Hello David

I knew when I was writing that post that I wasn't being very clear in my explanation.

I am going to test out some spraying enamel for fuel proofness. From what I understand from my Father-in-law this was the paint that was used back when he was building and flying pattern. The enamel should be fuel proof without any other coating.

If I go down the path of acrylic lacquer then it has been suggested that the colour coat will not be fuel proof and that a clear will be needed. I am going to try a lacquer clear over lacquer paint and test its fuel proofness.

I am not keen on painting a 2 pack paint if it contains iso-cyanates. I have the use of our company spray booth if necessary but it is a bit of a hassle with working around our production schedule. I could paint it with 2 pack poly-siloxane that is isocyanate free but I think it too will be heavy. The poly-siloxane is an epoxy type paint and is loaded with fillers and stuff to try to make it last under UV. When it breaks down it goes powdery.

What is the water borne base coat you are suggesting?

Cheers
Tarquin

Hi Tarquin,

I believe paint has come a long way since the days of yore.

My view in finishes today is two fold: 1) use the least toxic paint possible which is easy to cleanup and dilute (i.e., waterborne) and 2) fuel proofing is only required in the top sealing CC (which unfortunately is toxic if fuel proofness is needed).

The beauty of water borne is that it is not affected by UV like some enamels and epoxy based paint so the basecoat won't "yellow" assuming top quality CC is used. For the CC there's nothing quite like catalyzed (2K) acrylic urethane. There are a number of different products from the well know auto paint companies such as PPG, DuPont, AutoAir, SprayMax and the like.

I hope this is of some help.

David

Greetings from the shaky isles.

Recently we have had a swarm of earthquakes near Wellington, our capital. Where I live we felt the effects quite well. I know exactly when last nights large shake started because I was taking a photo of the Beetle at the time. It was probably the biggest and longest lasting quake I have felt and one of the very few that has made me consider taking shelter.

We were in the half round barn type shed when the quake started. At first I held onto one of Rene's jets to stop it falling off the stand. After about 15 seconds we decided that outside might be a better place and left the models to themselves. Once outside it was completely calm but the big pine trees were swaying like it was a howling gale.

Anyway here is the pic. It has been undercoated with a very heavy coat or two of primmer filler. A fair amount of this will now be sanded off as I Sand, Fill, repeat.

Final finish will be lacquer paint followed by automotive 2k clear coat. I will be doing the color paint and a spraypainter friend will do the clear.

Cheers
Tarquin

Awesome Tarquin!!

Tarquin, I was wondering about you when the earthquakes made the news over here. Glad it wasn't serious. Perhaps mailing the Beetle to one of us (me) for safekeeping until everything settles down is a good idea.

Other than that she is looking great. This is the fun part, watching the colors appear. Are you doing the classic Beetle scheme?

Hello David

Sorry for the slow response. The Beetle will be painted in a simplfied version of the box art scheme. I am going to drop the pink trianlge on the wing and replace it with red or more likely blue. I am going to drop the sky blue from the fuselage too. I will be using the yellow and red on the wings and the yellow on the fuselage. Not too sure yet about the silver on the fuselage.

I am in the early stages of sanding down the primer and finding the high and low spots.

Cheers
Tarquin

Always great to see an email that a great thread has an update.

I just saw this Tarquin.

That finish approach is pretty nice. I did a Tipo like that not too long ago. Lacquer really shoots nicely in thin light coats, is easy to control and flashes off fast! Keeping fuel proofness out of the paint is also smart for lightness and speed. No curing required!

As for the auto 2k CC there is really no substitute today that I'm aware of. It's the trickiest to apply in a non professional setting but also the most rewarding.

David

Hello Everyone

Here is the latest picture of the Beetle. The first stage of sanding is pretty much complete. I just need to fill a few holes and sand the leading edges. Then it will get another coat of primer.



Cheers
Tarquin

Awesome!!

Beautiful!

Hello.

Long time no posts. hahaha.

Base coat colour went on in Feb 2020. 2 pack clear coat went on and everything was "mint". Unfortunately the paint booth door was opened later with some really gusty wind and the wing fell off its hanger and kissed the fuselage on the way down to hitting the conrete floor. Damage was minor but enthusiasm went to nil.

Filling the dents and re-painting and clear coating the paint damage was in April 2021.

Install pictures

... and this is what it looks like now.

Engine has been run. I still need to finalise the CG and I am going to install a magnet operated electronic switch so I dont have to spoil the lines with a dirty switch or bit of wire hanging out the side.

Looks beautiful! Looking forward to the flight report! Glad you finished it.

Wow!! Beautiful, just beautiful.

9 years since last post! And a 14 year build. I've been here since the beginning!

Very cool looking Beetle, it was worth waiting...

Enjoy flying, and let us know how thr maiden went.

Dominik

Any flight reports?

Wow what an awesome paint scheme. What did you use for the magnetic switch? Interested.

Jim

Switch is made by Zepsus. Zepsus.com
Graves Hobbies in Orlando has them. Probably any place dealing in sailplanes would have them also.

Sam

Ha ! You finally got it done….You’ll really enjoy it……Looks great .

Flight report ? Video ?

I'm building a Beetle from the MK kit and wondered how this one flew?