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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Jim Treace on September 11, 2006, 09:54:21 AM
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I have heard that for a quick and effective painted surface for your stunt P trainer, to use Rust-Oleum enamel. Technique is to cover wood surfaces only, first with two coats 30 minute epoxy cut 50/50 with alcohol. 2nd Light sand, clean surface, 3rd, spray on your color (not many choices) of Rust-Oleum (must be the enamel). Suppose to be OK for up to 15% fuels. And keeps the model light.
Anyone have experience with this or comments ??
Jim
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Yup. Rustoleum is reasonably fuel proof, depending partly on the color. Metallics are not at all; the clear is not; most solid colors are. I've found the black to be vulnerable to raw fuel but OK with exhaust. The lighter colors seem to be most fuelproof (red, yellow, orange, etc.)
--Ray
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Jim,
What Ray said. I don't see the need for the epoxy unless it is your choice. Epoxy is heavy and hard to us compared to a lot of other prep finishes. Dope works well under Rust-o-leum as does primer. #^
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Ray and Tom:
Thanks very much. Saved me a little problem, cause I was going to use black for engine and tank area.
Just for my records, I will do some testing on scrap. But for actual use, Rust-Oleum may be more trouble than worth any gain. Dope doesn't require any testing. Heck, the black I bought...the yard chair needed touch up anyway.
Jim
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I painted the fuselage of a Flite Streak, after sanding and preparing the surface, with one coat of Rust-O gray primer. I let that cure for a day, sanded it lightly, and then covered that with one coat of antique white. Then I let that cure for 3 days(I'm retired and have a lot of time), and it was ready to go. I've got about 4 flights using Powermaster GMA 10/29, and the finish seems to be holding up well. Glen
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I use Finish cure epoxy to seal the wood on quick and dirty profile finishes and it doesn't come out heavy.. Use Finish cure epoxy or sometimes called Finish resin. It starts out thin and sands much easier than regular thinned epoxy.
Mix up the Finish resin and use a throw away acid brush to coat all bare wood. You can just slop it on because once you have a good coat on everything, wipe as much as you can off with paper towels. This leaves just enough epoxy to seal the wood without adding a ton of weight.
Let the finish epoxy cure overnight then sand with 320 just enough to clean up the rough surface. Doesn't take much sanding, if you sand too much you will sand through the epoxy.
Optional step is apply one or two coats of your favorite filler, Dope, Talc, Corn Starch, whatever works for you.. Let the filler dry, sand most of it off and it's ready to paint. This won't fill all the grain but it will make it look a little better.
Assuming the wings are covered with Monokote (remember this is a quick and dirty finish) Mask off the Monokote leaving about 1/4 inch for the finish paint to overlap the edge. Use a Scotch Bright pad to rough up the Monokote before painting. Painting over the edge seals it and the Scotch Bright will make sure it sticks.
Also when you apply the Finish Epoxy, make sure you get it on the edge of the monokote. I just slop it on, then clean it off the Monokote with denatured alcohol. Also make sure your Monokote is well adhered to the wood close to all edges or your masking tape will pull it up when you remove it.
Paint with Rustoleum, trim as desired and go fly...
A little note on trimming.. Rustoleum works well for trim over Monokote just be conscious of how much you put on so it doesn't add a ton of weight. Mask off the area you want to paint. Go over it lightly with a Scotch Bright pad, clean and paint..
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Maybe try some appliance epoxy paint, found at the hardware store for painting your engine area black. I have found it to be 100%fuel proof with 25%nitro almost as soon as it dries to the touch. I painted an OS muffler black with it, to match my plane once, it is still black, raw fuel or hot exhaust. Such a small area would not weigh much at all. ;)
Greg y1
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Glen/Bob/Greg:
thanks so much for the information. This will help. Probably some are wondering why even bother with a quick/dirty p trainer. Well, they are perfect for my grandkids (I get to get crazy with them too). Our current Flight Streak has had so many "close encounters of the hard kind" and subsequent repairs, that the kids have renamed it "Franken-Streak'! So we are now working on twin projects, another Flight-Streak and a RSM Ringmaster.
