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Building Tips and technical articles. => Paint and finishing => Topic started by: DanielGelinas on April 05, 2011, 06:24:36 PM
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Hello all,
trying to finish a brodak trainer for my son and i before spring time. We have put on three coats of clear sanded down between each coat. S?P I'm now putting on the final orange coat (40% thinned). THe 3rd coat still doesnt cover the whole plane nicely ??? ???
In fact, it seems like the n'th coat will still not cover nicely. I must be missing out on a trick here ???
Am I thinning the paint too much, or not enough ???
This is brushed on Brodak paint.
THANKS
-Danny
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I use brushed dope in both clear and colors often. Assuming you're using brodak butyrate with their butyrate thinner, you should not be having much trouble. Clear is very forgiving to brushing, but colors can be tricky. Put too much thinner in the color and it wont cover well - put too little thinner in and its too thick to flow out nicely and will streak terribly. Brodak color is very thick with a lot of solids. If i were you i would try to thin it out a little more. Also, refill your brush often. Dont try to spread the paint too thin. I had the same issue with some silver that i was brushing, but after i thinned it out more and put a couple more coats on, all is well. Oh and if you are planning on clearing over the color, do a test panel on a scrap of balsa to get the hang of it. The clear will soak into the color and you'll get color in the clear inevitably, so dont paint out of the jar - put it in a dixie cup or something. Once you coat an area with clear, dont keep brushing over it or you'll make a mess with the color
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Thanks Chris, I'll try that. H^^
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Keep in mind that colors like yellow, orange and red are largely transparent. They take a lot of coats to cover is you don't use some sort of blocking coat. It's why when they paint cars, they usually prime first. Red Oxide primer was invented for red and orange color coats because it's a great blocking coat and doesn't disturb the tint of the color coat.
When using transparent colors like these, you really need to use a blocking coat. For yellow I usually use some sort of gold. For red, a red oxide and for orange red oxide or gray.
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Even knowing all that about transparent colours mistakes still occur..................... y1
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I see a lot of show cars now getting all the primer, after the surface is filled and rough sanded out, color tinted to match the final color. If the final color is Guards Red, the primer will have the Guards Red pigments ("toners" now I guess) added to it. Maybe I can get some of that stuff mixed up for my next NATS plane...........
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For many color schemes, where thorough coverage is required, the first coat of colored dope should be pure white. I use Brodak insignia white. Any subsequent colors are applied over the white and come out bright and true in one good coat. If you're not using spray equipment, this can be quite difficult to do well due to the brush's tendency to co-mingle the last coat with the previous one. Best results I've had with a brush were obtained with highly opaque colors, such as white, black, gray, and sky blue, that don't require the white undercoat. Prior to brushing on a color, it's a good idea to apply some to a test subject to see how well it covers. In some cases, it is deemed desirable to let the natural wood grain show through the color as in the case of old time finishes when most models had brushed on finishes. Colored silk applied to the entire model produces a similar appearance to semi-transparent dope over wood. However, unless this is what you're trying to do, make sure your color is going to cover well before applying it without the white undercoat. Of course, silver is also a great and common undercoat for any color and adds great UV blockage. I just don't happen to use it.
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Myself if this is a trainer plane, don't worry about a super duper finish. All you need is enough to fuel proof the plane. From experience there will be many flights in which the plane will need repair. When do we see a pic of the plane and the new pilot? H^^
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Thanks for the tips everyone!
Here is a picture of the finished plane, with my son H^^
-Danny
(http://)
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Good looking pane and son! Have fun. #^