I know there have been a lot of threads on this subject, but in the fifties and sixties I remember using balsa fillercoat followed by 2-3 coats of   butyrate color and then 2 coats of thinned butyrate clear (sanding between all but the final color and the final clear coat) for a very good finish on the fuselage and tail feathers of the many Ringmasters that I built and flew in this era. Do I remember this right and what can I use for fillercoat that is compatable with Brodak butyrate dope, I am wondering about minwax waterbase ? I am open to any suggestions on this subject, including any better alternatives to this procedure. I just remember that it worked very well at the time and was pretty easy.  Thanks, Bob

Thanks Wynn for your reply, I really thought that I would get more response to this as so many build profiles. I have been in RC off and on since the sixties and the only building I have done in a long time is of the ARF variety. I think my main issue is I really want a different solution than covering the airplane with paper but if thats best than I can do it that way. I think my main question is the compatibility of dope and poly fillers. Thanks again, Bob

If you are going to use dope anyway, why not just use it and avoid any comptibility issues. A few coats of clear, apply Med silkspan - I think it adds to the stiffness of a profile fuselage, (and tailfeathers) others experience may differ- some filler coat, paint, clear, fly. Not as labor intensive on a profile as one may think, especially if the wings are done in monokote.