.  I had to re-mask all the windows with masking tape.  That’s the last time I use the window masks that come with the body!

Step 5: Paint the next color. Once the black paint was fully dry, I very carefully removed the masking tape and joint tape. Take care when removing the tape that none of the paint comes off with it. Sometimes you’ll have to use your knife and cut along the masking tape.

Step 7: Protect your paint. This step is optional but highly recommended.  Using duct tape, apply tape to all the areas inside the body that touch the truck (around the mounting holes, along the door sills, etc.). This will prevent the truck’s chassis from wearing through your paint and keep the body looking newer longer.

Here’s the result! Not bad looking! I’m very pleased with how this paint job came out.  Plus, the joint tape gave me just the look I was going for.  

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