Andy,
Sorry to hear you are having difficulties. I find that painting is my least favorite part of building. And reworking a plane built by someone else leaves a lot of possibilities for issues like yours.
I sure won't claim to be a good finisher, but you could consider the following:
1. Sand off the worst of the mess.
2. Solvent wipe thoroughly with lacquer thinner to remove all of the Aerogloss. Get it as squeaky clean as possible. Let it outgas a long time. I would wait a week or more. Store it in a hot garage or car even.
3. Pick a new paint system with compatible products--
a. Since this is an ARF/Trainer, consider Rustoleum automotive primer in a spray can. Mask, spray, sand, spray, sand until you are happy. Then use a solid color Rustoleum Protective Enamel topcoat. They have more than one blue color, I believe. I have used a dark blue on one half-A plane with good results. Generally only need one application. You need to let this stuff bake a week in the heat/sun before you install engines and get fuel on it if you want some durability. You can do a search here and find more than you want to read about Rustoleum.
b. Switch to an epoxy system for better durability. KlassKote has a two-part primer and two-part topcoats that are excellent. This will likely cost you many times more than the Rustoleum approach, and needs more safety equipment. It can be brushed pretty well, but that is a skill to be learned as well. Far better to spray if you have equipment. Again, use the search function. I have used three different blues in this product.
c. Start over with compatible dope products. Start with SIG and end with SIG. Or, start with Brodak and end with Brodak. Or start to finish with Randolph. Since you already have the SIG blue, it would seem your most logical path here would be to get some SIG clear and do your sealing with that. I don't think you are going to find any Aerogloss blue made in this century. If you have enough Aerogloss clear, you could buy some blue pigment....but now you are off doing experiments again. That is why in the prep steps above I suggested taking all of the Aerogloss off.
I think the KlassKote would encapsulate whatever dope you might not get removed during sanding and solvent cleaning. Probably also true of the Rustoleum. If you can't get all the Aerogloss off, then you'll know when you try to put the SIG butyrate back on. Kind of a groundhog day thing....
You might get away with Rustoleum over an Aerogloss base, but it would have to outgas a long time before I would risk trying it.
Since I have the KlassKote materials on hand, that would be my first choice. If I did not, and I wanted to save a good bit of cash, I'd go buy two cans of Rustoleum. That's going to be about $10 worth, and you will have 90% of the stuff left over for something else. My last choice would be to buy more dope and go that route. Other guys love the stuff, and they would reverse this order completely. For example, if you are not worried at all about appearance, then 5-6 coats of thinned clear butyrate followed by as many coats of color as you need to get it uniform, followed by more clear for fuel resistance and gloss protection. Decide what you will live with, because the dope guys are all expert finishers and they will go on about sanding, filling, grain filling, talc vs. whatever, exact percentages of dope to thinner as the coats progress, gas-off times, block sanding and so on. That is how they get fabulous finishes. They would not bother on a profile ARF, so keep that in mind if the conversation starts to go there.
By the way, I agree that putting iron-on coverings on a profile fuselage is just not worth it. You have to be a magician to keep the fuel and oil out--unless you put an epoxy coat on underneath, and then the covering adhesion is an issue. Or else there really is some magic involved somewhere....
Good luck!
Dave
Topic: Dope Compatibility? (Read 5136 times)