skaliwag

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There was an article in one of the mags recently about Doculam. Any clues which one and date. Thanks

PatrickCurry

My Feedback: (20)

It was in Model Aviation, but I don't remember which one.  I've been way behind on my reading and trying to catch up so I don't remember which month I saw it in.

skaliwag

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Was it recent? If so I am thinking Flying Models. FM is the only Rag now that has any content for us diehards that roll our own.

My interest is because the paint I have been using for years to "dust" the glue side for some colour has had it's formula changed for our benefit. Now it doesn't work, it Flakes and does not meld with the glue to seal the edges so good.

soarrich

My Feedback: (98)

Try checking out The Corehouse, my friends have used his covering with craft paint and latex paint to good effect. I bought some, but haven't used it yet. I also bought a roll of laminating film, like 1000" feet for $16.00, but again I haven't used it yet.

http://home.earthlink.net/~philcarti...pricelist.html

Rendegade

The stuff I've used before is a bit thicker than doculam, but is sill unbleivably light and will take paint.

It's called (or used to be called) TRANS-KOTE. If you find places that do laminating generally they have to throw away the last 3-4 feet of the roll away, if you ask nicely you may find you'll get enough to do a model or two for free!

Hope that helps.

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

I have plenty of it.. Just want read the article.

Rubbernecker

My Feedback: (22)

I too would be interested in any info about painting. I tried the method I read about (clean very good with acetone and use Rust-Oleum for plastic). Now it covered very good and was light, but you could not put tape on it. All tape (masking, blue, low tack and fine line) I tried pulled it up. One other method I did not try was wet newspaper?

John

SGC

Ive read that for painting the outside of doculam , its best to scuff with a scourer pad or fine sandpaper to give the paint a key. Also for translucent colours it can be dyed with RIT fabric dye in hot water.

Rendegade

Yeah, I've heard that too.

I just wiped mine with acetone and went straight to paint. It adhered nicely and outlived the aircraft.

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I recently conducted a simple test with Doculam and butyrate dope. First I sanded a 2 ft piece of 3 inch wide balsa and then covered it with Doculam. I then divided the piece into about 3 inch square sections with thin strips of masking tape. I then prepped each individual section differently as follows: no prep, wiped with dope thinner, buffed with steel wool, wiped with denatured alcohol, sanded lightly, wiped with vinegar, wiped with water, wiped with acetone.

I then painted the entire sheet with Orange Sig Butyrate Dope brushed straight from the can. Then I let the piece sit in the garage for a couple of days. Then I took too strips of masking tape and ran the tape lengthwise on the piece of wood. One piece was blue low tack painters tape and the other was plain old beige colored masking tape. I then let the piece sit in the garage for a couple of days to get stuck down good.

I then removed both pieces of tape to see how the paint would stick to the Doculam.

The only section that was 100% unaffected by both tapes was the piece wiped with the dope thinner before painting.

One other note. On all planes that I have finished with Butyrate dope, the finish was a low gloss satin finish which I usually top coated with clear to get a higher gloss. On my test piece I noticed that each section was very high gloss with the straight brushed on dope.

Andrew

049flyer

That was a nice experiment in preparation with good information. Thanks for the effort and the report.

I have used run-of-the-mill lacquer thinner for cleanup and for some thinning of clear butyrate dope. I wonder how it would fare as a surface prep - it certainly would be less expensive than butyrate thinner.

andrew

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

.049 as a rule you dont want painter or any masking tape left on any longer than it needs to be...just my 2 cents I have worked with doculam a few times myself used the flower paint on the glue side lightly...Rog

tewitt1949

Here is where I got mine. http://www.oregonlam.com/index.html. You can get it in different thickness. I think this is the link to the page. http://www.oregonlam.com/Laminating_...ld_1_core.html

Andrew

The location (oregonlam) listed above is the best on-line source I have found. Many of the laminator supply houses will sell only 500' rolls and in a minimum quantity of 2. Oregon Laminations is the only one I'm aware of that stocks a 25"x250' roll, lets you buy a single roll and has a reasonable shipping charge.

+1 on tewitt's post.

andrew

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

There was an article in one of the mags recently about Doculam. Flying Models or Model Aviation most likely. Any clues which one and date. . Thanks