ululi1970

I am in the process of finishing my first warbird, a 1/8th Corsair built from a Pica kit. The plane is glassed and ready to be painted. I'd like to use
water based paints with a HVLP paint gun and I am wondering
How much paint I need to order, and if you have suggestions as to where get it. The plane is to be glow powered, so the
whole thing has to be fuel proof to ~ 15%nitro.

Thank you
Alberto

YellowBlueBird

There are some good posting on painting Glow models. Water based paint is popular among the gas set. Not so much with the glow engines. Butarate dope is not allthat hard to use and is fuel proof. According to some two part urathane serves as a fuel proof overcoat for other paint. Will it stick to water base? I do not know.

Where do you Chapel Hill guys fly. My site is south of Fuquay. If you have time to go to the "fly for tots" event in September there will be lots of floks there to ask questions of. If you are interested I can show you some airplanes that have been painted with dope from Sig and one painted with Auto Rattle can. The rattle can so far has cost about as much as dope. four cans for a 40 size model.

Jerry

ululi1970

Thank you.
I fly with the FLying Tigers of Jordan Lake, off Jordan Lake, of course.

Alberto

Platinum

Go have a look at :http://web2.murraystate.edu/andy.bat...owersupply.htm

ululi1970

Not sure that is the correct webpage...
Alberto

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

When using latex house paint the best place to buy it is your local hardware store. I'm doing a glow plane now with it after glassing then I will be shooting a coat of Klass Kote clear over that to fuel proof. It is two part epoxy and is bullet proof. Not cheap but one of the best products I have worked with. Also chesk out Warbird colors for your paint. It may be a better choice then Latex. As mentioned, latex is usually used with gassers.

TomCrump

I like Warbird Colors, too. In my opinion, it's a better choice than house paint.

By following the instructions, the paint will go on easily, and a realistic gloss will be obtained.

A pint should be enough to paint your bird.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

I posted this last night but it didn't load, if you want to use a water based fuel proof paint Nelsons has colors in catalyzed paints that are water clean up and fuel proof.

www.warbirdcolors.com also sell a water based material that's fuel proof I read that Chuck is having some Mfg issues on some products, but shoot him a email he might be able to accommodate you on a color you need.

as for quantity for the blue your going to need at least a pint since Dk.Blue is a primary color it takes a few more coats to get good coverage, I recommend using a grey primer under the blue it helps with that., so you don't load the plane up with paint.

if your going to go with regular house paint and clear coat it then your stuck with a quart I prefer to use the best I can get a Sherwin Williams, or Benjamin Moore brand but some swear by Home depot, but my clear choice is WBColors

ululi1970

After looking at his web site, and reading the glowing endorsement by Tom Pierce, I'll give WarBird Paint a try. Than you for your help.
Alberto

Brian Roth

Im living in Egypt at the moment and finding any of the name brand paints for our planes is impossible! What type of paint can I buy that will do the same thing? Or in other words, can any latex paint protect against gassers? Same with water based and epoxy paint? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Im going crazy over here trying to get back into the hobby! Among other things.

Thanks,
Brian

ululi1970

Brian,
I can tell you what I did. Since I was unable to get any answer from either WarBird or Nelson paint. So I ended up heading to the nearest Lowes and got standard interior latex paint.
I can get paint samples for ~ $3 for 8 oz in satin. I used a High volume, low pressure paint gun, thinning the paint with windshield wiper fluid (the cheap one) 50/50.
It worked quite well, though it took some time to get the right settings on the gun. Some colors went it very well, others required several coats (especially the yellow).
Plan carefully the color of the primer! I used a grey color. Probably a white would have been better for the yellow. I found that for best results,
the first couple of coats should go on fairly dry, followed by a wetter coat, but be careful not to overdo to avoid runs.

