Author Topic: first clear coat on VICTORY (Read 2915 times)

frank carlisle · « **on:** June 06, 2006, 01:36:26 PM »

I have the first clear coat on Victory. Tomorrow I'm going to shoot one more.
Then I guess I start sanding. What grit?

frank carlisle · « **Reply #1 on:** June 07, 2006, 05:26:38 AM »

yes bottom first. I discovered a couple spots that need a touch up also so will sand touch up and shoot more clear.

Bill Little · « **Reply #2 on:** June 07, 2006, 12:05:29 PM »

Quote from: frank carlisle on June 06, 2006, 01:36:26 PM

I have the first clear coat on Victory. Tomorrow I'm going to shoot one more.
Then I guess I start sanding. What grit?

What did you use for your clear coat?

Bill <><

frank carlisle · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2006, 01:22:25 PM »

I used Brodak clear butyrate.
I'm about halfway through sanding with 600 grit. Using water and a little soap for lube.
I'm finding lots of spots that need a spritz of color added for touch up.
I have these 60 year old eyes that I don't trust so I'm wearing a magnifier.
It's amazing how much crap is in the air and getting caught in the clear coat. Add a few dog hairs too.

Randy Powell · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2006, 02:11:53 PM »

Frank,

Looks really good guy. The touch up thing is always a pain. I usually shoot catalyzed polyurethane and do it outside. Last plane I did that was was yellow and even though it was early spring, I think every gnat and mosquito for 300 yards was attracted to it. Took a lot of sanding and buffing to make it look good. Just love sanding out bugs. What fun.

Keep at it.

frank carlisle · « **Reply #5 on:** June 07, 2006, 03:14:19 PM »

The killer part is after you get the big stuff touched up there is more stuff you didn't see because you were looking at the first big stuff.

It only took a couple hours to get that first coat of clear sanded. I think in a couple more hours I'll be done with this round of touch ups. Just got done with the white. Next red, then blue.

At some point I'm going to call it quits and screw the ST.51 in it and start flying. It won't be a front row plane but it won't be in the back row either.

And you know what's the kicker?.............I'm going to start another one quick as this one gets lines put to it...........Sheesh!

frank carlisle · « **Reply #6 on:** June 07, 2006, 04:17:04 PM »

Just got done with this round of touch ups and wet sanding first clear coat It only took four hours.

I'm feeling good about this. And I want to thank you guys for coming on and posting your encouraging replys. I don't feel so alone and you help me keep pushing along.

Bill Little · « **Reply #7 on:** June 08, 2006, 05:57:43 AM »

Hi Frank,

The reason for asking your choice for clear coats was two fold.

1. The type of clear can mean a difference in what grits of paper you can sand with

2. Two coats of clear dope is awful thin.

Bill <><

frank carlisle · « **Reply #8 on:** June 08, 2006, 07:20:34 AM »

HEY BILL, I hope 600 is a good grit. I wet sanded the whole thing yesterday and today I've just put another coat of clear on it. It's got pretty smooth after sanding yesterday, so I imagine after I sand this next coat it will be smoother yet.

I don't know where I'll quit. I do think I'll wet sand this coat and put another one on top of it.

How many coats do you recommend? I guess at some point I'll need to call it a job and get out the finer grits and polishing compound. Randy Ryan gets some nice finishes and he recommends rubbing it out with Brasso.

My thing a ma bob says the humidity is 40%. I used retarder but it still blushed some.

I don't have one of those fancy paint stands, so I lay the plane on the table , spray it and do something else for a couple hours. Today that something else is Fixing kitchen cabinets for a customer. When I get home I'll spray the top.

I have my spray gun working better than ever.

Bill Little · « **Reply #9 on:** June 08, 2006, 12:37:17 PM »

Hi Frank,

Well... Windy mixes at least a quart of clear dope with equal amounts of thinner and sprays it until it's gone. He adds thinner to what's left after each coat, and by the time it's finished, it's about 25% dope and 75% thinner.

I do not see a need to keep sanding between coats. I would put on 1 more (that would make three, right?) and sand that with 1200, 1500, then 2000. Always candle your surface. When it is uniformally "flat" (both in sheen and surface) you're done sanding. Hit it with a good polishing compound after that and a high quality wax. I have never sanded any final clear with anything stronger than 800. And that only once. Thinned clear dope is thin! And, use blocks to sand with at all times with the exception on open bays...

Bill <><

frank carlisle · « **Reply #10 on:** June 08, 2006, 06:03:07 PM »

What do you mean candle the surface Bill?
I haven't ever heard that before.
I'm in the ballpark I think about the quart of clear. And yes I think the next coat will be the last. And onto 1000,1500 and 2000 grit. I'll have to rub it out between flights I think. I may not be able to just say no to flying it.

