paint for movie work

[Jim Burrill]

Has anyone had experience with a temporary paint for your vehicle to change the color for movie work? Something that really will come off after you are done?

Might be asked to paint the Humber Mk4 or the C-15TA to be some kind of SWAT armored vehicle.

Unauthentic as hell, but if they pay, what the heck?

[David Herbert]

A friend of mine had a Humber Pig painted purple to use in a film. They assured him that it would "wash off easily" but five years later, with it living outside in UK rain it was still purple, but now with green mould added. I suggest that you paint something with the paint that your vehicle is painted with and do demo patches of whatever is suggested onto that. If you do get offered film work, make sure that your time is paid for as there will be much more messing about and waiting than they will admit to.

David

[BCA]

I agree with David. This best solution is a very thin spray with an auto enamel ( probably black if it's s SWAT vehicle) then later repaint over top with your preferred paint. Ignore all offers of rubberized peel-off paints or water soluble latexes. They just don't work on our flat paints. Also beware of the on-set painters who love to age canvas with a sprayer full of diluted brown latex paint (" it will just wash off because we dilute it with dish soap": phooey!).

[rob love]

I have a US Humvee that should be in the province yesterday, and will be on movie set tomorrow. It has to be the desert tan/yellow rather than the regular NATO camouflage. My firend who is involved saif he can do it with chalk, but I told him to go ahead and just spray it. Military paint is cheap and easy to apply.

Hopefully next week I travel to the city to pick up the new toy.

Rob

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Jim

Our club worked on a TV movie years ago (1980s) supplies 10 + MVs I made up panels that covered the BBC markings on the side of my HUP. My HUP already had mud splattered on it from running around the movie location. Many of the other trucks and particularly the motor cycle were to clean so the art director sprayed them with their special mud which would wash right off. You guest it, it would not wash off the flat OD paint.

Worst situation was the B17 that was in the film they conned the owner into letting them paint, the tail, with their special paint that would wash off. It would not wash off having stained the paint. The tail got repainted at the movie companies expense.

It was an interesting way to spend a week, never paid so much to sit and watch and occasionally driving through in the background. The movie was a TV movie series about the Kennedys our part was about air base in England that Joe flew the flying bomb out of. In the end they cut 99% of what they shot from the version on TV.

One of the guys in our club supplies trucks fairly regularly to movie companies he just includes in the contract the price of a repaint.

Cheers Phil

[maple_leaf_eh]

For the amount of on-screen time most vehicles get, it seems like a high price to charge for a full repainting job.

However, what about spraying on a thin coat of vegetable oil? Then spray on the water paints, and watch for smudges and streaks. Both will come off with a high pressure wash.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

A movie prop guy wired little tin foil cups on the side of my carrier that when electrically fired simulated gunshot strikes. "Won't leave a mark" he said. "We use them all the time on expensive antique cars" he said, sneering at my khaki 'thing' that was obviously way less valuable in his eyes.

You guessed it, those harmless little pots burned the paint down past the primer. Went looking for the prop guy afterwords but he had made himself scarce.

[Tim Bell]

Never believe a word they say!

Ensure you are covered not just for the cost for them to put right whatever they damage/lose/destroy... but also for compensation for the time you lose from not being able to play with your vehicle or rent it out to someone else.

Ie - tell them that for any "downtime" incurred on the vehicle due to them stuffing it up somehow, they need to be contractually liable to pay you a set fee per day until the vehicle is sorted out.

I suspect with a condition of this nature though, they will look elsewhere for a vehicle.

Also... who will drive your vehicle? You... or them?

Seriously hoping you do not consider "them".

Tim

[horsa]

Think this same line was passed on to the Philippine's Air Force for the movie Apocalypse Now. They used their helicopters and needed them to have a Vietnam era paint scheme which also didn't wash off.

[Jesse Browning]

A few years back there was some big shindig in Chicago to which a friend of mine was to take his M-60 tank. When he pulled up to the event a rude and arrogant police officer told him that he (police officer) was going to drive his tank for the event. He was not a veteran, and had never driven a tracked vehicle. After discussion got nowhere, he loaded his tank back on the trailer and drove away.

[Mike Gurr]

Some years ago we had to do a temporary colour change to a vehicle for an event and used 'theatrical paint' which wouldn't wash off in the rain as it had to be washed off with an ammonia solution. I regret I have no idea of the make of paint we used as it was at least 15 years ago but it covered very well and did wash off exactly as is should. However that was on vehicle with a fibre glass gel coat body so a nice shiny smooth finish, I don't know if it would work as well on a satin or matt finish paint. Could be worth looking in to.
Mike Gurr

[Jordan Baker]

As Bruce pointed out he paint was burned right down to the metal. I'd so seem to remember the fx guy saying "hmmmm wasn't supposed to do that" after the fact.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi All

Just adding cross link to August 2018 thread on Vehicle rental for movie work
http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=29206

Threads like this tend to pop up when a question is asked a different way. Back tracking or jumping forward to other similar threads spreads our group knowledge base.

Cheers Phil