What racquet design for a paintjob?

[shojun25]

I have a Prince Diablo XP midplus that I wanna repaint. I finished putting the primer, and now I'm stuck with what design to put. I have 3 spraypaint cans: black, red, and white. I want those 3 paint to make up the color scheme of the racquet. I might also put a hint of orange because orange is my favorite color

So... any suggestions of a cool design for a custom paintjob? I like the Babolat Aero line w/ cortex paintjobs, the Yonex RQ iS paintjobs, the PK Redondo, and the K-Factor K6-1 designs, but the K-Factor and Yonex ones are too detailed. I do not want to spend a lot of time with little details, but I want something that's unique. So, any suggestions?

 

[kingdaddy41788]

You could do a reverse of the kfactor (flip the black & white or the red & white) and leave out symbols like the k and stuff...

 

[In)SpiRe]

In my opinion, the Babolat Aero Storm has a really sexy pj.

 

[anirut]

Shojun,

How did you remove the original paint without affecting the racket material?

I'm thinking about doing my racket too. Thanks for any info.

 

[Forehand Forever]

Paint it as like a Babolat or something. People would think your Prince racquet was special!

 

[shojun25]

Shojun,

How did you remove the original paint without affecting the racket material?

I'm thinking about doing my racket too. Thanks for any info.

I used a spraycan paint stripper that can be bought in home depot or lowes. Let the paint stripper settle in for 10-15 minutes and then chisel the excess paint with a popsicle stick. Keep repeating with the paint stripper and popsicle stick until you got most of the paint off. Then, use a medium to fine sandpaper and sand the excess paint/primer in hard to reach areas.

This part is the most time consuming part of painting a racquet. I would suggest to use a super-fine sandpaper to smooth out the graphite so there won't be any imperfections shown after you are done.

 

[anirut]

Thanks, Shojun.

 

[shojun25]

Here are a couple pictures of the previous paintjob I did. I RUSHED through the whole paintjob, and it didn't turn out that great. I am redoing everything (same racquet still), but this time, I will try to make it perfect with a new design.

Original Racquet:

Painted racquet:

 

[shojun25]

You could do a reverse of the kfactor (flip the black & white or the red & white) and leave out symbols like the k and stuff...

I did a photoshop of one, and it didn't look too good. I liked it with just red and white though.

In my opinion, the Babolat Aero Storm has a really sexy pj.

I know, tell me about it

 

[anirut]

OK, so you've created a new brand: Princolat or Babolince, DiabloXP model.

 

[tenniskid3119]

thats actually pretty good for your 1st one. I bet it will throw off the stringer though...

 

[shojun25]

thats actually pretty good for your 1st one. I bet it will throw off the stringer though...

Actually, I strung it And my friends were like... wtf, Babolat and Prince???

 

[octman12]

Hey how many coats of primer did you put? and what kind of paint did you use?

 

[claycourtextraordinaire]

man, that looks sick! nice job. if you get really good you can buy some old ps 6.0 85s paint them like six-ones, tour 90s and k factors and sell them on **** for 200 bucks a pop (send me a couple since it was my idea though!)

 

[shojun25]

Hey how many coats of primer did you put? and what kind of paint did you use?

I put 2 coats of VERY LIGHT primer. I sanded down most of the primer with 600 wet sandpaper to make the primer even thoughout the racquet and to smooth out the primer. However, I rushed this part, as well as the other parts

 

[octman12]

Thats cool. So what kind of paint are you going to use to paint the racquet and are you going to put a clear coat on top

 

[anirut]

Shojun, just a little more question.

Have you weighted the racket "naked" (no grip, no grommets) before removing the original paint? I'd like to know how much heavier the racket can get after re-painting it.

Thanks.

 

[Yonex.]

Nice man, that looks freaking amazing. It looks like a nanotube from Babolat.

 

[shojun25]

Thats cool. So what kind of paint are you going to use to paint the racquet and are you going to put a clear coat on top

I have decided what design I'm gonna make thanks to johnv pr's thread: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=154145&highlight=paintjob . I will paint the whole racquet white and red, with black letterings (haven't decided if I should do the letterings though). It will look the similar to johnv pr's racquet, but instead of blue, it will be red. Also, I will just add a red top around the 10 to 2 o'clock area. I will try to draw a picture (if I have time) to show what I'm talking about

Shojun, just a little more question.

Have you weighted the racket "naked" (no grip, no grommets) before removing the original paint? I'd like to know how much heavier the racket can get after re-painting it.

Thanks.

No sorry, anirut. I do not have any scales.

 

[User Name]

have you finished it yet?

 

[shojun25]

have you finished it yet?

No, I wish I've been busy demoing some racquets, and just left off the racquet in the very corner of my room. I'm almost done (just need to sand, re-coat, sand, re-coat, sand, and FINALLY re-coat).

 

[Loco4Tennis]

i also had this dilema when i repainted my frame, altough the stick i repainted was a extra one i had and i was just messing arround with it, but anyways i repainted it and came up with my own logos for it making it really custom, unless your sponsored, why go back to the same racquet name, shoottt put your name on the frame, and flames, go with the diablo theme IMO
by the way, i renamed my prince OS, "nachonator" big back bold letters on the side on a all white frame and i also put my countrys flag on the other side of it

good luck, and by the way, great job on the other frame looked cool

 

[uni]

how do u get the racket company name, in ur case babolat, on there that perfectly?

 

[User Name]

loco4tennis could we get to see a picture of ur paintjob posted?

 

[Loco4Tennis]

here it is, please be genttle it was my first time
this was the first racquet i ever bought, i think i bought it in kmart back when i was in high school, about 15 years or so
i dont play with it much, i just keep it in my bag as a backup for my 2 main sticks, it has sentimental value to me

 

[babolat15]

pretty cool shojun

 

[User Name]

haha i like it loco the all white is great

 

[shojun25]

That looks really nice Loco. However, the racquet looks really cheap looking from the throat bridge. (the thing that holds the first bottom mains)

 

[rosenstar]

this is really cool

 

[Loco4Tennis]

That looks really nice Loco. However, the racquet looks really cheap looking from the throat bridge. (the thing that holds the first bottom mains)

oh hell yeah, i wouldn't do this to a babolat or any racquet that cost me a lot
this racquet i think cost me $15 back in the day, and i thought i was hot stuff for years when playing with it
i only carry it in my bag to show off the custom work now,
this is my third racquet in the bag, if i must, out comes the nachonator

 

[Rafanatic]

is their a site that you can get cortex stickers