Looking good Nic!
I need to come pay you a visit sometime soon and pick up that short-kit.

later,
Dean Pappas

You got it!

I did nothing but 320 sanding on the balsa. I put the cloth down first, then the minwax, and wipe it off. I haven't noticed any swelling. It might be more noticeable on the control surfaces, however. I'll keep everyone posted!

I used to love the resin finish, but didn't like the smell. When I start sanding and painting, we'll see.

I won't give it a chance, the paint will be Klass Kote Epoxy

Sanding update

Hu Boy! This is different from Polyester resin.

Let's start with the fuel hatch. It's only 3x5 inches. Now I admit, I did a quick sanding job on the balsa, it could have been smoother. I put a coat of glass, then 3 coats of Polycrylic, and let it set for 3 days to cure.

Dry sand 400 grit - very draggy, loads up the paper. Just like other acrylics. Then I went to 400 grit wet. Sanded fine, made cloudy water, didn't clog the paper, it remined me of the old days. EXCEPT - it doesn't sand down as fast as the polyester used to. I spent 10 minutes on only 15 square inches of finish. And that only brought me down to about 80% dull area. Now, some of it is me, I did the hatch quick, and it has some ups and downs. But I think this finish is harder than the old poly. Good for the plane, bad for the person sanding.

Well, I'm committed to this finish, so we will carry on. I will go to 320 wet to do the body, I hope that will help. Also, I am leaving the finish less than perfect, because I think the Epoxy primer will cover up better and sand easier. Tonight the second coat of finish went on the body.

Oh, I almost forgot - after the first coat on the body dried for 2 days, i scuffed the overlap areas with 100 grit dry. It powdered up OK, and softened the edge, but felt draggy, but didn't bind the paper. So the overlap edges were smoothed before tonight's coat of finish.

Also, I had one drip spot, that stayed like a drop, and was cloudy and soft. An Xacto snip and 100-grit scuff and it was gone. It was at the tip of the rudder.

There's no photos, because they didn't really show ANYTHING, much less the subtle differences I am trying to explain.

Hey Guys, just a note to reinforce that you must seal the wood before using MinnWax. Last summer I was glassing an Enforcer and was working on the huge sheet fins. Without thinking or reading any instructions I proceded to apply the cloth using a thin coat of minn wax. Left to dry overnite, guess what I saw the next morning. What the hel -----l happened here???? Warped like you wouldn't believe. I knew the minn wax was water based but just didn't think. Thats what I get for going off half cocked. Anyway, seal everything first and minn wax will work fine............sugarfox

How interesting! I guess the body is rigid enough to not be a problem. I'll take your advice and put a coat of clear dope on the control surfaces. Can't hurt.

OK, second coat of polyacrylic is on the body, and has had a chance to dry for several days. Weight gain: 1 ounce.

Been working on the hatch, after that sanding episode. Sprayed White laquer primer, then sanded. Put auto glazing putty on the low spots, sanded, shot second coat of primer. glazing on the remaining spots, then sanded down with 320 wet. Shot last coat of primer this morning, when that dries, I will give it a light sandingof 400 wet, and it's ready for paint.

Maybe I'll hit it with a coat of epoxy primer, maybe not. Depends on the 400 sanding.

I think I will stop the minwax on the body with this coat. The primer is MUCH easier to sand, and weighs less. There is enough polycrylic to really stick and seal the f'glass, and that's all it needs to do. Unlike the "old stuff", this is harder and heavier. At this point, primer is the better choice.

Hi all,

No, I haven't done anything for over a week now. I am at a national sales meeting since last saturday. But it's in Orlando, so it's not all bad.

My wing covering has come in, I'm still waiting for epoxolite.

Need to do:
cover control surfaces
cover wing
wet sand body
fillets
shoot primer sand, sand, sand.

I'm back!

I have sanded the body with 320 wet, a pretty easy task, took maybe about 2 hours altogether. This stuff really dulls the sandpaper, change it often! Now, mind you, I'm not looking for a really smooth finish here, just getting the finish down to the cloth. If you look at the shiny vs dull ratio, it's about 75% dull. I'm thinking it will be easier to sand primer than the Minwax, so why waste time on the hard stuff? In the past, I would have given it another coat of resin, then sanded again to get a really smooth finish.

