questions on finishing

[Dudley_Lang]

Back in u control after 40 years.  In the 60s I built ringmasters and flite streaks, clear doped them and flew.  Now I am building a Thunderbird and would like a nice finish.  Can you use vinyl spackling to fill in the bad spots then apply dope or should I use epoxy and micro balloons.  Next  question.  I sprayed a base color with a hplv gun.  Can you paint the trim colors with a brush or would an airbrush be better so that I don't have to mask the entire plane and pray for no overspray.

[Larry Fernandez]

I don't mean to step on Ty's toes here, but DO NOT use spackle for filling dings in balsa. Ive seen too many times, dope delaminated from poor adhesion. The finish will look fine for a few months, then after sitting out in the sun, bubbles appeared in the finish.
I use automotive spot putty with is a very thick laquer primer. Very easy to sand and since its a laquer base, dope sticks very well
As Ty suggested, you can steam out small dings with water. Here is a cool trick my dad taught me.
Use a MonoKote iron to steam out dings. Put a couple of drops of water on the imperfection and place the iron on the ding, This will cause the wood to swell and the ding disappears.

Larry, Buttafucco Stunt Team