kberk222

i was over at dans last night, got two things to say first by no means do the pictures do this plane justice second erik is one lucky guy to own this work of art. when you think you have seen dans best work he will show you that intill you see the next one you havent seen his best yet, see ya soon dan.

SPLIT S

Thanks Berk. Have a plan for the Mustang fin too. Remembered I have the kit, use the kit ribs as templates for the replacements and presto!

SPLIT S

Candy blue applied to the right wing. The "Rockin" on the bottom of the wing will be paired with "Robin" on the other wing as an ode to Erik's wife. If you notice, the red looks like it is sanded. It is. That has to get resprayed. After 30 years of painting I made a rookie mistake, one that my screams could have been heard for miles. I had taped the gear doors shut so when I laid out the fine line tape for masking the line it would be correct when the doors are closed all the way. I had removed all the tape holding the doors closed, all but one piece, which I candied right over. I was tired, had a headache but pushed on when I should have walked away. Being a candy it can't be spotted in, at least to the level of invisibility needed, so I get to respray the red in its entirety. The up side is I managed to tweek my original formula to eek out still more brilliance under full sun. Moral is that when you're not feeling the mojo walk away to spray another day...

Dan

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Bud,

Nothing short of magnificent! I'm sure no one would've
noticed,especially on the bottom/gear doors. You're a
perfectionist,and I know this is a labor of love. No words
for my gratitude...

Erik

SPLIT S

Thanks Erik. Bottom or top, has to be right.

Dan

racer8297

My Feedback: (13)

Absolutely stunning Dan! Your attention to detail is second to none! Can't wait to see this one fly. It will be gorgeous at the field and in the air.

You are the master!

Jimmy

SPLIT S

Just finished the blue on the left wing. While I am waiting for paint to dry I thought I would address some questions that have been posted to me about equipment and paint.

As far as spray equipment goes, I use a variety. My main gun for color is an Iwata LPH80. This sets you back between 3 and $400 depending where you buy it. I also use it for clear on smaller jobs. This gun has been an absolute joy to use for quite a few years now. I paint alot and haven't had to do anything to it other than the normal cleaning and maintenance. Parts are readily available if the need should arise, I hope to use it for many years.

My larger guns are Devilbiss and lately, Tekna, an offshoot I believe of Devilbiss. The latest gun in my stable is the Tekna Pro Lite. Full size gun but with a smaller body and as the name would imply, very light. Set me back around $500. I'll be using it for the first time to clear the Firebird. Nothing like making a $20,000 jet a guinea pig.....

The weird looking cup on the Iwata is the 3M PPS system. Using this has many advantages for me, namely I can spray upside down and the liners are disposable. No cleaning of the cup so I use much less solvent to clean the gun. More of a luxury than a must have but way cool nonetheless. Wouldn't go back to a regular cup after using these.

I have read alot on the forums here about using the cheap Harbor Freight type spray guns. Thirty dollars and off you go. I won't get into the argument about quality, parts availabilty, ease of use and etc.. only to say that you really do get what you pay for. My gun is an extension of my hand, don't really want to think about it when I'm spraying, just do it. Quality allows that, cheap does not. Painting is what I do so I'm biased, I admit that. But once you use real quality equipment it's tough to go back. Kind of like asking why a musician doesn't get his gear from WalMart. If you have good luck with it that's great. Have fun and be creative. That's what it's all about.

The paint I use is from PPG, all of it. I haven't found as of yet any reason to look elsewhere. Yes, it's expensive but it works, everytime. DuPont, BASF, Akso Nobel and others make quality product as well so use what you are comfortable with. Just know that prep is everything. Skimp on the paint if you like but keep the prep level top notch and you most likely will be very happy.

Airbrushes are Iwata too. Eclipse HPC is what I use most. I would love to spend a week with Jeremy (LGM Graphix) and just be a painting sponge when it comes to airbrushing. He's the man!

Hope this helps the budding painters out there.
Dan

SPLIT S

Thought I would also post some of the other projects I am working on too. The first pic shows a Dragon that had an encounter with, well - fire. Not an inferno but enough to cause some heat damage to areas of the airframe. All were repaired, the areas are in primer just awaiting paint.

In back of that is a large Extra that needed some TLC. Closed some switch holes, repaired the wheel pants, the rudder and one elevator. Also just awaiting color.

The next pic is the stab from the Richthofen Phantom of which I have a thread going on. I've taken over the dining room table to apply the Filte Metal. At least I can be upstairs with my wife while I work. Just have to install some heat blanket in the fuse while I have easy access then it gets panel lines and rivets. Ready for paint. Alot of airbrushing is required for the Phantom, will be one of my most favorite jobs when comeplete. Not too much longer Billy...