With nitro and gas, you need to clearcoat it. I did some experiments with 15% nitro, and found that two products do a good job. One is spar urethane ([link]http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/exterior-clear-protective-finishes/minwax-helmsman-spar-urethane[/link]). It goes on fairly thick with a standard brush, and
it gives a yellowish tint to light colors. The other is Rustoleum crystal clear enamel. ([link]http://www.walmart.com/ip/17011172?adid=22222222227009952186&wmlspartner=wlpa&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=18137021230&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem[/link]) It comes in a spray can, and it is clear. Not sure with the first, but with the latter it is IMPERATIVE that you let it cure TWO WEEKS before exposing them to fuel. It will feel dry after a few hours, but I did experiments and it takes two weeks before it is safe to hit it with nitro.
I do not own a gasser (yet), but maybe I will try gas just for the heck of it. However, I think that if it can take nitro, should be ok with gas.
OVerall the plane came out really good. Alas, it was lost on her maiden flight because the radio module was left accidentally in range check mode. So, shortly after take off, she stopped responding. But for those 30 seconds she was in the air, she was a head turner!

Brian Roth

Thank you so much Ululi! I will go out now and try to find some interior latex paint and some clear coat. I will also keep my eyes open for the other brands you mentioned.

Brian Roth

I am going to paint a 29% Katana with an American flag. Im sure you can imagine why. Im living in a muslim country!

I will be uploading pics to show the progress.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Brian, Latex is just fine for gassers and a clear coat is only needed to help in any clean up but there isn't much clean up required with a gasser. I do use exterior Latex though, it doesn't fade in the sun, that's the only reason I use the exterior. I just finished painting my 60 size float plane and ended up using all two part epoxy. The yellow base coat is Klass Kote and I didn't bother with a primer, it sticks well onto the glass. I used Deft Sanding Lacquer Sealer to glass the plane with. I ended up using about 1 pint of yellow to paint the complete plane, both side skirts for the floats and the land gear plus the floats. Klass Kote covers very well. I will post a photo of last summers build, an 80 inch Sukhoi and I used nothing but latex paint, just yellow and black. No primer under it either. Just finish sanded with 220 grit paper. The Sukhoi has no primer or over coat and holds up very well on a gasser.

ululi1970

GrayBeard,
are you saying that you can use the lacquer sealer (deft) to attach the fiberglass cloth to the fuse? In my doomed Corsair I used it to seal the wood, but then I used WaterBased Polycrylic to attach the cloth...
Just asking, because using the WB stuff took several coats, and quite some time. Moreover, as I discovered when I accidentally let my desk lamp to stray too close to the fuse, it blisters if exposed to temp higher than ~200F. The plane is now history, but I want to build another one just like that...

Thank you
Alberto

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I use nothing but Deft sanding lacquer to glass with these days.I gave un using epoxy and resin years ago after a friend put me onto the deft. It's not water based though and stinks. The deft gasses off and about 80% of the weight is gone when it gasses off and I use 1/2 ounce or 3/4 to glass with. On the bare frame I slather on two coats of the deft then sand, this just keeps from wasting the sealer, if you don't seal first the stuff goes into the wood and it doesn't stick as well. I lay on the glass with the first coat then in about an hour I give it another coat. You can use the same brush for about two days, just sticking the brush into the deft and letting it sit for a few minutes it softens the dried deft on the brush. I give it a third coat then sand off the extra glass then give the plane another coat or two. Final coat I mix a batch of deft 50/50 with talc or baby powder. Slather it on then when it's set up, the next day, I finish sand. This removes almost all of the baby powder and added weight. Finished. Smooth as silk!! Before painting I give the plane a wipe down with a rag with lacquer thinner or what ever I use as a paint thinner.
Once I gave the deft a try I haven't used anything else for glassing. So easy to Sand and comes out so smooth. Cheap to use too. Other then the stink I have no complaints using it.

ululi1970

Sounds appealing. I gather you never had any delamination problem?
Thank you for the tip!
Alberto

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Only after a crash!! Then the wood was pretty much held together by the glass. With the climate I live in glass and paint is better then covering but how I cover I also have no weather related problems with covering. People think of Calif. and Nevada as only hot. A lot of tourists this time of year run into a big surprise, it snows in Vegas and even more so in the surrounding areas. It can run from 115 in the summer to the very low 20s in the winter and we fly all year long. Our models have to put up with a lot. Same thing in Arizona just down the road, even more so depending on where you are.
I have never held a light bulb on top of my planes to see if they will bubble up or not but sitting out in the summer sun doesn't bother them. I do most my building in the summer months too, a nice air conditioned shop and my epoxy always flows without having to heat it with a covering gun.