Hi guys,

I'm in the throes of finishing my latest wonder - a Keilkraft Gazelle. A PAW 1.49 diesel is destined for it and I finally discovered sandpaper. I'm trying to make a point of learning something new with each model I build, and finishing was this models raison d'etre.
As it's only 28 inchs span I thought it'd be a good place to start improving my finishing, rather than making lots of mistakes on a Trivial Pursuit or similar.

I'm using rattle cans to sort the paint job. All the same brand.

I sprayed the fuselage top half this morning (lunch time) and when I went back to have a look at it I discovered that sections of the paint had gone all cracked. Now earlier in the morning I had sprayed the canopy area, but had started on the fuselage well after the manufacturers reported drying time. All my paint cracks appeared in areas where the overspray from the canopy area had landed.

I'm thinking that the overspray from my canopy hadn't fully dried when I started the fuselage, but as I said well after the manufacturers recommended drying times, and it was definitely dry enough for some serious handling.

Is my diagnosis correct?

As a solution I carefully sanded the cracked spots down and resprayed over them.

Chris
what type of paint ?Cellulose, Enamel,or wha?
compatible with dope might be your problem
is canopy same material as fuselage paint

See you Sat

Vicente

Hi Ray,

That sounds like my problem alright. Next time I'll get it right.

As for the prior to paint finish the (profile) fuselage was covered in light weight silkspan and then coated with several coats of sanding sealer mixed with talcum powder, followed by light sanding. For various reasons this has had a long time to dry (weeks) so I'm fairly sure that isn't the root cause. Besides, other parts of the model with the same treatment didn't craze.

Then the sections to be painted were given a coat of primer, which was then sanded off, removing all the high spots, then more primer.

First coat of paint was a disaster, I hadn't cleaned the rattle can nozzle properly last time I'd used it and in my hurry forgot to test on a piece of paper first. I'm learning by my mistakes. Why do I have to make so many though?

At least the quality of the finish is a step up from my previous efforts now. More care with the masking required though.