So here's what it looks like.

So now I'm ready for primer. As I said, I am using Klass Kote epoxy finish. Stuff smells just like the K&B from 20 years ago. I'm hoping it will work the same way, too. The K&B primer would make good volume, light, and sand away like a dream. Oh, in the background, you can see I got some dope for the control surfaces to prevent warps.

And now the moment of truth - opening the epoxy, mixing, and applying. Since this is a first base coat, I decided to do yet another experiment. How about brushing on the first coat? If it sands as easy as I remember, the brush ridges will not be a problem. It would save having to clean the sprayer, etc, and still do what I want, fill the low spots. So that's what I did. Experimental surface - 1/2 of the stab. Mixed equal parts of A + B, and brushed the bottom. Too thick for comfort. Added 1 part reducer, and it brushed the top of the stab great. That's the photo you see, and the brush, etc. is in the spray booth so the fumes will exit to my garage.

Yet another note to self, epoxy paint will dissolve a plastic cup!

Well, tonight was the happy ending of the experiment. First, the bottom side, full-strength primer painted on.
Conclusion: Too much thickness to sand off to get to the base. But it worked.

Now the top, where I thinned the primer, covered much smoother, sanded easier, and did everything I wanted. Really, it sanded just like I rememvber the K&B to be, powdered up nice, can sand either wet or dry. I probably spent less then 5 minutes to do the top of the stab to this finish level.

So the overall report is positive. I can brush primer on for the first coat, so long as I thin it a bit. The Klass Kote sands great, fills well, and does everything I hoped for. Of course, the final primer will be sprayed, examined for bumps, puttied, block sanded, maybe another spray coat.

This is actually easier than what I used to do with resin and cloth. Because the Minwax is harder, I was forced to use the primer earlier. Works great!

Oh, and just because I was snapping photos, I also do plastic. Here's Leaky Boat Louie in progress.........

A GREAT FIND!

Cleaning up a bit in the shop, I discovered an entire roll of Silkspun Coverite, which they don't make anymore. After resin, I started to use this as a primary covering. Iron-on, no sanding, no smell, very strong, fills with primer really well. If I had known about this, I would have done the fuselage in it. Oh, well, at least I can cover my control surfaces.

After application, I would go straight to primer. Then sand, putty as necessary, sand, shoot a second primer coat, lightly sand, then paint.

So I decided to spray the primer. The extra sandiong of the brush coat is not worth it. Better to clean the sprayer. Besides, I wanted to try out my new Badger 400

After sanding, you can see how the primer really fills the cloth weave. Some putty for the dings/dips, then another primer coat, and I will be ready for paint.

I HAVE A QUESTION:

I will be doing this in the original yellow/white/blue scheme. I can dye the canopy, and am thinking about doing so.

Yellow would give it a sort of "antique" look, and blue would set off the trim nicely.

What do you think?
Clear
Yellow
Blue

So the first sanding on the body is done. I weighed it, and it is still 13.5-14 oz.

It depends on how you want to represent the original airplane. If you want it to look like the original, make it look the same way. If you want to add your personal touch, then tint the canopy.

Did I "politically" evade your question?

Yes you did. I'm leaning towards yellow, I think it will add a bit of an antique look. It's not a concourse copy, since the nose wheel and engine area are not "original"

I'll throw my hat into this one: go for the tint, to me it'll add that vintage touch.

Your bird is really looking nice!

FB

Seeing this may sway me to do yellow canopy tint. My Solartex Vintage Yellow came into the LHS, along with Epoxolite. So the first thing I did when I got home from there today was to cover the bottom of the wing. Oh, a thing of beauty, I am a happy camper [sm=tongue_smile.gif][sm=thumbup.gif] weight = 14 oz. with the bottom covered. I'm beginning to think she may come in at 5# or a little less.

Now back to the boring prime/fill/sand/prime/fill/sand