Spray paint on bricks?

[Mattyj82]

Has anyone ever used spray paint on bricks before? 

Im basically after 2 bits for my current build. One part looks rare in the colour I want, black. 13548  

The other part I want, 93604, doesn't look like its available in black at all. 

 

Im after any advice on spraying and what type of spray to use. I'm guessing gloss?  

 

Is it worth spraying at all? Should I come up with a alternative design or parts. 

 

[dulsi]

I would try to avoid spraying. I find the challenge of making something work with brick that are available interesting.

[AmperZand]

18 hours ago, Mattyj82 said:

Has anyone ever used spray paint on bricks before? 

The best place to look is in the Minifig Customisation Workshop.  

This thread in that forum has guidance on painting parts. I don't know if it covers spray painting in particular (I don't paint parts so haven't looked through the thread), but it's probably a good place to start. If you don't find answers to your questions in the thread, the Workshop is where to ask. I doubt that anyone there will mind that you're asking about non-minifig parts.

[Mattyj82]

4 hours ago, dulsi said:

I would try to avoid spraying. I find the challenge of making something work with brick that are available interesting.

 

4 hours ago, AmperZand said:

The best place to look is in the Minifig Customisation Workshop.  

This thread in that forum has guidance on painting parts. I don't know if it covers spray painting in particular (I don't paint parts so haven't looked through the thread), but it's probably a good place to start. If you don't find answers to your questions in the thread, the Workshop is where to ask. I doubt that anyone there will mind that you're asking about non-minifig parts.

Thanks for the replies.  To be honest I don't really want to spray myself I'd rather have the bricks in black.  13548 I know I could make a few smaller bricks to make something that will fit and look similar. Iv got dark brown 13548 coming in the post as place holders till I decide. 

93604 is for the hood of the build and might be a bit tricky to replicate. Got a white piece on its way. 

 

Im building a 1940s batmobile, based on lego batman 3s design. 

Edited February 10, 2017 by Mattyj82

[AmperZand]

1 hour ago, Mattyj82 said:

93604 is for the hood of the build and might be a bit tricky to replicate. Got a white piece on its way. 

Going from white to black, you might want to try dyeing instead. I don't know how good the results are, but again, the Workshop is the place to find out.

Another possibility is taking some black parts, melting them down with acetone to form a black liquid and using that to coat a piece of a different colour such as your white one. People have reported good results with that method, but I suspect you really need to know what you're doing and probably want to perfect your technique with some spare parts before you try it on the one you actually need. 

Edited February 10, 2017 by AmperZand

[antp]

For 13548, as it is a current production part (in a 2017 set), you could buy it from Lego's Bricks & Pieces service (same page as when requesting missing/broken parts, but there is also an option "Buy parts")

For recent uncommon parts it is often cheaper and easier than Bricklink.

edit: forget it, this particular part is listed as not available :/ ... maybe it will be come available later

Edited February 10, 2017 by antp

[Mattyj82]

4 minutes ago, antp said:

For 13548, as it is a current production part (in a 2017 set), you could buy it from Lego's Bricks & Pieces service (same page as when requesting missing/broken parts, but there is also an option "Buy parts")

For recent uncommon parts it is often cheaper and easier than Bricklink.

edit: forget it, this particular part is listed as not available :/ ... maybe it will be come available later

Looking on BrickLink, 6 have been sold in December. Just going to keep a eye out.  

Thanks for your help

[BubbaFit45531]

I used Tamiya Acrylic paint on a light gray piece via brush and it seems like it's fading and won't likely stay for long. Didn't use any clear coat because I wanted to see how the black would stay put.

[Mattyj82]

4 hours ago, BubbaFit45531 said:

I used Tamiya Acrylic paint on a light gray piece via brush and it seems like it's fading and won't likely stay for long. Didn't use any clear coat because I wanted to see how the black would stay put.

Do you think the paint would be better with a clear coat on top?  How did the paint match the other bricks? 

[Mattyj82]

Caved in and ordered some plastic spray paint in gloss finish. 

Going to test it out on some megablocks first  and see the outcome. 

Il post a few pics when iv tried it out. 

[BubbaFit45531]

Clear coat is supposed to protect the colored paint. I painted eyes and mouth for my own Giant-Man/Ant-Man face. I didn't dare attempt to paint the rest of the face mask.

From painting plastic models, the Tamiya Acrylic paint color looks different wet vs. dry. Wet looked royal blue, but dry looked midnight navy blue.

[AmperZand]

Although I don't paint LEGO, I do sometimes use Sharpies to recolour or adorn parts such as yellowing fleshy elf ears. I use Humbrol satin coat to ensure the Sharpie doesn't come off. The lustre of the coated parts is the same as regular LEGO pieces and is invisible once dry.

