lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks David. Yesterday I was setting up the linkage to my aileron servo, and was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to get enough throw with the servo arm on my mini servo. I was able to get about 7/16" to the top hole on the aileron control arm. If 3/8" is a typical high rate, I should have no problem.
Lamar

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Lamar,

Ideally you’d install the pushrod as close to the center of the output shaft on the servo. This reduces throw but increases resolution so it’s preferable. For the control horn, the further from the aileron, the greater the torque at the expense of throw. Usually on ailerons (and elevator) a standard 7/8” output wheel is all that’s needed. You connect close to the spline and then adjust your position on the control horn to obtain the required deflection. A compromise, “middle” position on both is sometimes the solution.

Happy holidays!

David

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Here's the latest update and photos of my restoration.
The main wing is now complete, and ready for covering. I have the aileron linkages all set up. Retracts are done, and retract servo cover is done. I'll put aside until ready for final covering with Sig Koveral.
I've completed filling and sanding the wing fillets on the body. The layer of glass & resin I applied to the bottom of the fillets, made the surface very strong, enabling me to sand down to a fairly nice edge. I filled in the large voids in the front of the wing saddle with a 30 minute epoxy and micro balloon mixture that came out fairly well. I needed to do it 2 times to get it good. The first time didn't fill in all the spaces.
I have used Elmers wood putty to fill in little nicks and voids in the body and wing. This works very well. It is very easy to sand once dry, and is fairly hard. I think that if it was thinned with water to a creamy thickness, that it could be used as a great filler for the porous balsa. I have applied one coat of Minnwax sanding sealer to the body to help in waterproofing prior to applying the 3/4 oz glass cloth with Minnwax Polycrylic which is next. Have done a final sanding with 220 grit paper.
Lamar

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Update on my restoration. I've finished applying 3/4 oz glass cloth to the fuselage, using Minnwax Polycrylic. and two coats. Then did a final sanding with 220 grit paper. I then epoxied back in place the stabilizer, fin, and the bottom fin, which I don,t recall the proper name. I didn't apply any fillet to the contact points of the stabilizer and fins yet. I plan on building up a fillet of epoxy and micro balloons, but I would like someone to tell be how much the normal fillet for the Dirty Birdy is at these points.
Attached is what the plane looks like at this point. The canopy is just sitting there for now. It looks a little more like an airplane now.

Lamar

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Lamar,

just make the fillets to smoothly transition between surfaces. I usually apply the slurry and then dip my finger in alcohol and smooth it out removing a fair bit of the filler material. Adding a lot of filler jut adds weight and doesn't really change the overall look of the plane that much. I'd say about a 1/2" width filler on each surface with a 3/8" fillet radius. Use a fair but of MB in your slow cure epoxy so it's easy to sand with sandpaper around a 1/4" dowel once cured.

I would also suggest you glue on your cowl and blend it in as well with slurry once your engine mounting is all sorted out including fuel lines and pushrods. You can then prime the entire model and eventually shoot it so it looks like a singe piece work of art as opposed to an assembly of parts. That's what the fillets are all about including the canopy fillets.

David

bentwings

You’re getting there! Looks nice.

For tail filets I used balsa triangle stock. 3/8 or 1/2” and blended it in. Nothing fancy.

i also molded the cowls in. I used blind nuts to mount the motors with hardwood mounts. It was always a tight fit and a mess to clean up. I also used plastic and metal mounts on some of them. I tried removable cowls but they got pretty ragged after a while.

Canopys were removable as the tuned pipes ran through them.

byron

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks David & Byron for the replies back. I think I'll stick with the epoxy/micro balloon filler for the fillets. As far as the cowl, it was already epoxied in place as I received the plane. I did do a little epoxy fills on some voids where it was attached to the bulkhead, and I've already made clearances for my OS 55 ax engine on the cowl. I will be using the original engine mount that was already a perfect fit for my engine.
One more question I have is related to the canopy which I haven't epoxied back yet. I thought I recall hearing about a certain shape on the sides of the canopy to maintain. If you could clue me in on anything special I need to know, I'd appreciate it. I had to do a little repair to the original canopy since it had a lot of cracks. I used 3/4 oz glass cloth with ca on the inside of the canopy to reinforce the cracks. I think it is a solid fix now.

