I remember painting/ finishing my first planes with nothing but colored dope. Lil' Jumping Beans, Ranger 30s and Veco Barnstormers They looked horrible but flew OK. Then one day a classmate of mine ( 6th grade 1963) brought over a just completed .049 powered Wildcat (Sterling or Scientific?) that was flawless and "shiny" as hell. I couldn't believe the finish on his model and it truly looked like "plastic"! That's when I learned about sandpaper and CLEAR dope. Turns out his dad was an A&P mechanic and had access to all the free clear dope and sandpaper you could ask for.