WildBeat

Hi all! I am looking for info on the best glassing and painting methods for classic planes that will produce a quality and fuel proof finish. I have trolled forums for good methods, like the Fantasista build thread and the Black Magic threads, but there’s a whirlwind of different methods and products. From what I can see, 20gsm silk and applied with sanding sealer appears to be a good method for getting a nice finish, mixed with talc and sanded down several times. I am not sure however about the what makes a decent spraygun, paint choice, and clearcoat choice (complete beginner). So I’m looking to see what methods and products people use and what works for them 🙂 the more info the better! Thanks!

speedracerntrixie

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My process for the last 6 years or so is to apply 3/4oz fiberglass cloth to the wood surfaces with epoxy laminating resin thinned 15% with 97% isopropyl alcohol. The method is fairly easy. Lay the cloth on the surface, smooth out and dribble on some resin. Use an old credit card to spread very lightly. Once the cloth has been saturated, take a heat gun and warm up the surface and blot with paper towel. This removes the excess resin and helps the alcohol evaporate. Once fully cured ( 72 hours ) give a light sanding with 220 grit and prime with Klass Kote white epoxy primer. Apply a very light coat, just enough to cover. Block sand with 220 grit, the goal is to remove 80% of the primer without cutting too far into the glass. Your high spots will become bare glass and primer will remain in the low spots. Shoot another coat of primer and block out with 320. You will see progress after this coat as the surface will look smoother. Again removing most of the primer. Typically it will take a third application of primer and blocking out with 320-400 before you are ready for color. If you’re not happy with the surface don’t be shy to go with a 4th coat of primer.

Now that the hard part is done, my suggestion is to go with Spray Max products. They sell base colors of auto quality paints in spray cans. They also have fuel proof 2K clear in spray cans. Very easy to apply. If you want to proceed with application with a spray gun, I’ve applied Duplicolor lacquer pre mixed quarts for color and applied 2K clear with great results too.


Last paint job. Klass Kote primer with Spray Max base/clear

Good illustration of how well Klass Kote sands. Note the bare spots showing the high spots.

Pattern model painted with Duplicolor lacquer and 2K clear.

Wing tip of pylon plane, again with glass, Klass Kote primer, Duplicolor orange and Klass Kote clear. Had a little fun with adding gold pearl to the clear.

WildBeat

Thanks for the great reply! I’m looking through the products and the method you described. But I have some more questions Did you paint the wings and stabs of your biplane too? If so did you track the full weight gain of the final finish? Also, what filler do you use when prepping for paint, to blend any areas and also to fill pinholes? I see a lot of methods involve mixing microbeads into the primer to fill the pinholes and weave, but the klasskote you use appears to to not need it?