Hi ,
Thanks Men 
Everything is going good with the covering . As I have never used the zinc sterate before , I wa concerned with the succesive layers not bonding properly .
Hi Rob,
Dope is pretty easy to work with but like all paints, some hard & fast rules apply to its use. You can brush on two coats a day with one coat in the morning and one at night. That is about as fast as you can push it. Sanding sealer requires a least a day between coats with two or three days between coats are best. Only use the thinner recommended by the manufacturer if at all possible and don’t mix them from one company to the other. I know, I have used different thinners in the past and for some reason it all worked out OK, but be careful or at the very least try a test panel.
Simple Dope Rules:
1) Nothing goes over Butyrate dope except urethane or epoxy as a top coat.
2) Nitrate: Used under all paint finishes such as enamels, and rattle can paints.
3) Use retarder as little as possible.
4) Stay away from automotive primers unless you have made a few test panels and know it is going to work, FOR SURE.
5) Always clean the spray gun with the cheapest thinner you can find. Clean it really good and soak the pieces and scrub with a small acid brush.
It escapes me why people would risk their latest creation by using a subpar product such as rattle can paints unless they were sure of the results. Maybe I’m just too fussy or lazy and don’t want to repaint the model so I take my time and do it right.
I know many people want to get models in the air as soon as possible so here is my recommended finishing technique for a quick paint job for a sport model with iron on covering on the wings, flaps, and stab& elevators.
Three coats of nitrate dope thinned 50-50 lightly sanded between each coat.
Cover the fuselage with silkspan. Give the silkspan three coats of nitrate dope sanded between each coat.
Spray Lustercoat primer on the fuselage and allow to dry overnight (at least 12 hours). Sand off the primer with 360 grit sandpaper making sure you do not sand into the sikspan. Candle the model by holding the model up to the light and bouncing the light off the sanded area. What you are looking for are low spots and imperfections. If a second coat of primer is needed to fill in these areas, then repeat the previous step.
Base color: Heat the Lustercoat spray can up with hot water from the tap. It may take a little time to get it as warm as the water from the hot water heater. Some people say warm it on the stove but that bothers me a little from a safety standpoint. Shake the heck out of the spray can for at least five minutes. Spray the model with light thin coat and return the spray can to the hot water. Let the first coat become very tacky and then spray another light coat. Depending on the base color it may require additional coats to get an opaque base color. When satisfied with the base color let dry for 24 hours.
Follow the same procedure to add the trim colors if desired.
Lustercoat has a clear coat that really shines and makes the paint match the covering a lot better. It is worth the extra time to do it.
Later,
Mikey
Topic: Silkspan prep work ? (Read 834 times)