Need quick dope advice

[Wayne Collier]

I've got some clear sig butyrate that I was planning to use this afternoon, but I have no sig thinner.  I've got "lumber yard" lacquer thinner and acetone.  Which would be the most likely to work.  I don't want to make the two hour round trip to the hobby store today.  I'm repairing an old plane that was originally painted with testors dope.  I can afford to experiment.

[Randy Powell]

I'd use the lacquer thinner.

[Howard Rush]

I just discovered something cool.  If you click on the little weather icon under somebody's name, his local weather report pops up.  In Wayne's case, the dewpoint is 52 degrees F, so acetone would probably cause bad blushing. 

[Busby]

Don't use the hardware store thinner , it will turn Sig into a ball of gummy mess, don't ask how I know luckily it was less than 1 oz of dope. The typical hardware store thinner is not even good enough to clean the gun with.
Dupont 3608s is about the only other thing I would use if I chose not to make a 2 hr drive.
2 hours is a lot less time than it will take to clean the mess up.
Busby

[Tom Perry]

Mix up a little of each and test it on a surface other than your model.

[brucefinley]

You might try your local auto body supply house for the Dupont 3608 or acquivalent.  The guy at the counter should be able to give you advice on on compatibility.  Could be a lot closer than that HS.  Plus you will find they have a lot of other cool stuff too--quality sandpapers, spot fillers, etc.

[Bob Disharoon]

Not quite on topic, but you guys can always provide a quick answer....will krylon work over butyrate dope?...just built a
Buster after a 30 yr. vacation and dont want to screw this up....thanx, as usual!, BOB

[Wayne Collier]

Thanks for the advice guys.  The lacquer thinner was ok for what I was trying to do today.  I only mixed a very small amount and didn't keep the leftovers.  Initially I thought it was going to get thicker but I kept stirring until it "took."  Something I learned from painting houses and finishing cabinets.  Today was probably high risk for blushing and a bit windy.  Things seemed ok until the tissue I was trying to use wouldn't stick to the airplane.  I suspect the problem was the tissue.  It seemed kind of waxy.

[RC Storick]

Not quite on topic, but you guys can always provide a quick answer....will krylon work over butyrate dope?...just built a
Buster after a 30 yr. vacation and dont want to screw this up....thanx, as usual!, BOB

Any Enamel Will work over lacquer but no lacquer will work over enamel. Sig dope will go over AeroGloss but AeroGloss will not go over anything!!

The reason for this is the thinners used. AeroGloss has MEK in it. (hot thinner) the rest are toluene based. Enamels are of mineral spirits or some other low grade thinner.

[billbyles]

<Dupont 3608s is about the only other thing I would use if I chose not to make a 2 hr drive.>
Busby

If you use Dupont 3608s make sure that it is not the Dupont V3608s.  The original 3608s will work just fine as a thinner for Sig, Randolph, Certified, and some others, but the V3608s is the latest thinner designed to be VOC compliant and will make the dope an unusable gel/goo.  This thinner started here in California and seems to be spreading gradually as other states decide to go more "green".

Bill Byles

[Randy Powell]

And I note that whatever you use, use it from bare wood through topcoat. One of the bigger problems you'll ever have with lacquer is switching thinners in the middle. It's Russian Roulette..