I just finished this today.  I am really impressed with the Nelson Hobby Paints.  I applied the silk span with future floor polish.  I tried to spray the color without much luck.  It was like it was going right through the silkspan.  Then I read the directions and saw you are not supposed to spray it over open bays.  I then used a foam brush and it covered in two coats after thinning it slightly with water.  I talked to Mr. Nelson about using plastic model paints for trim and he said there should be no problem and that I could fuel proof it with the Nelson clear.  So the red, white and black are all Faskolor applied with an airbrush using vinyl shelf liner for stencils.  Finally, I applied several coats of clear Nelson paint over everything.  The only thing I didn't like was using the clear over a canopy.  I tried it on a sample canopy and it came out cloudy so I masked this one off and did not put any clear on it.  Other than that I will be using this product again.  I really like the fact that I can work with it in the house with no odor.  Thinner is cheap (water) and clean up is a snap.  I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to deal with the smell associated with dope and solvents.

Hi Jim,  Thanks for posting the finished product and your thoughts about Nelson Paint.  That's one beautiful ME-262!  I really like the wheel well detail and other air brush work.  Please let us know how it flies.  All the Best,  Mike

Jim,
I have never heard of applying silkspan with floor polish.  Could you say some more about this?

Did the silkspan stay tight after painting without the shrinkage of dope?  If so, this is amazing--just what I have been looking for. 

Did you add the Nelson cross-linker, or use it straight (which I understand is supposed to be fuelproof to about 10% nitro?) ?

Finally, did you use gloss clear, or matt since it's a military plane.

Thanks,
Kim Mortimore

I have become a real fan of the future floor polish.  I find it the easiest method to apply silkspan I have found.  I thin it with water to 75% floor polish, 25% water, use a foam brush to to apply a coat to the surface to be covered, then thouroughly wet the silkspan and lay it on the wing.  It is easy to lift and stretch or to reposition as necessary to get all the wrinkles out an when it dries it dries tight.  I then covered it with the nelson color, again using a foam brush.  I found that that it shrinks up as good or better than nitrate dope.  The nelson fills the silkspan where the floor polish does not.  I did add the cross linker as the directions say you need to when using this product over open bays.  It has no effect on how the paint applies or shrinks, as I understand it.  I did spray several coats of nelson clear on.  It is touchy in that if you don't hold the gun at the right distance it does not give you a wet look.  All in all I like the product a lot.  Unfortunately, the ME is no more.  I took it out for its first flights last Saturday and it would tip over on the nose when we tried to launch it.  I took it home and bent the gear forward about 1/2 inch and took it back out Sunday.  I got it in the air and it looked absolutely great.  Felt good on 60 foot lines, did good inside loops and squares.  I got it upside down and the outboard wing was high.  Got it back right side up and the engine leaned out at the end of the run and as it came around into the wind I had a catasrofic failure of some sort.  I think I saw the outboard wing come up just before it went straight in from about 15 feet altitude.  Either the outboard wing failed or the bellcrank mount failed.  When I picked up the pieces the bellcrank was about 6 inches into the inboard wing.  I will build another, with several modifications.  It looked to good in the air not to try again.

Jim:
That is really tough news about your 262, I have been following that thread with great interest - was hoping to hear more about it or even see it fly some day.

Your finishing method is very far removed from ANYTHING I have ever seen or heard about!  All water based and indoor-friendly sounds great.  If I read you correctly, you just floor polish to apply adhere the silkspan, then painted directly onto the silkspan without any sealing coats?  I could comprehend how water based paint could shrink the silkspan - same as water might.  however that would also seem to me that you would be stuck with the texture of the silkspan, and any overlaps & such.  Could you sand it out and re-coatand get a decent finish out of the paint?  Do you think the silkspan got as strong as it would have with a dope finish?

Then after trim you apply the clear coats - sprayed or foam brushed?

Did you keep track of how much weight you added?

Hi Jim,  Really sorry to hear about the ME 262. Do you think you will do the tri gear version the next time?  How did you find building the wing?  What changes are you planning on for the next one?