http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_38.../printable.htm
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/html/australia.html
R/C Warehouse in Logan City, south of Brisbane, stock SIG dope.
Go to
http://www.rcwarehouse.com.au
Then enter dope in the search box at the upper left.
Phoenix Lacquers in Bankstown, Sydney manufacture and sell a variety of aircraft dopes; Nitrate shrinking, Nitrate non-shrinking and Butyrate which can be tinted if you want. These need to be well thinned with cheap thinner for use on models. Ian Smith has been using it and has had favorable results.
Use Acetone for thinner
They also sell TCP plasticizer
.
And then you can mix your own colors by getting dry pigments from a good art supply store - Fun Fun Fun (until you try to match the color for repairs)
Aeroflyte dope is/was nitrate. Butyrate, as favored by our US friends is nominally fuel proof against low nitro glow fuels. My experience is that it isn't very durable in our conditions. The tinter used is normal auto paint tinter, So a gazillion colors are available.
Non-shrinking nitrate is useful on fragile or easily warped (like solid sheet) surfaces. Nitrate is proof against Diesel fuels only.
The best nitrate was made in Oz by Bostik, Peter Lloyd had a ready supply many years ago. I'd be confident that the FF guys have this problem under control.
Cellulose dope is becoming the latest bio-hazardous material and is banned in the EU from September 2007. Apparently, model materials are exempt from this, but the amount now sold for modeling won't be worth anybody’s while.
I've always understood that cellulose was just about the safest of materials and that the body could break it down. 60+ years ago I used to sleep in a room full of dope fumes...
Unfortunately you are stuck with hazmat charges too. Imported (Randolph for example)dopes are horrendously expensive because of the shipping halfway round the world charges. Randolph dopes are available at virtually any major GA airport thru Aviall, Spruce & Specialty or Hawker Pacific.
Get an old CD case. Break up the clear plastic and drop into a glass jar of acetone. Keep the lid on. Leave overnight. The plastic will dissolve in the thinner and that is dope for my use. Thin it further to the right viscosity if necessary. I mix it with paint tints and apply onto my plane. Some plastic cases give clear dope, some are slightly hazy.
Xylol seems to be used to slow the rate of evaporation and I guess because it's a solvent it dilutes the dope as well and hence the rate of shrinking.
Buy dope at the airport? Most of the quantities are pretty large when people are restoring airplanes and the people doing that might have a pretty good handle on the best economy and products Randolph comes in any size you want: quart, gallon, 5-gallon, 55 gallon drum, 550-tote, and bring-own-tanker
Try an aircraft supply store at a municipal airport near you ...they should have butyrate and nitrate dope clear and colors...its the real stuff.......airplane butyrate clear is about 10 dollars a quart...colors are about 20 bucks......you may be able to order it direct from Randolph...
http://www.randolphaircraft.com/
tin of Aeroflyte lists the composition as:
Acetone 27%, Xylol 38%, and I guess the other 35% is Randolph's type dope (Cellulose Nitrate ?). Nitrate is not fuel proof. Butyrate is.
http://www.awm.gov.au/events/confere...nt/nitrate.pdf.
Gents, Model Engines are/were supplying dope under their own label, nitrate/27%Acetone/38%Xyelene
Supposedly the furniture lacquer used in Asian countries by (usually Chinese) cabinet makers is supposedly identical to nitrate dope. I've been meaning to try it, I've heard it yellows with age.
CD jewel cases are, I believe, polystyrene. So you'd get the same results if you dissolved Styrofoam, of which there is usually a free supply in shopping mall dumpsters, or near a MacDonalds. Some guy in Brazil wrote to the MACA Newsletter a long time ago about melting sprues (from plastic model kits) to make dope.
Too bad CDs themselves won't dissolve, being made of Lexan. Lots and lots and LOTS of those lying around, the result of mis-burnings by Nero. We call them "coasters", but you only need a small number of coasters..
http://smallflyingarts.com/Current_C.../floor_wax.htm