Bill Little · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2006, 07:10:48 AM »

Hi Frank,

By all means go ahead and fly it. I would let the final couple of coats of clear fully cure (abut a month) before the final "buffing".

CANDLE: Hold the object you are working on up so that light reflects off the surface. You cannot actually "see" the surface, just the reflection of light off of it. You move it around to see how the light reflects off of the surface. You will immediately see any flaws, high or low. Being an "old" wood worker, I'm amazed you haven't heard of this.

I was told how to do it when I was about 10 or 12 years old by my Grandfather that raised me. You can do this to any object. On a car you get to the "point" where you are just looking across the "top" of whatever surface you need to observe.

Bill <><

frank carlisle · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2006, 08:49:41 AM »

Bill,
I've been doing that forever. Look askance at the object and see how the light reflects. Got it. Thanks for the new word.

I'm sanding off the second coat of clear and am about halfway through. When "candled" there are very few pits or lines that are left. I think I'll spray it one more time and see what 1000 grit does.

I got a bubble in a fillet on the bottom of the wing. I cut a slit in it and glued the two skins down with thin CA. I'm waiting for the glazing compound to dry. I'm taking pics of the progress as I go.

Also I have a few more touch ups to do. The old back is getting a little stiff. I think it's Tylenol time.

frank carlisle · « **Reply #13 on:** June 09, 2006, 02:06:15 PM »

I took pics of my progress on that fillet blister. The blister itself wouldn't show up in a photo so the first pic is from after I glued the skin flaps down. You'll be able to see the slit left. The second picture is after I finished the repair.

Basically I cut a slit in the blister , glued it down with thin CA, filled it with Bondo, sanded it and repainted it.

frank carlisle · « **Reply #14 on:** June 09, 2006, 02:16:37 PM »

I"VE HAD IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I spent 8 hours doing touch ups and sanding this plane with 600 grit paper. And next I'm going to shoot clear on it and run through the grits from 1000 to 2000 and then I'm assembling it and flying it.

This is about as close to wonderful I'm going to get with this plane. I'd rather make excuses for the many little things that are going to keep it out of the front row, than to spend anymore time getting to the top coat.

I went further with this one than I ever went before. There were things I could have done better/different way down at the bottom of the finish that are plaguing me now. I can't undo them so it's just time to quit.

Maybe the next one will be wonderful.

Bill Little · « **Reply #15 on:** June 09, 2006, 06:51:57 PM »

Hi Frank,

I guess I'm too scared that I will cut into the color coats to ever use 600 on my final clear coats.

Heaviest I ever use is 800, and that is done lightly.

You are right, the preparation is the total nine yards. The clear is not to cover up or fill in any blemishes. Great save on the fillet. I do basically the same thing if I get a blister.

Glad I could help with the vocabulary. With all your woodworking background, I knew you were familar with the process, just never heard the word.

Bill <><

frank carlisle · « **Reply #16 on:** June 09, 2006, 10:34:04 PM »

I was afraid that lighter than 600 would not leave enough tooth for the next coat of clear to stick. As it was I did take color away from a couple spots.

Preparation is indeed a paramount factor. Fix it later don't work. I'm going to get back to that twin I'm building and start the finish a lot sooner. It looks like sandpaper is the tool to use most.

The blister only took an hour to fix. And you know once the plane spends a day in the sun I'll have more. I wish I knew how to keep that from happening.

If I keep learning new words I'll be able to talk even longer. Thanks Bill.

The ST 51 I'm putting in the plane has been in another model but I'm taking it with me flying tomorrow and running it on the stand just to wake it up.

Right now all the stuff weighs 57 oz. I figure tip weight and a coat of clear will put the plane in at 59 oz. That's the same as the last one.

I made around 4 or 500 hundred knives during the 90s and did it for a living (meager) for about 10 years. I tought myself how to make them by making them out of wood.

frank carlisle · « **Reply #17 on:** June 09, 2006, 10:52:16 PM »

After I learned on the wooden knives, I made them out of stainless steel.

airbrush · « **Reply #18 on:** June 09, 2006, 11:12:04 PM »

That's some nice work frank, amazing. Do you still make any knives from time to time, or are you out of it for good?
Is it just me, or does it seem to others too, that people in the stunt community try to reach a level of craftsmanship
that most aren't aware of?
Great Job
james,
hehe btw, the work on victory looks mighty fine too!

frank carlisle · « **Reply #19 on:** June 10, 2006, 05:11:52 AM »

I haven't made a knife for years Airbrush. I'll tell you what though, when I was poking through the knife pictures and scanning them I got tickled by the urge to fire up the shop and start making them again. That whole knife thing got started just because I wanted to learn to get a knife sharp enough to shave with. I'd just created a new way of making a lock back work which I think had never been done before when I quit.

bob branch · « **Reply #20 on:** June 14, 2006, 08:03:35 PM »

Hey Frank! I remember when you looked that young! Younger even!!!

Looking good!

bob