Next is my Reaction collecting dust. Most of the paint work is complete, needs some polishing and rigging. Hope to have it ready for mid summer or so. The guys from my club pitched in to have it built for me being that I didn't have much time to do many things last year. My mom had been in the hospital, since passed. Couldn't wish for better friends.

The F18 is a YA single. Been ready for paint since late 2007. Was originally going to be ducted fan but then was introduced to the turbine world. Could use a P60 for it, maybe go electric. Geez, batteries are expensive....

The B17 is foam! Just set it up and I can go fly a bomber.

Dan

SPLIT S

Erik. Paint is dry...

wojtek

My Feedback: (73)

that's going to look great in the air !! sweet

~V~

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Just wow!

ezpilot1

My Feedback: (20)

Dan,
Your an artist and a master at you craft!! Eric is very lucky to own this masterpiece.
Kevin " Roadkill"

Ron Stahl

My Feedback: (12)

Beautiful! Hope to see it soon.

kberk222

hey erick you did say i get the test flight right. lol
dan as always when your looken for a 10 you give him a 20 what a mastercraftsman.

marvmattporsche

My Feedback: (60)

Work of Art Dan!

Mark Basel

My Feedback: (24)

Now that I see the how you did your stab I gotta do mine like that!!!! Time to get out the sand paper

SPLIT S

I went throught alot of fine line tape until I got something I liked for the fin and stab. The point of the scallop on the fin aligns with the inboard scallop on the stab when the stab is at the neutral position.

Dan

Mark Basel

My Feedback: (24)

I think I went through a couple of rolls of tape but just couldnt get it right The stabs are so much different between the two it was hard to make it look right but you did a great job!

mark

JeffH

My Feedback: (43)

Is the pearl something you added to a white basecoat, or is it a premixed pearl white? If you added pearl flakes?? to a white, how much do you add? Also, how much candy red and blue did you use? I know candies are a variable as far as how many coats to achieve the effect you are looking for, but how much did you use? I am looking to do, oddly enough, a pearl white, candy red, and candy blue Forbes Cobra pylon racing biplane.
It is a Dan Santich design, with a gull wing top and inverted gull lower wing.

Thanks
Jeff

SPLIT S

The pearl white is known as a tri-coat. A base of pure white followed by another layer of pearl then the clear coat. You can't mix pearl directly in with the white otherwise you would never see it. The pearl itself is a powder mixed with a clear basecoat product, in this case DBC500. My mixing is done on a scale so I can't give you actual volume amounts. Your local auto body paint store can hook you up. The pearl sitting on top is what gives it the shimmer. The key is applying enough pearl, in this case two coats, to give the shimmer effect but not too much that the white becomes muddy looking. Be careful with the application of the pearl, i.e. watch your overlap as you spray to keep the pearl look even. Not difficult to do if the gun is set up and working correctly.

The blue and red being candies are known as tri-coats as well. These colors I created myself at work but there are plenty to choose from stock color books. PPG has their Vibrance line as well as House of Kolor among others. Same rules apply, it is the combination of the groundcoat color and the candy layer that gives you the final color you see. Spraying pearl is a bit easier than the colored candy because any deviation in the application of the candy color will lead to an uneven or blotchy appearance. Again not too difficult to do. Practice, practice, practice using the gun to get perfect overlaps and you will be fine.

I mixed a pint of the base white and the pearl. The rest were all half pints. Once reduced the sprayable amounts are double that, basecoat goes a long way.

Dan

JeffH

My Feedback: (43)

Thanks, I thought that pearls were put on with an intercoat clear, just didn't see you mention that. My stripe layout will be arranged so that I should have very little overlap, ie. small stripes, for the specific reasons that you mentioned with the candies. I am still on the look out for a test airframe to try all of this out on first before I commit to shooting a 1/4 scale plane with pearls and candies.
Thanks for all of the help!

SPLIT S

Practice makes perfect, that's for sure. If you are comfortable spraying metallics and similar then candies and pearls most likely won't be an issue. You can sometimes think yourself into a problem where none exists. Have fun and good luck.

Dan

SPLIT S

Cleared the fuse yesterday. A bit of de-nibbing and get rid of some slight peel, a buffing and this one is done. I got home as the sun set so I didn't get any pictures with the camera outside. I took some earlier today with my camera phone but can't upload them so workshop light will have to do. Outside in sun this thing lights up! Erik, if you can upload a few I sent you have at it.

Dan

Erik R

My Feedback: (32)

Photo quality degraded coming through my phone,but,just a freaking masterpiece!!

Andrew Bird

Stunning stuff! Awesome work.