Anyway, this keeps them in the building shop, but also gets them to the field.
Again, thanks guys.
Jim
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I paint most of my planes with Rustoleum and have not had any problems. My Black Magician looks like the day I painted it other than some rub marks around the tank area. I also paint over monocoat after roughing it up with steel wool and was surprised that it hasn't pealed or flaked off after a summer of flying.What I have found is that you need to let the paint cure a couple of days before you go flying . I touched up a plane the night before, went flying the next morning and the paint became soft and crinkled but that was my fault for not giving it time to dry. The paint is cheap and doesn't smell like dope and with care can give a respectable finish. My method is brush on a filler made with polycrilic and talcum powder,sand, then spray rustoleum grey primer sand almost all the primer off then a light primer coat then 2 coats of color. This has worked for me. Good luck Dennis
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did a test panel with various rattle can paint--all were white
only one not fuel resistant was rusto laqure(the enamel is good)
the only problem was dye(i guess)in fuel- the red fuel definatly will stain the whites with pink tint.
David
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All information greatly appreciated. I have plenty to work with, now.
Jim
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Thought you would like to see a picture of our Ringmaster. The Rust-Oleum paint worked just fine. My grandson (11) and I finished his RSM Ringmaster. He actually did most of the work, pretty proud of him. Most difficult for him was the covering, especially the tips. The wing covering and horiz stab white trim are Monokote. Blue and yellow colors are Rust-Oleum, the black is marine engine grade enamel. The red is stick on trim tape. After a good sanding, all wood surfaces got two coats of thinned 50/50 epoxy finishing resin. Easy to sand down and made an OK finish. With OS 25 and tank, weighs 25 oz. Test ran engine to break in. Put about 1 qt of fuel through and no problems with finish (so far). He will fly it this weekend.
Jim
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Looks very good...tell your grandson what a great job he's doing.
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Thanks, I will. Couldn't wait for the weekend fly. He flew today. Did pretty good. Three flights and no damage.
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what's finish cure epoxy? a brand?
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Finish cure epoxy would be an epoxy finishing resin. It's blended to be much thinner than epoxy glues so you can paint it on. I got some from Z-Poxy years ago. don't know if they are still in business. It has a fair amount of acetone, or similar solvent, in it, so it melts through styrofoam. You can also thin epxoy glues with acetone or alcohol for a similar effect. Some of the products formulated as finishing resins may have stuff in them to keep them from soaking into the wood too much though.
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I used the product from Great Planes called PRO Epoxy Finishing Resin. Simple 2 part mixed 1 to 1 that I cut 50/50 with alcohol. Brushed on. Keep paper towels ready to wipe off excess. Use alcohol to clean up. Allow at least 24 hrs to dry.
I also use 30 min slow cure 2 part epoxy cut 50/50 with alcohol when using .58 oz. glass cloth (Aerospace Composite Products). Following the technique described by Dan Parson way back in the '82 issue of RCM.
Jim
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Z-poxy finishingresin is made by ZAP, I think it is still available.
Home Depot sell a brand of paint called Quick-color, usually 2 bucks a can. If you look at the label it is produced by ROC- this is the Rust-Oleum Corp. I have used it side by side wih Rust-oLeum and can find no difference- except being 1/2 the price. I use real basic paint schemes, but the red,blue,yellow,white, and orange work real well.
I use either flat white or sandable grey as primer, 3 coats sand almost completely off with 220 grit. A final sanding wth 400 and wipe it clean. Warm the cans in hot water-shake till your arms is tired and spray the color on thin but wet. 2 coats is usually suffcient.
Let it dry several days to a week or put it some place warm and dry- a couple incandescent lamps shing on it from 2-3 feet for 18 hrs has produced a fairly hard cure.