Quick & Dirty finish for a test pig?

[Tim Wescott]

I'm working on a proof of concept beast for my timer project.  It's turned into a flapless profile stunter (I'm using Corehouse wings).

So what's a good finish that I can just slop onto the fuselage and have it be (a) not too heavy, (b) fuel proof, and (c) reasonably long lasting.  Ugly is OK, but cheap is desirable.  If I don't come up with anything else I'll use Polycrylic to stick on some silkspan, give it a few licks with some sandpaper, then brush on Rustoleum.  But I'm open to suggestions.

[Greg McCoy]

Spray can epoxy appliance paint.

[Brett Buck]

I'm working on a proof of concept beast for my timer project.  It's turned into a flapless profile stunter (I'm using Corehouse wings).

So what's a good finish that I can just slop onto the fuselage and have it be (a) not too heavy, (b) fuel proof, and (c) reasonably long lasting.  Ugly is OK, but cheap is desirable.  If I don't come up with anything else I'll use Polycrylic to stick on some silkspan, give it a few licks with some sandpaper, then brush on Rustoleum.  But I'm open to suggestions.

   I would use Klass Kote, sand it, spray one coat, let it cure, sand it again, put on another coat, good for 25 years. That's more-or-less what I did on the Skyray.

    Brett

[Paul Taylor]

Wow just went and looked at the klass kote paint. Big $$$.

If your doing electric why are you needed to fuel proof it?

Unless your maybe doing a hybrid? In that case I would put thinned epoxy in the engine area and just put NAPA gray primer on it.
If you want color use rattle can rust-oleum and maybe a coat of clear 

[Tim Wescott]

Wow just went and looked at the klass kote paint. Big $$$.

If your doing electric why are you needed to fuel proof it?

Unless your maybe doing a hybrid? In that case I would put thinned epoxy in the engine area and just put NAPA gray primer on it.
If you want color use rattle can rust-oleum and maybe a coat of clear 

Who ever said a timer had to only work with electric?

[Paul Taylor]

Who ever said a timer had to only work with electric?

Well for stunt I think the AMA has a rule against it. I could be so wrong on this. 

[RC Storick]

Zpoxy- prime  DC 540- paint

[Steve Helmick]

Well for stunt I think the AMA has a rule against it. I could be so wrong on this. 

Yep, you're wrong. Perfectly legit, and has been for a long time, if not forever.  Steve

[Tim Wescott]

Well for stunt I think the AMA has a rule against it. I could be so wrong on this. 

Not unless I'm missing something big.  We should probably each go off and read the rules.  Again.  Or just believe Steve, because if we don't he'll make us clean his bass boat bilge.

The FAI do not appear to rule out a timer, either, although there's some recent and ambiguous language in there about "pilot-actuated shutoff devices" that may or may not apply to fuel systems that are capable of shut-off loops, and timers that emulate that behavior.

[Mark Scarborough]

.5 glass cloth and finishing epoxy,, done deal,,

[Paul Taylor]

Yea I figured I was wrong.
Maybe it had to with throttles.

[Brett Buck]

Well for stunt I think the AMA has a rule against it. I could be so wrong on this. 

   AAARGH! There has never been a rule that outlawed timers in the AMA rules. They were outlawed in FAI for no good reason but that, too, has been removed.

    Brett

[Brett Buck]

Wow just went and looked at the klass kote paint. Big $$$.

It's substantially cheaper than dope.

   Brett

[Joe Just]

Tim for quick and dirty just mix carpenter's glue 50-50 with water and use that to0 cover the silkspan on the foam.  Then a couple of coats using the same glue.  When it dries hit it with your choice of Rustoleum spray paint. Just hit the body and other parts with the same paint. Works for me! The two Carrier planes in the attachment are still doing well after 5 years.   The grey one is 4 years old and still looks like it did the day I painted it.
Joe

[Douglas Ames]

Tim for quick and dirty just mix carpenter's glue 50-50 with water and use that to0 cover the silkspan on the foam.  Then a couple of coats using the same glue.  When it dries hit it with your choice of Rustoleum spray paint. Just hit the body and other parts with the same paint. Works for me! The two Carrier planes in the attachment are still doing well after 5 years.  
Joe

Good answer Joe.
Mine would be Minwax Poly and RustOleum Hi-Gloss rattle cans.

[Paul Taylor]

It's substantially cheaper than dope.

   Brett

Well I guess if you include the cost of primer and clear coats then I guess kk is cheaper.
I just looked at the cost of color and dope was cheaper.

[Howard Rush]

Tim has a lot of TUT money coming in, so cost is no big deal.

[Dane Martin]

Tim has a lot of TUT money coming in, so cost is no big deal.

yep. and i hear he has an ace pilot out there advertising for him....  

Tim, i use this valspar spray as a sanding sealer (fuel proof also). then a coat of lustrekote spray by monokote. cheap, quick and easy

[Randy Cuberly]

Econokote on wings or any other low temp kote, Zpoxy finishing epoxy on fuse and overlap slightly onto Kote.  Sand, apply Rustoleum Primer, then Rustoleum color.  The Silver is very fuel proof.  As are most of the Blues and Greens.

