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Author Topic: Makin' da plane shiny  (Read 1376 times)

Offline Shorts,David

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Makin' da plane shiny
« on: August 19, 2022, 11:28:34 PM »
Butyrate dope finish. Electric powered. Quite a bit under weight. No clear yet. I want it to be that super shiny finish. I don't mind spraying and buffing dope. But how? Gorams doesn't exist anymore, right? I don't mind spraying auto clear, but I've never gotten an even finish with it yet. I've painted several planes, but no shiny ones. How do I make da plane shiny?

Offline Brett Buck

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2022, 12:13:12 AM »
Butyrate dope finish. Electric powered. Quite a bit under weight. No clear yet. I want it to be that super shiny finish. I don't mind spraying and buffing dope. But how? Gorams doesn't exist anymore, right? I don't mind spraying auto clear, but I've never gotten an even finish with it yet. I've painted several planes, but no shiny ones. How do I make da plane shiny?
 
   Gorham's is not necessary, lots of automotive products are as good or better.

  The way you make it shiny is put enough clear on that you can sand it flat, then polish it with progressively finer polishes, without going through. It takes A LOT of dope clear.

    Brett

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2022, 07:19:44 AM »
   The better and moore flat your surface is to start with, the less work it takes to get the good shine. Go to the Walt Brownell channel and watch some of Windy's videos on finishing with Dope to get the idea of what you need to do There is no "shine in a spray can" out there. It's gonna take some work and if you understand the process before you start, the easier it will be for you. Watch other videos also on other kinds of clear finishes also to see how you might like those. The main thing to keep in mind is repairing in the even of a crash. If you have an all dope finish, you will not have any problems repairing things. If you have a finish with 3 different kinds of material followed by a two part clear, that will present problems. Do your research and roll up your sleeves.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee
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Offline Shorts,David

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2022, 12:44:37 PM »
So, I've sanded my surface every few steps, just to keep it flat. I've studied the windy videos but maybe I never used enough coats of clear for it to work. Perhaps I go around 10 coats butyrate clear gloss? Like I said, I can spare the weight.

Offline kevin king

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2022, 03:33:18 PM »
If you can afford the weight, I would spray another 3 coats on all the cap strips open bays, Lots on the nose, all the LE, TE, or any where you may buff through. Scuff sand with 1200 then another 3 coats on everything. 1500, 2000, 5000 grit and then 3M Finess It Polishing compound followed by a carnauba paste wax. Or just give the autoclear another try. Practice makes perfect.

Offline Shorts,David

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2022, 06:04:33 PM »
try. Practice makes perfect.
I keep hoping that. In my experience, practice makes frustration. But this one is looking the best so far.

Offline kevin king

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2022, 07:21:00 PM »
It can be a cruel hobby at the best of times.

Offline Steve Berry

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2022, 08:59:44 PM »
Practice makes perfect.

Incorrect!  S?P
Perfect practice makes perfect. Otherwise, you're just reinforcing bad habits or methods.  n~

Offline kevin king

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2022, 11:15:14 PM »
Incorrect!  S?P
Perfect practice makes perfect. Otherwise, you're just reinforcing bad habits or methods.  n~
I will make a note of that steve. 😁 Maybe thats why i still struggle with painting. I always shoot for perfection but its never perfect. But just short of it.

Offline kevin king

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2022, 11:23:40 PM »
...

Offline Shorts,David

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2022, 12:47:54 PM »
And there's so much that is caught rather than taught. I can watch videos and read articles forever, but doing any process with someone can change everything. If I had a finishing coach watch me do my daughter's plane four years ago and point out what specifically to do better I'd be much further along, even though I've watched the videos and read the threads. Same with trimming. I can take a plane to the field twenty times over the span of six months and get it half as good as one day with an expert helping me. Now I'm just venting frustrations, but through it all, I am seeing improvements.

