How to paint your first clear drift body from the inside

1. Trim the shell, with the outer film still on. Both guides cut along the molded trim line. Pandora RC says to leave a margin and to cut only about 70 percent at this stage, finishing the rest at assembly; RC Drift QLD traces the cut lines, cuts, then sands the edges with 240-grit paper, and uses curved scissors for the wheel arches and a hobby knife elsewhere. Pandora RC's guide keeps the outer protective film on until the build is done.
2. Wash the inside. Polycarbonate shells come out of the mold with release oil on them, and paint will not key to it. Pandora RC washes with hot water and mild detergent two or three times; RC Drift QLD uses neutral dish soap. Dry the shell fully before anything else.
3. Optional: roughen the inside. Pandora RC's guide suggests a melamine sponge over the inside surface, going soft on the light buckets and window areas. This is an optional step, not a required one, and RC Drift QLD does not list it.
4. Mask from the inside. Most bodies ship with pre-cut masking for the windows and lights. Apply it inside and press the edges down — Pandora RC specifies a cotton bud for that. RC Drift QLD accepts pre-cut masks or thin tape. Edges that are not sealed are where paint creeps under.

5. Use polycarbonate paint. Both guides are clear that the paint must be made for polycarbonate; RC Drift QLD's materials list names Tamiya PS "or similar". Hardware-store spray paint cracks on a flexing shell.
6. Spray thin, and spray warm. RC Drift QLD asks for above 10°C, out of the wind, a light mist coat first, then several light coats 10 to 15 minutes apart. Pandora RC calls for about three thin coats and warns that paint can fail in the cold. Ventilate either way.
7. Darkest color first, then back it. Both guides paint dark before light. Then comes backing: Pandora RC says white lightens the color, black gives a deep, heavy finish and silver reads metallic, with silver going down first under a white body. RC Drift QLD backs with black or white in two to three coats.
8. Unmask, decal, assemble. Peel masks only once the paint is fully dry — RC Drift QLD pulls tape back at 45 degrees. Decals go on the outside. For mirrors, wings and other add-on parts, Pandora RC's guide says to use double-sided or mesh tape, or a flexible rubber adhesive (it names Shoe Goo), because other adhesives may melt the paint.

None of these is a trap. The distance figures sit close enough that the practical instruction is the same: far enough that each pass lands as a mist, not a flood. On warming, you can do both — warming the shell and warming the can are different problems, cold plastic and thick paint. On cutting, Pandora RC's partial cut leaves material to hold while you handle and spray the shell; RC Drift QLD's order gets the edge work done while the body is still clean. Pick one and stay with it for a whole body rather than mixing halfway.

• Skipping the wash, or washing only once. Pandora RC repeats it two or three times for a reason: the oil is invisible.
• One heavy coat instead of three thin ones. Heavy coats run inside the shell, where you cannot sand them out.
• Unmasking early. Both guides wait until fully dry. Lifting tape off soft paint pulls the edge with it.
• Gluing mirrors on with whatever is in the drawer. Pandora RC's warning about adhesives melting paint applies to the finished surface you just spent an evening on.
• Forgetting the backing coat. Without it, a light shell looks translucent under track lighting rather than solid.

RC Drift QLD lists a clear coat as optional but does not say which side of an inside-painted body it belongs on, so do not assume. And neither guide gives a drying time between colors beyond "completely dry" — if you want a number, ask at the counter where you buy the paint, since it varies by brand and by what the room is doing that day.

Next useful step: cut, wash and mask a cheap or damaged shell you do not care about, and spray it one color with a backing coat. You will learn more about your can's spray pattern on a throwaway body than on the AE86 you actually want on the car.