Without the satin coat, the Sharpie comes off more easily than standard LEGO printing, but with the coat, it's much more durable than LEGO printing. I subjected various test pieces with and without a coat to extreme abrasion before putting the technique to use in my collection.

There doesn't seem to be any long term ill effect of the coat on the parts. I have had some parts protected that way for years and they're all fine.    

[Mattyj82]

2 hours ago, AmperZand said:

Although I don't paint LEGO, I do sometimes use Sharpies to recolour or adorn parts such as yellowing fleshy elf ears. I use Humbrol satin coat to ensure the Sharpie doesn't come off. The lustre of the coated parts is the same as regular LEGO pieces and is invisible once dry.

Without the satin coat, the Sharpie comes off more easily than standard LEGO printing, but with the coat, it's much more durable than LEGO printing. I subjected various test pieces with and without a coat to extreme abrasion before putting the technique to use in my collection.

There doesn't seem to be any long term ill effect of the coat on the parts. I have had some parts protected that way for years and they're all fine.    

Excellent mate. I had thought about a sharpie but I was worried it may fade and go brown ish. 

Iv got loads of spare, currently unneeded at the min, bricks. So I guess iv got a few test pieces to experiment with on my next day off.  Going to try sharpie (n get satin coat) and plastic spray paint. Il let everyone know how I get on. 

Thanks for all the help guys. 

[BubbaFit45531]

Not sure if Sharpie is safe long term for Lego. I remember reading something about the chemicals in Sharpie ink potentially damaging CD-R or DVD-R where they said Staedtler Lumocolor is supposed to be safer.

[AmperZand]

10 hours ago, BubbaFit45531 said:

Not sure if Sharpie is safe long term for Lego. I remember reading something about the chemicals in Sharpie ink potentially damaging CD-R or DVD-R where they said Staedtler Lumocolor is supposed to be safer.

Some markers are marketed as safe for CDs and DVDs and, as speciality products, priced higher. I suspect the scare stories of regular Sharpies which don't cost so much damaging CDs and DVDs come from marker companies putting out misinformation to protect their niches.

Even if it were true that Sharpie ink damages CDs and DVDs (and I doubt it does), that would only tell you about the effect on transparent LEGO parts. Like CDs/DVDs, they're made of polycarbonate. But most opaque LEGO parts are made of ABS, a class of plastic with very different physical and chemical properties.

Sharpies do have a wire that feeds the ink to the tip, so there is a theoretical risk of scratching a LEGO part when you draw on it, but you would feel the wire touching the part and know to stop.

I have been recolouring LEGO elf ears with Sharpies for four years and haven't noticed any ill effects. 

 

[Mattyj82]

Done 1 part so far with sharpie but the pen ran out. 

 

Iv just got the paint in the post (they sent a different 1 than was advertised). Do iv just had a tester with a few megab***ks. Will take 24 hours to dry. 

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Edited February 16, 2017 by Mattyj82

[Bamos]

LEGO bricks are are so tight on their tolerances that the thickness of the paint will keep them from fitting properly. Use a dye instead or don't paint the top or bottom.

Bill

[Mattyj82]

3 hours ago, Bamos said:

LEGO bricks are are so tight on their tolerances that the thickness of the paint will keep them from fitting properly. Use a dye instead or don't paint the top or bottom.

Bill

Cheers for the advise mate. The 3 lego bricks that il be using in the end only had 4 stud heads between then and won't be on show and hid bother bricks.  I'm still not 100% on this yet.  The guy sent me the wrong paint and has refunded me. The test bits I done look ok so far but have to wait 24 hours to set. 

Still going to get plastic spray paint and test it out. 

Also ordered some dye.  I imagine that will have the most consistent finish. 

 

Brick

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sharpie (that was on its last legs)

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Edited February 16, 2017 by Mattyj82

[Mattyj82]

Here is my just about finished 1940s Batmobile. So far 2 parts have been sprayed. The bit I need for the bonnet warped when I tried to dye it haha. Waiting of a new brick.  Thanks for the advise guys.  

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Edited February 19, 2017 by Mattyj82
Added pics

[NorvernRob]

I painted several hundred parts for Anio's C3PO. I used normal hobby/enamel spray paint, a coat of primer then the paint. You need to do a couple of thin coats, put it on too thick and the bricks won't clutch properly. 

 

[Mattyj82]

14 hours ago, NorvernRob said:

I painted several hundred parts for Anio's C3PO. I used normal hobby/enamel spray paint, a coat of primer then the paint. You need to do a couple of thin coats, put it on too thick and the bricks won't clutch properly. 

 

 

Looks Fantastic mate. Well done