Automotive clear coat & thinner

[Chuck Feldman]

Having gone through all the pit falls of modern dope It is time to face the truth. If you want good dependable results you have to use Automotive clear coat. (Please no counters to that statement)

Would those of you who use these products please tell me  the brands you use and the thinner.
I am sure there will be plenty of answers for me to read and different methods to consider. All of us will be able to gain knowledge from your inputs. Thank You Chuck Feldman

[Randy Powell]

Chuck,

With urethane clear coats, you generally use either a 2 to 1 or 4 to 1 paint (paint to hardener). If you are shooting in reasonable temps and humidity (say between 68° and 80° and below 40% humidity) then that's all you need. Just mix the paint and hardener and shoot it. If you are outside those limits when you paint, you may need to use reducer (you don't use thinner with urethane though the effect is to thin or reduce) or different speed hardeners. Most automotive clears have instruction sheets that tell you how to mix it for various conditions.

Both Dupont and Ditzler (pPg) make various grades of clear that will work. The price range is pretty enormous and I'm sure some will post here various recommendations, but I will say there is no particular reason to get the really expensive stuff for what we are doing. The low end clears work quite well.

[Wade Bognuda]

Having gone through all the pit falls of modern dope It is time to face the truth. If you want good dependable results you have to use Automotive clear coat. (Please no counters to that statement)

Would those of you who use these products please tell me  the brands you use and the thinner.
I am sure there will be plenty of answers for me to read and different methods to consider. All of us will be able to gain knowledge from your inputs. Thank You Chuck Feldman

What brands do you use??

[Randy Powell]

I used Omni for years, but I can no longer get it in quarts (my local place sells gallons only). I picked up some Matrix 4 to 1 stuff I plan to try next.

[peabody]

I know for a fact that Windy has used Brodak clear (NOT even the "Crystal Clear") for the past decade.

His aeroplanes are as shiny as most, and they have not yellowed.

I am convinced that quality finishes are in the preparation....

He uses a BUNCH of clear....then sands/scrubs/rubs most off, leaving a nice shine....I spoke with him about this when we were discussing the Barnstormer that he has finished for the GSCB.

That said, Brad Walker wrote a great piece about auto clear and posted it here a few years ago....he likes Omni....

The big issue with auto stuff is that it is difficult to repair......

A couple around here have had great results with water based colors and auto clear....

Have fun...

[Derek Barry]

DuPont 480S!!!!! This is what I use now, and as long as I can get it I will keep using it. 480S is a premixed clear, no need to add thinner. I just pour it in the gun and start spraying. This clear buffs very well too.....in just 24 hours.

[Glen Wearden]

DuPont 480S!!!!! This is what I use now, and as long as I can get it I will keep using it. 480S is a premixed clear, no need to add thinner. I just pour it in the gun and start spraying. This clear buffs very well too.....in just 24 hours.

Derek, can 480S be applied with a brush and still get acceptable results?  I'm a brush person, mainly because I don't have any place to use a gun.
Thanks.........
Glen Wearden

[Randy Powell]

Couple of comments:

>>The big issue with auto stuff is that it is difficult to repair......<<

No more so than anything else. Just have to know how. I've done many repairs of planes painted with dope and top coated with catalyzed polyurethane. The repairs are undetectable. Brad also wrote an article about how to repair such finishes (based on what he learned from master painter Bill Wilson). It was quite good and I learned a couple of things from it.

And I would note that you can obviously get a great finish with dope. Problem is often durability. Dope is only sort of fuel proof. Catalyzed Polyurethane is a great deal more fuel proof and generally much more durable. But as noted, people have been using dope for many, many years and there is nothing wrong with it that regular maintenance doesn't usually take care of. And it's certainly easily repairable.

Problem with DuPont 480S is that it is even less fuel proof than most dopes. Ask Howard Rush about his orange Impact with the checkerboard on it. It was done with 480S and it's a beautiful plane, but he has to constantly maintain it and is very, very careful not to splash any drops of fuel on it. 

[Derek Barry]

Derek, can 480S be applied with a brush and still get acceptable results?  I'm a brush person, mainly because I don't have any place to use a gun.
Thanks.........
Glen Wearden

 I cant really answer this question because I dont use a brush. Sorry

[Derek Barry]

Couple of comments:

>>The big issue with auto stuff is that it is difficult to repair......<<
Problem with DuPont 480S is that it is even less fuel proof than most dopes. Ask Howard Rush about his orange Impact with the checkerboard on it. It was done with 480S and it's a beautiful plane, but he has to constantly maintain it and is very, very careful not to splash any drops of fuel on it. 

You are right but I have that problem with everything that I have ever used. I just try not to get raw fuel on my plane. The higher nitro is even worse but with a little buffing all of the discoloration comes off.

[Howard Rush]

The allergic-to-fuel airplane Randy writes about was finished with PPG Duracryl DCA468, thinned with DTL 876.  It's what Bob Parker uses.  It's nice stuff, but maybe suitable only for electric airplanes, particularly if everybody else at the field is using electric planes, too. 

My current plane uses the PT Granderson/Uncle Jimby system, which is PPG D893 thinned with twice as much D871 as the official recommendation, which I have to look up because I'm giving my plane a toot today.   

[Howard Rush]

I am convinced that quality finishes are in the preparation.

Amen.  There was a series of articles in American Modeler (probably) about 50 years ago called "It's the finish that counts."  One of them was "How construction affects the finish."  It was one of the few good influences of my youth to have any effect. 

[Tom Niebuhr]

Howard,

"My current plane uses the PT Granderson/Uncle Jimby system, which is PPG D893 thinned with twice as much D871 as the official recommendation, .."

How does this hold up to fuel/raw fuel?

[Howard Rush]

OK, except it gets little puckery places here and there.  I guess that's where fuel has gotten under the clearcoar.  I had some on the bottom of the airplane (I don't always hook up the tank hoses before I fill the tank) and one on top that looks like it came through an engine mount hole.

[proparc]

DuPont 480S!!!!! This is what I use now, and as long as I can get it I will keep using it. 480S is a premixed clear, no need to add thinner. I just pour it in the gun and start spraying. This clear buffs very well too.....in just 24 hours.

Dupont 480S has been a standard for ages. There is archeological evidence of Triceratops using it to coat their horns.

[James Mills]

DuPont 480S!!!!! This is what I use now, and as long as I can get it I will keep using it. 480S is a premixed clear, no need to add thinner. I just pour it in the gun and start spraying. This clear buffs very well too.....in just 24 hours.

Derek,

I checked on availability locally (Mo.) and they told me they could order it but it's being discontinued, too bad.

James

[Derek Barry]

Derek,

I checked on availability locally (Mo.) and they told me they could order it but it's being discontinued, too bad.

James

 I have two gallons, I better buy up all I can before it's gone!