hmmm, not sure about this

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Solo had some scratches after last weekend's crash landing, so while taking it completely apart looking for any residual water, I took the opportunity and went to my garage to see what spray paint colours I find there, no bright green I'm afraid so I tried the next best thing, mistake probably but at least I think it might be now visible when in distance in front of dark background (like trees), I always struggle to track Solo with my eyes, I hope this will improve the things.

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Solo had some scratches after last weekend's crash landing, so while taking it completely apart looking for any residual water, I took the opportunity and went to my garage to see what spray paint colours I find there, no bright green I'm afraid so I tried the next best thing, mistake probably but at least I think it might be now visible when in distance in front of dark background (like trees), I always struggle to track Solo with my eyes, I hope this will improve the things.

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Awesome job Pete. I think it looks great. Seems to be flying as good as new again. Congrats!
 
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I've been planning to paint mine orange as well. This made sure of that idea. I like it. Much more visible now.
 
I've been planning to paint mine orange as well. This made sure of that idea. I like it. Much more visible now.

if you do this, keep in mind that spraying orange directly on the dark Solo shell doesn't work that well, I found the hard way after doing first layer, it would take like 5 layers to cover it somewhat. so I had to sand it off and start again with white.

160401-_DSF5590.jpg
let me tell you, this is like a nightmare comes true, Solo looking like a DJI product.

anyway, after this 1 coat of orange should be enough, I did 1 very light coat and 1 proper afterwards.

I wish I had one of those clear shiny protection coats (spray), I would apply that as well, but didn't want to wait till Monday to get one.

if you have a local shop that does dip painting, that would be probably the go
 
Did you use a primer of any kind? Or scuff up the surface with sandpaper first? I was thinking of scuffing it up, cleaning with alcohol, primer, then orange.
 
on my first go I simply cleaned it best I could and sprayed it orange, after realizing this is not going to work I waited for the paint to dry and used sandpaper to take it off, then cleaned it again (i didn't use alcohol) and then I used gloss white spray paint as my primer. I think if I didn't use that white, the orange would've not come out as it did.
 
I'm thinking some retroreflective tape on the arms too. The light from the LEDs will light up that up nicely. Probably a strip or two on top as well to help find it in a crash.
 
Looks great Pete! I really like the orange GoPro- did you paint it the same way?
 
Looks great Pete! I really like the orange GoPro- did you paint it the same way?

with GoPro you must completely take off the original silver paint colour (with sand paper), if you don't it tends to give some chemical reaction (it least with my spray paint) and creates quite a mess. other than that, it's same process
 
with GoPro you must completely take off the original silver paint colour (with sand paper), if you don't it tends to give some chemical reaction (it least with my spray paint) and creates quite a mess. other than that, it's same process
Wow- sounds labor intensive.
 
@pete I looked at plastidip and they don't have any fluro orange. What brand of paint did you use? Did you grab it from Bunnings?


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I didn't buy it in any of the hardware stores, this was a custom made paint, I got it from a local car paint shop : Home

this was a custom mixed paint and after preparing the required colour then they just filled up one of the U-POL custom paint spray cans and that's all I got.

I had this spray can still half full in my garage (sitting there for about a year), it was originally used for my rally car so I used it on Solo shell as well.
after making the mistake of not using the primer on my first try (and not being able to properly cover the dark shell), I had to start all over again and I did not have enough paint to finish the 2nd coat, so I went back to Autolac and they mixed 100% identical colour for me.

if you have similar local paint shop I think it's the best solution, because they can really mix for you exactly what you want.

I think I paid just over $30 for 1 can. (they say you can spray paint 6 Solo shells using 1 can, in my experience I think you could do 2 Solos with dual coating, assuming you do it effectively and don't make any mistakes)
 
Here is another option that is not as much work but without the same amount of coverage. Pre cut skins for the Solo in a variety of colors. I Like Pete's much better, but at least an option.
il_570xN.992954647_10dk.jpg
 
I was looking at this option too, but after watching this video I gave up on the idea (just skip to 11m15s) :
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The carbon fibre type skin looks good but seems painful to put on. I suck at putting on my iPhone and iPad screen protectors and they are flat, Solos curves would not be fun.

@pete I initially thought that fluro orange would be the best but now I am thinking of doing mine similar to Westpac lifesaver heli livery. I can see that coming from a fair distance and think it may be good for spotting Solo. Like you mentioned, Solo is hard to see once it blends with a background of trees and foliage.


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@pete I looked at plastidip and they don't have any fluro orange. What brand of paint did you use? Did you grab it from Bunnings?


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Just bought this yesterday at Auto Zone. Might not be available in your hemisphere.:( Maybe online but shipping might be a deal breaker.

image.jpeg
 
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Just bought this yesterday at Auto Zone. Might not be available in your hemisphere.:( Maybe online but shipping might be a deal breaker.

View attachment 3023

I didn't realize there was such a demand for fluro colours for our Solo.
maybe an idea for 3DR to make spare shell offering in different colours, they would probably make few sales.

I would quite like the green colour as seen on my profile picture (my jumper)
 

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