Lamar

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

A new update on my restoration progress.
I've finished filling in fillets on all the surfaces, including epoxying back on the canopy and filling in fillets. All fillets have been sanded down with final 320 grit paper. I went over the fuselage in good sunlight looking for any imperfections, and filled in with Elmers wood filler. The next step will be primering with Rustoleum sanding primer.
I think I will keep the original paint colors and pattern, which I believe is the traditional Dirty Birdy look. I don't know what the bottom of the wings had for the traditional pattern. I'll probably just keep it solid red.
Lamar

bentwings

It’s going to be nice!

byron

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

New progress report.
I have finished two coats of Rustoleum sandable primer. I sanded down with 400 grit paper between coats. After the final coat I sanded down with 400 grit wet/dry paper. The attached photos don't show the final sanding. I want to keep a record of the weight gain after painting. Unfortunately I forgot to weigh before the first primer coat, but I did weigh after two coats of primer, and the fuselage weighed 25.04 oz. I then weighed after final sanding of the primer, and the weight was 24.55 oz. That was exactly .5 oz of sanding loss.
Today I plan on painting the top of the fuselage, fin and stabilizer white. Don't plan on doing any masking this time. I'll mask when I do the final red and blue. I'm using Rustoleum rattle can paint. I've used it in the past with good results, and have found it to be fuel proof to 15% nitro.
Lamar

bentwings

Looks nice and clean. I paint the same way. Saves paint weight.

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Yessir!

Lamar, she's going to be sweet!

I often like to mist the fuse with sealer primer (not filler primer which like you I use to level out the model in prep) before shooting the base coat. It gives the paint a little tooth to grab and prevents the paint from cracking if it isn't sufficiently plasticized. But.., I've never shot Rustoleum so I don't know what it's like. I'm sure its properly plasticized and mixed in can.

I strongly recommend you use 1/8" 3M auto blue tape for masking your colours off. You will note the difference in the crisp lines between base white and colour trim. Once you've got the line defined, you can mask the rests off with whatever you like (e.g., regular masking tape) provided it doesn't bleed of course...

I also recommend you integrate the canopy (as well as control surfaces) into your trim scheme as opposed to making it a separate blob on top of the model. It will look sleeker and give it a flowing look!

David

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

I'll be doing the red probably on Tuesday. Rustoleum recommends at least 48 hours between coats. That will give me about 96 hours, and the cool winter weather probably requires more. My shop isn't that warm. In fact, I think I'll bring the plane in the house today where it is a lot warmer and less humid for better drying.

I've never used the blue 3M tape before for masking. Can that be purchased at an auto parts store? What I have been using is Tamaya masking tape. I seems to work fairly well, but if the 3M tape is better, I'd be glad to try it.

David, could you elaborate a little more on what you mean by integrating the canopy into the trim scheme. I have plans on painting the canopy blue, and masking out for a white canopy frame. I like the way you trimmed out the canopy on one of your drawings, but I don't know if I will do the small corner radius as you show.

I would like to put Dirty Birdy 40 on the fuselage like you have. I have plans on trying a method I seen online for graphics using Windex, plate glass, Monokote and Press an Seal. I've never done this, and I also don't know how compatible the Monokote is to painted surfaces. Could you David, or anyone else let me know if this would work.

Lamar

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

I've never used the Tamiya tape so I can't comment on it. The 3M is what the pros use for detailing and if applied properly it will give you 100% bleed free sharp lines. You might want to detail the colour separation with a third colour trim tape which, if applied over the line separation, will take care of any bleed but if you want to offset the trim tape, then you will have the option as your line will be nice and crisp and you can use it as an offset reference guide.

