can i clear coat/dull coat rubber tracks for tanks

just a question i had.i’m gonna be doing a stuart and was gonna shoot the tracks with rubber black and was wondering if a clear coat/dull coat will hurt the tracks

I assume you are talking about rubber band tracks,the one piece type? You can,but I would be careful of enamels,they could have a bad effect on them sometimes.

Enamel paint will not dry on rubber , or vinyl. I once used White enamel to letter some 1/25 scale tire’s … two year’s later, the paint was still “tacky” and collecting cat hair !

Don’t even THINK about using anything laquer based. Your tread’s will melt !

Acrylic paint, ( or any water based paint) is your best bet.

i only use acrylic :slight_smile:

Yes,like I said.Enamels no good.

I have found no paint that will work on those tracks. I think they are vinyl, rather than rubber. The only thing I have found that works is rubbing dry powders into them, like pigments, talcom, rouge, etc.

Well guys, I have used Testors enamels in the small bottle to paint rubber band track without an issue…but like Don said, paint really doesn’t stay put and will flake off if handled and bent too much. When I paint them I try not to bend or handle them too much to avoid the flaking off effect. Krylon makes a paint for plastics (Fusion?) and wonder if that sticks better.

Two caveats- one, it depends on the type of tracks. The old heat melt pin type tracks are impervious to most paints and will be just fine with enamel or acrylic paints. I have painted them with both types. The newer glueable tracks are usually destroyed by enamel paints, but, in my experience, have also self destructed with acrylic paints. No guarantees there.

Two, no matter if they are of either type, they are best painted after installation. At least the outer surface. You can paint the inner surface before then, but both enamel and acylic paints can flake off during the installation process.