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Author Topic: Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?  (Read 1009 times)

Offline Dennis Moritz

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Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?
« on: May 22, 2010, 11:27:34 PM »
I have a feel for dope. I'm not a great painter, but I can spray coats on o.k., handle blushing and the bumps. Even know how to even out the undercoat color so I can use red. Besides dope forgives ham handed moments. But dope, as we all know, is not completely fuel proof. Somewhere along the way the a finish gets compromised by flying, coating with burnt and unburnt fuel, cleaning and the various harms and shocks it's pray to. (Bad Shakespeare quote.) Some folks are using two part auto clear coat over dope as well as klass kote over dope. HOW DO YOU DO IT? How much time do you allow for the dope to gas off before you seal? Do you encounter any adhesion problems? I assumed it was best to let the plane gas off for a week or so before clear coating. A friend, widely experience in car painting, said spray clear coat before the dope fully sets up. Since that way the clear coat can get a grip on the drying lacquer (dope). Well. So... How do folks do clear coat or epoxy over butyrate color dope? Wait a week or a few hours? Rough up the color a bit to provide an adhesion surface. (That probably won't look so good.) Or...

Offline Alan Resinger

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Re: Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2010, 07:11:13 AM »
Dennis,
At the present time I'm going through just what you are asking about.  My new ship makes it impossible to choke the engine without getting raw fuel on the cowl.  The only answer right now is to invert the model after filling the tank and then choking and flipping the prop a number of times before returning it to it's wheels and starting.  Fine if you have someone to help but a real pain if you fly alone as I often do.  I ask Brett Buck who is the only person I personnly know who has use Klass Kote, and he was worried that it may yellow some over the white cowling paint.  I went to the local auto paint store to inquire about PPG Onmi clear and found that gallon was the smallest available container in my area.  Way too much paint and over $100 cost which really isn't too bad compared to other clear coats. Going to the Klass Kote website I found that they now have a 2 part clear coat in their product line.  Available in small quantities but at a fairly high price I've ordered some to try.  I intent to wet sand the entire cowl with 800-1000 grit paper and spray a couple of light wet coats spaced about 15 minutes apart on the cowl.  Should be ready to buff out the next day.
Alan Resinger   

Offline john e. holliday

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Re: Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2010, 07:54:19 AM »
If in my experience, you use the two part Omni clear there is no buffing.  If you put down too much you will get runs.  If you don't put down enough it looks dull.  I usually spray a light coat on first and then go over it again before it sets.  It does not dry it cures and like epoxy, you put on a dust coat first and then go over it with a heavier coat.  If you do get runs, that is when you start sanding and buffing.   H^^
John E. "DOC" Holliday
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AMA 23530  Have fun as I have and I am still breaking a record.

Offline kenneth cook

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Re: Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2010, 06:32:07 PM »
               I don't know how you could prevent this, but I had this problem with auto clear twice now. The clear will harden in the container without the hardener. I had a whole quart solidify on me. This material goes a long way as it has the consistency of water. The air space in the container was enough over the course of a year to harden the material. This wasn't with PPG clear. My neighbor owns his own shop and provided me with 2 different types of auto clears which were given to him to use as samples. Nonetheless, these were not cheap in the event they needed to be purchased. Ken

Offline Frank Imbriaco

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Re: Epoxy or Auto Clearcoat on Dope?
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2010, 08:07:59 PM »
Consider PPG Concept clear. Available  in small quantities ( ditto reducer and thinner) from Radio South in Pensacola , Fl. Easy to apply,  very fuel proof - I use 20% Nitro on My R/C Pattern ships- friends use up to 30% with no problems. It adds
weight quickly , doesn't yellow, but will darken all colors .

Now the bad part. It's murder for  your health- like spraying Imron. If it gets into your lungs, it's permanent.
Contains isocyanates( did I spell that right?) . Best to purchase  an outside air supply- but they cost alot.

I've sprayed without an outside air unit and each time( I try not to paint more than once every couple of years-  I keep my ships a long time before the next) ,  it worried the heck out of me. I use an exhaust fan in the garage , wet the floor to hold down dust, keep garage windows and doors open, spray with an HVLP Sata Mini-Jet, and I wear I canister- type mask. In between coats , I get the hell out of the garage for gulps of good air .

The results are always fantastic and almost equal to using a spray booth.

Frank



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