The scheme of your model when you received it and my sketch show this off nicely. In the case of your models' original scheme, when it was painted, the top was shot white and then the canopy was "offset" by trimming off the base and then passing two trim tape lines to demark the canopy frame. So this gives the canopy the appearance of being painted separately and stuck on top of the model. Instead, if you flow the colour from the fuse up on to the canopy without "detaching" the canopy from the fuse, it makes the latter seem part of the model. In my scheme I then mask off the windows of the canopy (rather than the frame) and shoot these to denote transparency. This is how real planes are painted like fighter jets for example. They don't run a line around the base of the canopy. It's part of the plane.

I wouldn't apply MK atop a painted surface. It's possible to paint on top of MK but the reverse sounds like you'll make a mess of your paint finish. True, the ammonia technique works to add MK trim to underlying covering but again the ammonia (Windex) might just make a mess of your Rustoleum.

To paint or add graphics, the easiest is to design them in Illustrator (or some other vector graphics program) and then print them in the desired vinyl colour. Vinyl is very thin compared to MK and just sticks on carefully applied. This is the quick and easy way and is best for complex graphics which would be hard to paint. For simple graphics like lettering, what you can do is design lettering "negatives" as a stencil for shooting paint. You basically cut the vinyl as a template and you temporarily apply this stencil to the model to mask off the lettering. Mask the rest of the model around the stencil, shoot the lettering (black or whatever colour you want), let it cure/dry and then remove the stencil before it has adhered to the model. This usually requires removing the stencil when the lettering is mostly dry but not 100%. The clear vinyl comes off and voilà, model name applied. You can paint anything with stencils but simple patterns are easiest. Once you've painted the lettering and finished applying your gfx/decals, you should let the whole lot sit for a week to fully off-gas. Actually you should do this before applying any gfx/decals; let the paint fully dry before adding stuff. You can also level the painted surfaces beforehand with very light wet sanding using 2000 grit but this might not be necessary unless you've added a lot of thick paint.

Once it's all dry and applied, let stand for another week at constant room temperature to confirm all is good and staying in place. Clean the surface with low water content alcohol (90%+ is fine) using nitrile (blue) gloves (i.e., no finger or hand grease on the model). then when the alcohol has evaporated (pretty quick), pass a tack cloth on the model in prep for clear coat (CC). You will want to shoot it with SprayMax 2K (catalyzed) acrylic urethane. Nothing better out there in a rattle can, period. The Rustoleum may be somewhat fuel proof but I bet it's enamel (or hopefully lacquer which is lighter) and without a clear coat and the addition of any graphics, the model's finish will not last long and the paint will get "dirty" as the pigment is exposed to the elements. The CC will seal everything and the finish will probably out live either you or the model... Besides, you can rub out the CC with some liquid car polish and it will cause any liquids to slip off it as if the surface was reverse magnetic. it just gives it an absolute zero surface tension surface so any fuel or other liquids just flow off it. Last but not least the CC is catalyzed so it becomes very hard and prevents undesirable hanger rash (to the extent possible...)

When you get to that stage I can give you some more tips on the CC.

David

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

SprayMax 2K source among others:

2K GLAMOUR HIGH-GLOSS CLEARCOAT

David

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks David for the detailed reply back. As far as using Windex for making a graphic, it would not used while applying the graphic to the model. The Windex is applied to a piece of plate glass, then the MK is placed down and all the Windex is squeegeed out with a credit card. Once perfectly flat and dry, the graphic pattern is taped down on top of the MK. Sharp Exacto blades are then used to cut out the pattern. The waste is removed so all that is left is the graphic on the plate glass. Press & Seal is then rubbed down on top of the MK. The graphic can then be pulled up as one piece, and positioned on the plane, and with a low temp. iron, stuck in place. I don't think a temperature low enough to melt the MK adhesive could harm the paint. To me the process sounds good. I have extra painted wings to practice on. I think the Spray Max clear coat you mentioned would be excellent to spray on the final finish along with the graphic. I just hope it isn't hard to find.

