I have a couple of China Model Productions (CMP) planes. Has anyone experimented with using water based polyurethane, or any other paint, to seal the CMP paint and make it more durable? I will be using a G23 for power so fuel proofing is not a problem.

TIA for any help. Bill

What CMP airplanes do you have? Thanks Capt,n

[sm=thumbup.gif]An F4U Corsair (120 size) that I bought from AK Models, and a Spitfire (120 size) that I won off Ebay.

I just bought the 1.20 size Corsair and am wonderring if luster coat will seal the factory paint without blisterring......I will be using nitro fuel, so will need fuel proofing.

I had to make a repair to my Spitfire and matching the paint was a problem so I went to Home Depot nad had them match the paint with latex, painted on let it dry good then sprayed clear flat Lustercote on to feul proof. Worked very well.

thanks dragonlines

[sm=thumbup.gif]Thanks DragonLines for the good info on the Lustercote over latex for fuelproofing against nitro. How did the Lustercote seem to work over the CMP paint, or did you have to repaint the whole airframe with latex?

I decided to do a test using the water based satin clear Polycrylic by Minwax. So far so good in that the CMP paint has not bubbled under a relatively thick coat of the satin. Will let you know later how durable the two paints are together when I try some tape on them.

I agree with Dragonlines if you are using gas. I would try sanding it lightly and then covering it with Latex house paint. It's rubber base and will hold up to heat and stretch... won't crack and is fuel proof to gas. I used gloss extier, because even gloss comes out sorta flat. I painted a WACO 2 yrs ago and holdong up very well. They can patch to any color you want and the best quality is only $10 pint way more then you could ever use.

If you go to my Gallery you can see my CMP ZERO I will repaint this winter with latex..

There was some over spray of the Lustercote onto CMP paint without any problems. You know many serious scale modelers use latex then fuel proof it like this or with polyurathane(misspelled). CMP paint is impossable to match any othe way. I suspect they thin it down too much trying to go as far as they can with as little paint as they can. That may be why it is so flaky.

The Corsair paintjob is a better than some of the others I've seen from their line. I have the .46 sized P-47 from CMP. I sanded off all of the fuse paint (down to the first layer of primer) and am repainting it with Warbirds colors (olive drab, yellow orange and the black+white invasion colors). If you have the stomach for it and want it more customized then I agree with the others on this thread. While I think the CMP planes are structurally pretty well made I think the colors + artwork leave a bit to be desired. If you do opt for repainting it then I think you should be more agressive and get as much off the original as you can. They put down quite a bit of paint on the P-47 that I have: the extra weight of another few layers should be avoided. Good Luck!