Considering using Klass Kote 2-part epoxy on a new project. Polyspan and silkspan covering. Having never used it before, a few basic questions occur to me:
1. Is the Klass Kote epoxy primer required under the color coat? Or can dope finish be used in the traditional way right up through the grey dope primer, thus using the epoxy only for the final finish coats?
2. How long is it necessary to wait before applying tape onto the white base coat for the trim colors? The Klass Kote web site says a stonger, "fused" bond occurs if the next coat is applied within 48 hours, but is that hard-set enough to avoid tape marks?
3. KK says HVLP guns can be used to good effect. Not knowing how viscous the KK is, will I need to start over calibrating the gun or will the settings I use for dope (thinned 4 to 1) get me pretty close to correct?
Thanks to anyone who has used this product.
Sorry Mike, I didn't see this until now.
I have only a few examples of KlassKote but they have turned out pretty good. I used Superpoxy Primer over the clear dope. After experiences of my own, and seeing other's problems, I would try to avoid any butyrate dope underneath the epoxy, so I would presume that gray dope is out. I would make up some gray or silver/white epoxy with white and black, or white and silver (so it actually blocks). I didn't use a blocking coat and at least Klasskote white covers better than K&B.
I would expect that 24 hours is plenty to wait for masking as long as it's reasonably warm. It's not as fast to harden as K&B but overnight is enough to handle the airplane. I wouldn't be concerned about adhesion between the coats of epoxy. I would be very concerned about pulling it away from underlying butyrate, if you used that.
The viscosity of the paint varies with the color. The Klasskote White, for example, comes out of the can somewhere between honey and cake icing. Adding the hardener thins it considerably, but with a regular gun, I ended up with about 1:1:.9 color:reducer:thinner, and that still orange-peeled a bit. Same with red, and it was much thinner. I wouldn't say I had a good answer on how to determine the thinner, but i do know that there is *no chance* that you could spray it on a stunt plane at a reasonable weight with the recommended levels of thinner (like 20%!). Maybe if you were painting a car and could really lay it on there, but no way when you are trying to dust it on.
I was very satisfied with the results. I had one problem but that was due to excess use of Flex-All in the nitrate, trying to reduce a starved horse problem on the fuselage.
Brett