paint

[bandit2026]

Can a lexan body be painted on the outside and made to look decent??

[Coelacanth]

Can a lexan body be painted on the outside

Certainly...

and made to look decent??

Define "decent"? If you paint Lexan on the outside, the paint won't have a glossy shine to it. The Lexan acts like a clearcoat finish. Painting on the outside will result in a matte finish. You might want that, for example I painted a Cuda body to have a flat black hood. I painted black on the underside and on top of the Lexan. The top paint makes it look flat black, the paint underneath will help hide scratches. That's the other problem with painting on the outside of the body, it's not resistant to scuffs and scratches. The Lexan also protects the paint underneath.

[XLR8]

Picking up on what's already been said, I guess it depends upon your expectations. I've had mixed results with the few I've tried but I'm always striving for a shiny appearance.
It is possible to apply a clear coat to improve the shine if that's what you're after. If you're okay with rattle can paint, Duplicolor makes Crystal Clear Premium Acrylic Enamel which can be applied over fully cured polycarbonate paint. I've used this and if applied in low humidity it provides a nice shine and it's fairly durable as well. Of course the best results always come when you apply paint to the underside of the body. The few that I've painted on the outside were re-paints on well-used bodies and they turned out okay for runner cars.