Randy Cuberly

[Howard Rush]

then a coat of lustrekote spray by monokote.

He did say ugly is OK.

[Dane Martin]

He did say ugly is OK.

exactly. shoot it, an hour later, you're in the air. just get it in the air before your friends see it!

[Joe Just]

yep. and i hear he has an ace pilot out there advertising for him....  

Tim, i use this valspar spray as a sanding sealer (fuel proof also). then a coat of lustrekote spray by monokote. cheap, quick and easy

Will it work on raw foam cores?
Joe

[Tim Wescott]

Will it work on raw foam cores?
Joe

I bet it'll "work" to melt them!

I got some SLC from Phil when I got the cores -- I'm going to cover the wings with that.

[Joe Just]

I bet it'll "work" to melt them!

I got some SLC from Phil when I got the cores -- I'm going to cover the wings with that.

God stuff and paintable.
watch the heat when you use it on foam Tim.
Joe

[Dane Martin]

Joe, the valspar eats through foam quickly. if you want to spray foam a cheap easy way, use krylon h2o spray.

[Paul Walker]

He did say ugly is OK.

Hey, you don't have time for this!!!!

Go get processed....

[Phil Krankowski]

yep. and i hear he has an ace pilot out there advertising for him....  

Tim, i use this valspar spray as a sanding sealer (fuel proof also). then a coat of lustrekote spray by monokote. cheap, quick and easy

I just tested the Valspar spray lacquers against Sig champion 25%...NOT fuelproof.  Washes away instantly, just like nail polish.  I tested all 3 colors, black, white, and clear.

Phil

[Bruce Perry]

Tim,

Will your device allow for IC throttle control?  If so, will it be able to apply throttle for a timed segment of the flight?  Or will it be able to decrease throttle at the beginning and ramp up at the end like Howards electric?

I'm interested in seeing if this could be of any benefit in the wind.  The low level maneuvers all occur early, the higher HP tricks later.  It wouldn't need to be much.  Clearly, the systems work as they are now.  Just curious about where it "could" go.

Thanks,

B

[Dane Martin]

I just tested the Valspar spray lacquers against Sig champion 25%...NOT fuelproof.  Washes away instantly, just like nail polish.  I tested all 3 colors, black, white, and clear.

Phil

i apologize for misleading anyone, but that's what i use on my half a planes which i run 25%. I've only ever used the clear, not the colors. I've found that it can't be sprayed over anything else. but i have several 1/2a planes that are just clear for use as a test bed for trying engine setups.

[Tim Wescott]

Will your device allow for IC throttle control?

The short answer is yes.

In fact, I'm doing the testing using an LA-46 for a power source.

The long answer is that in its formative stages I was taking input from Howard, Dave Trible, and my own desires.  We were basically three customers who each wanted obviously desirable things that were also obviously mutually exclusive.  The upshot is that I designed the timer so that it is very customizable -- basically, someone who can program embedded computers at a hobbyist level of competence can program Tim's Universal Timer to do a wide variety of things.

If so, will it be able to apply throttle for a timed segment of the flight?  Or will it be able to decrease throttle at the beginning and ramp up at the end like Howards electric?

I'm interested in seeing if this could be of any benefit in the wind.  The low level maneuvers all occur early, the higher HP tricks later.  It wouldn't need to be much.  Clearly, the systems work as they are now.  Just curious about where it "could" go.

It currently does apply throttle for a timed segment of the flight, and it decreases the throttle for takeoff.  I'm not sure just how valuable that is, because electrics just seem to take off more suddenly than IC ships do.  At the moment I'm mostly using that feature to test the software thoroughly.

It could also be programmed to apply scheduled throttle adjustments during flight -- this is exactly why I made it easily programmable, by the way: customers # 1, 2 and 3 each wanted something different, so I figured that every one approaching this would have some other quirk or trick they'd want done.

Ultimately I hope to out-Igor Igor, and strictly control the inertial speed of the aircraft for both electric and IC engines.  In that event a model equipped with this should chug through all the maneuvers at the same speed as level flight, with only momentary acceleration or deceleration.  Whether my sensors and I are good enough to accomplish this is still an open question, however, so don't hold your breath.

[Phil Krankowski]

i apologize for misleading anyone, but that's what i use on my half a planes which i run 25%. I've only ever used the clear, not the colors. I've found that it can't be sprayed over anything else. but i have several 1/2a planes that are just clear for use as a test bed for trying engine setups.

What was your cure time?  I was at about 18 hours for my test.  I was hoping it would be fuel proof as it seems to go on very light.  Maybe you should look at the fueling spill points and see.  The paint might be exhaust proof, I did not test for that.

Phil

[Larry Renger]

30 minute epoxy thinned to brushing consistency with denatured alcohol. Sand lightly, 2nd coat, done deal forever.

[Randy Ryan]

30 minute epoxy thinned to brushing consistency with denatured alcohol. Sand lightly, 2nd coat, done deal forever.

Ya beat me to it!!!!!!