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2022, 01:26:52 PM »
And there's so much that is caught rather than taught. I can watch videos and read articles forever, but doing any process with someone can change everything. If I had a finishing coach watch me do my daughter's plane four years ago and point out what specifically to do better I'd be much further along, even though I've watched the videos and read the threads. Same with trimming. I can take a plane to the field twenty times over the span of six months and get it half as good as one day with an expert helping me. Now I'm just venting frustrations, but through it all, I am seeing improvements.

     You still have it easy. Keep in mind that there are some of us that learned things by the school of hard knocks, no videos, no internet. We just went along because forward as the only way to go if you wanted an airplane to fly at the end of the trail. Besides model airplanes, I used to ride and race off road motorcycles. I did my own race prep, engine work, and maintenance. You gotta learn how to do things right, and what to do when it all goes wrong, because you might be 50 to 100 miles away from your truck and tool box! The idea was to at least finish. Not too much glory in having the sweep riders find you and load you up on a trailer for the ride back to the start with the other losers!. Getting to the end is the main challenge and it's own reward.  As you read about how to do things, don't just blindly go along without thinking about how this relates to you and your situation. Read everything, listen to everybody, but you are the only one that can decide what you need to do. Learn from your mistakes and just as important, learn from other people's mistakes. Don't just sit there and ask, "What did I do wrong?" Analyze what you did against what the result was, the answer is right there somewhere.
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee
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AMA 480405 (American Motorcyclist Association)

Offline Shorts,David

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2022, 04:24:18 PM »
Okay, part 2. Do I need to sand it? What grit? What polishes are good that I can grab at a store.  I thought I was following the granderson method last time but must've done a step wrong.  I have some meguilars car paint polish that I tried and it didn't make anything shine. But maybe I didn't have enough clear that time. Or wrong brand.

Offline Dan McEntee

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #13 on: August 25, 2022, 08:04:36 PM »
   You have to let things gas off and harden up like Ty mentioned, if this is all dope. We are talking a few weeks sometimes depending on how heavy the dope is put on and weather conditions and such. After a few weeks, pick a spot on the bottom of the model to practice on. before you can make something shiny, you have to flatten it and make dull. Block sand the clean lightly with some 800 wet or dry at first and work your way to 1200. Sometimes it pays to go to 1800 and 2000 grit. . Do all the sanding wet with water and a few drops if dish washing detergent in it to help the sandpaper cut the paint and wash away the waste. Work lightly and carefully. The are should be nice and dull evenly all over the area when you are finished.  Then talk some of your polish and try it on that area to buff it out and bring in the shine. There is a significant amount of elbow grease involved here and it won't happen in a few minutes. All the sanding and rubbing takes some care and it takes some time to get the feel of how much pressure it takes while sanding and buffing. If you are close to being correct on procedure, the shine will start coming through. Sometimes it takes some rubbing compound to knock off the top before polish works there are many new materials and compounds available at the auto paint supply stores. Take you model in to show them what you are doing and they can recommend the proper materials. There is no doing this part fast. Some guys work on rubbing the model out a little at a time as they do the initial test flights and such to make good use of the time. You may not see it while you are doing it, but significant weight can come off the model during the sanding and biffing process. Just keep at it, that is the only way to learn.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

    There have been MANY threads on this process in the 20 years the forum has been around, look them up. Also, spend some time watching the Windy videos on the subject. He explains very well what you need to do and why. Even if you are using more modern finished, the process is basically the same.
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Offline Shorts,David

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Re: Makin' da plane shiny
« Reply #14 on: August 25, 2022, 11:55:50 PM »
Thanks for the reply Dan. I decided to go back and watch the windy video where he rubs out part of a spitfire. It looks so different than my plane. I'm going to start flying it and take it to our next contest to get some pointers. It's my best looking model by far, but I was hoping to get it windy shiny, and it isn't there yet. Possibly my mistake goes back several steps, or perhaps a better sprayer and just keep going a littlemore clear. Either way, time to start flying.


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