Well, I'm, sorry that had to happen, but just proves a point that some of us have been trying to make.
If there was one thing that would make me switch to electric, it is the fact that you do not need to worry about fuel proofing, so you can use one medium all the way through on the finish and keep it pretty light, and not worry about fatal reactions. The old Windy tapes taught that a dope finish adds about 10 ounces to the finished weight of a Cardinal sized airplane, if done correctly. With dope being a lacquer product. it is very easy to work with once you get some practice and learn a thing or two, and you can shave some weight from that ten ounce figure. You don't really need to use primer, which can add up some weight, if the colors are right and you plan it out. You can work so fast you can almost lay out and spray the final paint scheme on a model in a two day weekend and spend some extra time sanding. The big thing is waiting for the clear to cure to rub out nicely. Acrylic lacquers can work the same way and are available a lot more places than dope, and you can use regular spray equipment or get it in rattle cans.. They can work well on dope build ups, and in the event of a crash, are easier to repair. You can put down some neat finishes and thumb your nose at the two part clear stuff and the extra work and weight that they bring. Like I mentioned, this to me is the biggest advantage of an electric model, but they just don't make the right kind of noise! And sticking a playing card in the prop arc just doesn't quite cut the mustard! So I'll have to stick with what I do, but even at that rate, an overall dope finish, and spot application of two part clear on the critical parts of the nose and wing roots is still quite manageable and if done right is invisible to see. Several guys on here have praised the Nason system for both their models and their luthier endeavors, so that is what I'll probably use next.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee