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Building Tips and technical articles. => Paint and finishing => Topic started by: Brian Massey on April 14, 2011, 04:34:56 PM

Title: Oops! It splattered! Maybe not!
Post by: Brian Massey on April 14, 2011, 04:34:56 PM
"I was spraying the "final" coat of blue trim on my new Trophy Trainer today and ran out of paint in the gun. That caused a few splatters in the finish. If I wet sand the "bumps" down with a fine grit sandpaper will it still have a shine when I shoot the clear coat?"

Well I sanded the "splatter" down, but now I don't think it was splatter. It seems more like the dope bubbled from underneath causing . . . well, bubbles.

After sanding, I reshot only to have the same thing happen  HB~> HB~> HB~> Is it possible that out in the sun, heat is building up pressure in the heavely masked off wing and pushing through tiny holes in the balsa and causing the bubbles?? I'll resand tomorrow, and carry the plane outside only long enought to spray. I'll also take the masking tape off of the adjustable leadouts and see if breathing helps.

Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?


Thanks,

Brian
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Tim Wescott on April 14, 2011, 04:53:38 PM
It should.  If I haven't completely forgotten my childhood spent hanging around my dad's paint shop, for a really nice finish you 'color sand' the final color coats before applying clear at any rate.
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Randy Powell on April 14, 2011, 08:23:32 PM
The answer is, it depends. I assume this is just blue. Not metallic, pearl, candy or some other custom custom mix. yes? If so, then yes, depending on how thick the paint is. If it's thin, the worst that will happen is you will sand through the paint and have to go down to the paint shop, get more paint and reshoot the area. Certainly worth the effort
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Brian Massey on April 14, 2011, 08:53:32 PM
Tim and Randy; thanks for the input  y1. Yes, this is simple Insignia Blue from Randolphs. So it sounds like a lite wet sand to remove the splatters and I should be fine . . . at least as "fine" as I can be  n~ n~.

Is 1000 grit fine enough? I'll be in town tomorrow to fly (weather permitting) so a stop at Lowes for finer grit can be done.

Thanks again!

Brian
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Mark Scarborough on April 15, 2011, 12:29:52 AM
Brian,
unless I missed it, you didnt specify what kind of paint you are spraying.
if it is basecoat auto paint, you will most likely want to spray another light coat of base. sanding base and then clearing it can lead to some unsightly scratchs as the base doesnt sand cleanly. 1000 grit would likely clog rapidly and would most likely cause "scuffing" streaks in the base that will show when you clear it. You would most likely need to sand it lightly with 500 or 600 paper and even then I would want to respray it.
If its dope,, sanding with 600 wet then clearing would likely work fine.IMHO The clear dope you put over it will to some extent reflow the color as you lay it on and the scratches will disappear. or so has been my experience.
In simple terms, like Randy said, sand it with the expectation you can clear and be done, but keep in mind you may have to respray,,
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Brian Massey on April 15, 2011, 10:17:47 AM
Hi Mark; Yes, I should have stated in my original post that I'm using Randolph's dope; Insignia Blue. I'll try very lite sanding, just enough to remove the splatters and see what happens.

Any advantage of using Sig Supercoat as the final clear vs, Randolph's?

Thanks!

Brian
Title: Re: Oops! It splattered!
Post by: Bill Little on April 15, 2011, 01:32:36 PM
Hi Mark; Yes, I should have stated in my original post that I'm using Randolph's dope; Insignia Blue. I'll try very lite sanding, just enough to remove the splatters and see what happens.

Any advantage of using Sig Supercoat as the final clear vs, Randolph's?

Thanks!

Brian

HI Brian,

If you use Sig for the final clear, use LITE COAT Clear, not the Super Coat Clear.  Super Coat Clear is high shrink, Lite Coat is not.  It is what I use (until I can get Randolphs Non Tautening) due to it shrinking less.  I have never used Brodak's Clear so I cannot give a comparison.  But I would have to believe that Brodak's is higher shrink than Lite Coat, so I would be less prone to use it.

Big Bear