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Author Topic: Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope  (Read 674 times)

Offline carl30

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Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope
« on: March 11, 2020, 09:21:33 PM »
Has anyone tried this Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope straight out of the can for filling balsa grain?  I am actually thinking about using it to seal and fill grain on my rockets balsa fins vs using Brodak balsa sealer.   Thanks for your help.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/randnitratedropclrhi.php

Online Howard Rush

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Re: Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2020, 12:20:12 AM »
It's the tautening kind.  Could make your rocket spin.
The Jive Combat Team
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Offline carl30

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Re: Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2020, 04:58:39 AM »
I was thinking that would happen, may just stick with Brodak Nitrate.  On my test pieces of balsa the Nitrate unthinned from Brodak actually filled the grain in 3 to 4 coats, same as the Brodak Balsa Sealer.  I have noticed that the balsa is smooth until I hit my first coat of primer.  After I spray a coat of primer there is no deep grain showing but more of grain popping up......Any ideas what causes the grain to pop up when priming? 

Online Brett Buck

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Re: Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2020, 09:44:28 AM »
I was thinking that would happen, may just stick with Brodak Nitrate.  On my test pieces of balsa the Nitrate unthinned from Brodak actually filled the grain in 3 to 4 coats, same as the Brodak Balsa Sealer.  I have noticed that the balsa is smooth until I hit my first coat of primer.  After I spray a coat of primer there is no deep grain showing but more of grain popping up......Any ideas what causes the grain to pop up when priming?

    You put more solvent back into the dried primer, that causes it to expand, and when it shrinks back, it shrinks back more in the pores. And presuming  you started this experiment a few days ago, another issue is that 2-3 days is *nowhere near* enough time for the shrinking stabilize, so if you sand it flat after, say, a day, just letting it sit for week, all the grain will come back out, because it is continuing to shrink. Nitrate is generally better about this than butyrate, but realistically, you can't make it flat and expect it to stay that way unless you wait *weeks to months" before sanding it and rubbing it out.
 
     Brett

Offline Willie Johnson

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Re: Randolph High Solids Nitrate dope
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2020, 02:43:40 PM »
What's your top coat going to be?  If enamel I would not go with dope.  There is a recent discussion on rocketryforum on using Zinsser BIN shellac primer followed by a spray sand-able primer to seal and fill balsa.  Works well on model rockets but I wouldn't use it on nitro models.  There's also the carpenter's wood filler thinned with water.  I recently tried both methods and both work.  The BIN method is easiest and faster.
Willie Johnson
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