acdii

Did my first attempt at spraying latex on my Corsair. Started with the white that goes on the bottom. It came out with a lot of splatter as I didn't thin it enough. I read somewhere to use washer fluid as the thinner, so I tried it, but it gave it a slight blueish cast, and I was afraid of thinning too much.

What would be the proper way to thin this out, and how much? I use small measuring cups to work with, and use no more than 1 cup of paint at a time, and use a small detail gun. I noticed if I dont pull back too much and just let a small amount out, it doesnt splatter but it also only covers about an 1 1/2, not the full pattern. I sprayed Dupli-Color primer with this gun at the 1:1 ratio and it did a good job with little overspray and nice tight pattern, so I know its a decent gun, and my other gun is a professional auto paint gun, too big for this kind of work.

After the paint dried, it doesnt look bad at all, but there is just too much overspray, more like splatter to do a nice job with, the color patterns will splatter on the white and look like crap.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Ask 10 guys, you'll get 10 answers,, I use Denatured Alcohol with a Paasche airbrush,

good luck

acdii

I mixed a little of that in too, which helped.

TomCrump

Latex, is made with water. I'd use it to thin the paint.

You aren't adding anything "foreign" to the product that way.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

I tried adding straight water,, it didn't work as well through the airbrush

acdii

Same here. Water is too heavy for airbrushing. I wet sanded what I painted last night, and it seems to be OK, I just need to work on the overspray and eliminate that. For the white I think using the denatured alcohol will do the trick, the washer fliud thinned it nicely, but left a blue tinge. I can use that for thinning the blue paint instead. Its the waiting between coats that I need to work on, get so used to the other paints drying quickly that I don't worry about it running, or adding the second coats. After the paint dried I can see that it leveled out nice and smooth, doesn't look anything like it did when it went on.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Air temp can also be a problem. When I paint it is usually summer and about 90 degrees. I use and old article from MAN by Roy Vaillancort from the How to department When painting with latex and it has worked out well for me. I too got the blue tint with the window washing fluid but found a nice clear type at the auto store and that cured the problem.
There is a conditioner called Floetrol that makes the paint flow better without the paint running. Two ounces of conditioner to the quart. I use a 4 ounce HVLP gun I bought from Harbor Freight and get almost no over spray. I have a sheet of glass I use to get the guns pattern and pressure right before I paint. Pressure can cause the globs your getting. I also use one of the touch up guns from HF but found the HVLP gun to be the best.
For air brush work the paint needs to be about the same consistency as milk so I almost never use the brush.
I don't have the date of the airticle but MAN usually keeps the How To file open for use on the net.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

When I spray my Latex, I add in a touch of Flowtrol before I thin it. I thin it just enough to make it spray, what I call a dry spray. It takes a lot of coats to completely cover. I allow 15 or 20 minutes in between coats. The type of tape you use is also important. I use the Blue Masking Tape and the yellow Frog Tape. Good Luck, Dave

acdii

Guys, thanks, that is the information I was looking for. I also used floetrol in it, the gobs were the problem I was having. I will test some more before spraying it again. I have plenty of paint to spare so might as well do it.

When you say pressure, is that too much or not enough pressure? I have it set to spray primer, I think at 30 PSI or lower. I also think I had the needle to far out, too much material.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Globs is usually too low but I'm using an HVLP and not an air brush. With my brush problems are usually due to the thickness of the paint.

acdii

Figure the problem out. I mixed the intermediate blue with just a touch, about a capful of floetrol then thinned with washer fluid. Used the airbrush this time, and it went on smooth, no spatter. Then mixed the dark blue, and made a mistake, instead of a capful, a huge gush came out, nearly a 1:1 ratio. I thinned it, and tried it, and sure enough spatter.

These were sample containers about a 1/2 pint, so I will just get another one and forget the floetrol and see how it comes out. I will know more once the paint dries to see how it actually looks, some light sanding will be needed, I played with the viscosity and made it too thin so there are runs now even though it was a light coat.

Practice makes perfect, good thing this paint is only $2 a sample.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

The reason for using an old glass door is to let me get it all set up without runs and globs before I squirt any paint on the plane. I have no problems getting the base color down but my trim work is really bad. It's more of a masking problem then squirting paint.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

I tried Floetral too, it does smooth the paint out for spraying, but it slowed the drying process, had to be more careful not to put it on too thick or it would run.

The Paint Brand matters too, I also found the Home Depot Behr premium flat thinned and sprayed better than the Lowe's Olympic satin finish

I like the function of the DA and Flat finish paint, it dries very quickly for build up of multiple coats for good coverage, vs one thick coat to try and cover all at once.

anyway, experiment to see what works best for you and your equipment, I use an old Sear tankless compressor with the airbrush I found at a garage sale,, and love it

good luck

acdii

Its more of a sag than a run, and took 10 minutes to develop after it was applied. Looked OK when it was applied, not very heavy, just enough to see that i was no longer primer.

Spatter


Sag


Smooth application


Will play with it some more using the other gun, this was with the air brush to get the feel of it. If it doesnt look good, I will just wet sand it again, the latex comes off real quick at this stage.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

It took me some time to find the right combo too, viscosity is everything, too thick it splatters, too thin it runs,


this was my first try three years ago,, look here
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/seap...-15-years.html
I'm sold on this process

Good luck

raptureboy

You can go right to vaillancourts website and get the info off there. Make sure you are using a water filter on your airhose also

acdii

The clear you used, was that a polyurethane mix? How has it held up to Glow? I plan to clear this one with KK, but its also going to get a gas engine.

yel914

I've sprayed latex paint following Vaillencourts instructions. I had better results using flat latex versus gloss or semi gloss. The flat sands a lot easier and gets a clear coat anyway. Just like with other paints, a few light coats are better than heavy ones. Using a heat gun/hair dryer to dry the fresh paint speeds up the process. I've used Nelsons Clear Coat and Klass Kote over latex with very good results.
Rick

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Yes, I used Systems Three WR-LPU with the Crosslinker, Satin finish, I run 20-20 in the plane, Hot fuel has shown no effect, and I tested with 30% nitro raw fuel, no effect either, nice thing is they sell small 4oz sample sizes too, only $5 each, I sealed the whole plane and only used a little over half one jar. One jar of the crosslinker with last a lifetime, you only use 8 drops/ounce.

http://www.systemthree.com/store/pc/...opcoat-c29.htm

good luck

acdii

Bookmarked for when I run out of KK. Thanks.

ululi1970

I assume 1/2 of a Quart jar = 16 oz?

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

No, I was talking 1/2 of a 4oz jar,, it needs to be cut about 50-50 to spray through the airbrush also, so a little goes a long way

I originally ordered 2- 4 ounce jars of the Clear Satin and 2- 1/2 ounce bottles of the crosslinker

ululi1970

Wow,
do you think that little is going to be enough for a .60 size Corsair?

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Yeap

acdii

OK Figured it out. Too little pressure, not enough heat.

My cun was set to 20 PSI for auto type paint, so not enough pressure for the heavier latex. Second temp is 65*, takes forever to skin, so it sagged. Upped the pressure, and the gun sprayed smooth, no spatter. So light coats, followed by heat gun several times, then a final heavier coat on the now warm parts followed by more heat, and it came out nice.






Tomorrow I will follow up with the intermediate blue, and touch up the white. I found I can detail with the gun just as if it were an airbrush, just takes patience and steady trigger.