Brodak and Lustrekote

[Ed Carlaw]

Hello to all, I have a project in the works with the base coat of three thinned coats of Brodak dope. My question is whether Top Flite's Lustrecoat, which I was going to use as top coat, is compatible with the Brodak dope Thanks, Ed.

[Duke.Johnson]

I've used Brodak clear both under and over Lusterkote. Now that said, I'm a hack builder, but didn't have any trouble.

[Ed Carlaw]

Thanks Duke. I was hesitant to try it but I'll go ahead now. I don't have any Brodak on the shelf right now so I thought I'd use the Top Flite stuff. Haven't had any experience mixing the two, so I figured I better ask before taking the plunge. Thanks again, Ed.

[Duke.Johnson]

My biggest problem is using the rattle cans.  Other than that I think it works good. Post picture!

[Ed Carlaw]

That's what I have on the shelf. Any specifics on the problems?

[Duke.Johnson]

I'm just not good with them.   Seems like you have to keep the tip clean or they spit a little.  The owner of our local hobby store just gave me a whole box of Aero-glos rattle cans.  I understand using what you have.

[Ed Carlaw]

Thanks Duke, just reading the can and it recommends a soft vinyl masking tape. Any suggestions on what to use?

[Randy Cuberly]

Hello to all, I have a project in the works with the base coat of three thinned coats of Brodak dope. My question is whether Top Flite's Lustrecoat, which I was going to use as top coat, is compatible with the Brodak dope Thanks, Ed.

There is no problem with putting Lustrecoat over dope.  I definitely would expect adhesion problems if done the other way around.
I've used Lustrecoat several times and have always had the same problem that prevents me from recommending it for anything.   It continues to cure and after about 8 months to one year develops crazing cracks all over the surface...I currently have two airplanes in my inventory that this has happened to.   One of these had a dope substrate and the other had automotive primer.   I will never use it again! and would recommend you do not either.
Were I you I would simply continue the dope finish and forget the Lustrecoat.

Randy Cuberly
PS I know at least two other people who have had the same problems.

[wwwarbird]

 You'll be ok spraying Lustrekote over any dope. However, keep this in mind, if you ever need to do any repairs you can't put dope back over Lustrekote.

 Before I finally started spraying Brodak dope for my final finishes I used to use Lustrekote over dope for the final colors on all of my models. A fair finish can be accomplished with Lustrekote, but it's not easy. The colors don't cover that well either so you end up using a lot more paint, which of course equals more weight. I remember the nozzles clogging often too, and with the white sometimes the spray would actually come out with super fine bubbles in it that would dry before flowing out. I could go on...

 Long story short, I should have quit with the Lustrekote long before I did, I've been much happier with my finishes ever since.

[Ed Carlaw]

When you applied did you apply several light coats over a period of time, or a couple of tack coats and then a full wet coat, let dry, sand and repeat?

[wwwarbird]

 It kind of depends on the color being used and what color it's going over. I'd usually try to get a light (somewhat dry) coat or two going first and then go heavier until the desired shade was achieved, all in the same session. With Lustrekote I never sanded anything once I started spraying the colors, I just followed through with each color until I was done and then just let them dry as they were. The stuff dries fairly quickly so you can get away with this procedure in most cases, once you get a feel for using the product. Some of the colors want to run easier than others, so be vewwy caweful...

 Better yet, just skip the Lustrekote altogether. Finish the model all the way through with your Brodak dope. Once you get used to it you'll be much happier with the results.

[Dave Hull]

Ed,
The best I was ever able to do with LustreKote was a tack coat and then a full flow coat. Since the spray can (we are talking about using spray cans, right?) won't allow you to thin, that's the way to keep the weight down. I did follow the general advise of warming the can in hot water and shaking far more than you normally would with other spray cans.

I have sprayed trim colors into a jar, thinned with xylene, and airbrushed with it. That allows a multi-coat method, but still not what the paint seems suited for.

I had the same experience that Randy noted with crazing and cracking. I tried nitrate dope undercoat, rattle can primer, etc.  Mine was kind of rubbery for a week or so so I cured it in the So Cal sun. Then it was fine for maybe a year. Then the surface softened on the fuselage, got gummy and leached color. The plane was cleaned after each trip using Windex. Maybe it doesn't like Windwx? In other places on the fuselage and wing trim it started turning black (this was red paint) and cracking.

I don't know how color sanding would work out--you might have to wait a long time. And, it just doesn't seem to fit the basic material and approach. You might discover otherwise.

For a simple paintjob on a plane that might last a year or so, it can do the job. For the effort, it looked quite good when new. Like most, I have moved on to other alternatives.

[Duke.Johnson]

Now that others mentioned it, I did have one plane my son built that developed cracks. It was a P-51 he built and sprayed silver.  That's the only one that cracked though.  And when we used Lustrekote we did put down several light coats.

[Steve Helmick]

While I wouldn't recommend using Lustrekote, there should be some good info on it, either here or more likely on SSW, from Dan Rutherford (Da Dirt). I recall that warming the spray cans in hot water was a major part of the 'sekrit'...thins it out. And hours of shaking the can, too. It seems to me that a good practise would be to heat the can (just hot tap water), shake the dickens out of it, then re-heat. One of those infra-red temp meters would be the cat's PJ's to keep track of the can heat. I think physics says it should cool quickly as you spray, so you might want to be able to reheat the can as you work.  Steve

[Allen Brickhaus]

Get a chance to read my Olympus finishing article in the May 2010 issue of Flying Models.

Allen