Lamar

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

well that’s clearly the key to the process. However, I wouldn’t entrust an iron on any painted finish at any temperature. I’ve had my share of having to redo paint due to different reasons and it’s simply not worth the trouble. Plus, MK is not a low temperature covering unlike UC which I’d try first. But..., with the ease of designing and printing vinyl which is stick on, MK or UC are just not worththe potential trouble IMO. Of course if the MK were to wrinkle for any reason, well..., you get the picture.

SM CC should only be shot as a final sealing clear coat. Graphics atop the CC defeats its purpose. It’s very easy to source in the US. Auto stores or just about anywhere online.

David

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Update on my painting progress. The red & white are complete on my fuselage. I'll do the canopy tomorrow. It took some time masking out, but I think the painting turned out good for my standards. I can't post photos now because my computer is in repair.
One thing I could use some help with. Before I started painting, I mounted my engine and put on a prop and some spinners I had, and found the spinner sizes I had are not a good fit. The end of my cowl measures 1 7/8" across. I tried a
1 3/4" and a 2" spinner, and they don't look good. I haven't been able to find where to buy a 1 7/8" spinner. Is that size available anywhere?
Lamar
Lamar

bentwings

You might try this place for a spinner. Not cheap just excellent products and service.

https://www.truturn.com/

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Byron for the link. Unfortunately Tru Turn doesn't offer a 1 7/8" size spinner either. I've done a lot of searching on line, and can't find that size. Maybe it don't exist and I just have to use what looks best. Probably the 2" spinner.
Lamar

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Byron for the link. Unfortunately Tru Turn doesn't offer a 1 7/8" size spinner either. I've done a lot of searching on line, and can't find that size. Maybe it don't exist and I just have to use what looks best. Probably the 2" spinner.
Lamar

bentwings

Yeah, the 1 7/8 is an odd size. The 2 inch is probably the best bet. Too bad the plane is already painted. You could have done some creative blending.

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Byron for the link. Unfortunately Tru Turn doesn't offer a 1 7/8" size spinner either. I've done a lot of searching on line, and can't find that size. Maybe it don't exist and I just have to use what looks best. Probably the 2" spinner.
Lamar

lamarkeiko

My Feedback: (1)

Sorry for the triple posting. I'm doing this on my smart phone, and it's a little different.
I've taken some photos with my phone, but I don't know how to attach them to a post. If anyone I knows, please tell me and I'll post my progress pictures.
Lamar

doxilia

My Feedback: (3)

Lamar,

the DB40 is designed for a 2” spinner. They only come in 1/4” increments. The TT is still the nicest spinner made and they come in anodized colours if you like. Adds a little pizzaz to the finish of your model.

If somehow you sanded your cowl down to less than 2” or it came undersized, the way to fix that is to add a 1/32” ply ring to the cowl that’s slightly larger than 2” in diameter. You can make it 2” if you find that simpler. Then, you use epoxy and MB to blend the ring into the cowl smoothing it out with a finger dipped in alcohol leaving it slightly “fat”. Let cure and then sand wet until it’s nice and smooth and uniform. Voilà!

However, if you’ve already painted, you would need to blend the paint back in to what you’ve already shot. Probably just best to leave it slightly oversize at 2”.

David

PS To add pics with your phone you need to be in advanced mode and then select Manage Attachments which will open up another browser tab (e.g., Safari or Chrome). You can then add files as you do on a computer by selecting Choose File which will pop up a window asking you where you want to select the file from. Choose your photo repository (on iPhone its Photo Library) and when all pictures have been selected (one file per button) simply press the Upload button to the right of the file selector. Finally, say Close this Window at the bottom. When back in your post edit tab, press Save Changes. Done!