ORIGINAL: noveldoc
Hi Zor. Good to see ya.
I like to use thinned epoxy. Mix slow epoxy one part A, one part B and 1 part 90 percent isopropyl or denatured alcohol. Brush on in glops and squeegee out thin with a card. When dry, sand or I like to lightly scrape all over with a single edge razor blade held near 90 degrees. Go until all the high shiny areas are gone and you have a smooth sort of burnished finish.
Fills pores and adds strength.
Tom
Hello Tom,
Good to see you also.
Just a word of explanation for my choice of aircaft dope versus epoxy.
Epoxy in thin layers is hard and brittle. When the airplane structure flexes under flying stresses that epoxy thin layer cracks (develops thin fissures) and there is no forces transmitted across a crack even if it is nearly at the molecular level.
Some people like to finish their model with epoxy and fiberglass cloth. The fiberglass cloth is the reinforcing material. The epoxy just hold the cloth in place. If the epoxy cracks the threads of the glasscloth keeps doing its function. It is appreciably heavier than fabric and dope.
A thin layer of aircraft dope always remain elastic and always have a srinking tendency. It is like a thin layer of rubber stretched over a surface (just to help the explanation). The dope has adherance to the substrate (balsa or others) while of course the rubber would not adhere.
I prefer using aircraft dope for the reason mentioned in the above paragraph. Then there is no need for heavy glasscloth. With dope it is preferable to use a light nylon or polyester fabric or the lightest Ceconite material.
We all have our preferred choice but we rarely see the reasons for that choice like I am posting above.
Send me a PM about "how you are doing".
Best regards de Zor.