color of wing tips
 

I have been flying off and on for a couple years now but I am very much still a beginer. I do not have the time to go to the local club so I put away the .40 size trainer and began flying electric at the school yard (I also launch model rockets from this field). I live in a rural area and the school yard is aprox. 4 soccer fields wide and 3 soccer fields long. The only obstacles on the field are soccer nets. These fields are surounded by other fields used for farming. With this wide open area I figured a small gas plane would be ok to fly.

A couple years ago I went halfs with my dad on the purchase of someones plane collection. With the collection was a .25 size trainer that had been crashed. My wife told me no more toys for awhile so I set myself to rebuilding this wrecked trainer (My dad actually ended up doing most of the work). Anyway this brings me to my problem. The plane was originally covered in blue. All the covering was removed and it is now up to me to recover the plane. I have settled on a Red and White color scheme with some yellow trim. The problem I have is the original plastic wing tips where blue. We saved these and I planned on putting them back on the plane. Is there anyway to paint these red or white? Can new plastic wing tips be bought? I have no idea who manufactuered this plane, all I know is the guy who owned it said it was an ARF and he used to fly it in the school yard in the neighboring district (that is until he crashed it). Thanks for any help you guys can give.

RE: color of wing tips
 

Without knowing manufacturer it is probably impossible to replace them. I'd try cleaning them up, scuffing the surface a little and a quick coat of color. You could also get two blocks of balsa, carve and shape them, hollow them out and glue them to the tips.

RE: color of wing tips
 

Stang's advice was right on the money. Either repaint the wing tips or make new ones out of balsa. You could also just leave them off without hurting anything.

Ken

RE: color of wing tips
 

As for what kind of paint to use, you SHOULD use a fuel-proof paint, but you can easily use something like Krylon and cover it with a clear polyurethane.

But if money is tight, you COULD just use the Krylon. It's not fuel proof, but then, if you're getting fuel all the way out on your wing tips, you're doing something wrong :D

RE: color of wing tips
 

Thanks, I will paint them. My wood working abilities are not the greatest, so carving new ones would probably no be the best idea.

RE: color of wing tips
 

couldnt you roughen the surface with a bit of glasspaper and then cover over it with some florescent orange or something?

just a thought...

RE: color of wing tips
 

or with all the knowledgeable (??) people here, you could post a couple of pictures of your airplane and somebody would probably identify it ;)